This month is Pride month and there is no better way to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community than to amplify their stories and make sure they are heard, not only in June but every month of the year!
In support of Pride, the Bell Lomax Moreton team have come up with a varied list of books from picturebooks to adult autobiographies that we believe are both educational and uplifting!
An aadorable and funny love story between aardvarks.
Aardvarks Aalfred and Aalbert both need a pal. But Aalfred sleeps in the day, and Aalbert sleeps at night. How will they ever get the chance to meet?
Bird conjures up a series of sillier and sillier schemes to get the two aardvarks into the same place, but their paths simply refuse to cross. Until one day, when they find each other in the most unexpected way – and now Aalfred and Aalbert will never lose each other again.
Aalfred and Aalbert is as funny and memorable as Morag Hood’s previous books, Colin and Lee, Carrot and Pea, I Am Bat and The Steves. With its sweet and natural portrayal of love accidentally blooming between two aardvarks, it makes a brilliant gift for a loved one.
Morag grew up in Edinburgh writing stories, splashing paint around and dreaming of having a pet duck. Following a degree in Costume Design from…
A wonderful celebration of the diversity of family life that is perfect for pre-schoolers, from award-winning author/illustrator Sophy Henn – the creator of Where Bear?, Pass It On and the Lifesize series.
Just like us, animal families are all different. For orang-utans, mummy looks after the babies, for emus it is all down to daddy. Clownfish live with a mummy and daddy, some albatross families live with two mummies and some cheetahs are adopted by two daddies. For some families it is the grandparents, or even a huge family group, who help bring up the youngsters. But what’s the one thing that they have in common? Love, of course!
Reflecting the different ways that children live today, this warm and friendly introduction to the variety of family life is perfect for pre-schoolers to learn about the world around them, as well as seeing which family is similar to their own.
Sophy Henn is an award-winning picture book author and illustrator with an MA in Illustration from the University of Brighton. She is the creator of the much-loved Pom Pom series and her book Where Bear? was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Sophy was the World Book Day Illustrator in 2015 and 2016.
The first Paper & Hearts Society adventure. Join Tabby and The Paper & Hearts society gang in this joyful comfort read and celebration of books from Booktuber Lucy Powrie - all about what happens when you let your weird out! The perfect book for fans of Alice Oseman, Holly Smale and Zoella.
Tabby Brown is tired of trying to fit in. She doesn't want to go to parties - in fact, she would much rather snuggle up on the sofa with her favourite book.
It's like she hasn't found her people ...
Then Tabby joins a club that promises to celebrate books. What could go wrong? EVERYTHING - especially when making new friends brings out an AWKWARD BUZZING feeling all over her body.
But Olivia, Cassie, Henry and Ed have something that makes Tabby come back. Maybe it's the Austen-themed fancy-dress parties, or Ed's fluffy cat Mrs Simpkins, or could it be Henry himself ...
Can Tabby let her weird out AND live THE BEST BOOKISH LIFE POSSIBLE?
The second book in the series Read With Pride published in 2020, which features Olivia Santos who is excited for her last year at secondary school. But when a parent complains about LGBTQ+ content in one of the books, the library implements a new policy for withdrawing books. Olivia is distraught - she’s demisexual and knows how important it is for all readers to see themselves represented.
Luckily, she’s the mastermind behind The Paper & Hearts Society book club, and she knows exactly what to do: start a new club, find ways of evading the system, and change the policy for good!
With two book clubs to run, exams to prepare for, and a girlfriend, just how long will it be before Olivia burns out? After all, creating a book club and trying to get the #ReadWithPride hashtag to get noticed is going to take a lot of energy.
The final Paper & Hearts Society adventure. Join Ed and The Paper & Hearts Society gang in this joyful comfort read and celebration of books from BookTuber, Lucy Powrie - the perfect book for fans of Alice Oseman, Holly Smale and Zoella.
Ed is excited. He's landed his dream job at Woolf and Wilde, the beautiful independent bookshop in town.
On his first day, his colleague Hannah doesn't hold back from telling him exactly how to do things. Although Ed is intimidated, he soon finds himself wanting to impress her ...
Then, Ed discovers his mum is dating for the first time since splitting up with his dad. It feels like a huge change, much too fast.
But with the help of his friends, and embracing Hannah's way of seeing the world ... Can Ed let his guard down for the love of books?
Lucy Powrie, also known as @lucythereader, is a blogger and YouTuber from Wiltshire. She set up www.queenofcontemporary.com in 2012 and has since…
An LGBTQ+ journal for everyone - by writer, illustrator and utterly fabulous merman, Dom&Ink.
Celebrate Pride and celebrate YOU with this rainbow coloured journal, packed with drag queens, activities, advice and the world’s sassiest LGBTQ+ dinosaur: Brett the Sassysaurus!
- Colour, design and glitter to your heart’s content
- Read quotes from real-life rainbow icons
- Find out how to throw your own Pride Party
- Learn about the history of gay rights
Most importantly: celebrate being yourself and what makes YOU amazing!Warm, hilarious, caring and insightful, Free To Be Me will fill every reader with self-esteem, confidence, colour and pride.
You’re about to meet so many incredible humans. Are you ready hun?
Celebrate some of the modern-day trailblazers, champions and icons who have shaped, or are shaping our world, from well-known public figures and allies to others you will wish you had heard of earlier.
Covering topics including coming out, gender, mental health and activism, this book is packed full of empowering quotes, inspiring life lessons and helpful advice that will encourage you to embrace your story and find your power.
DOM&INK (Dominic Evans) is a freelance illustrator and merperson based in London, from not-so-sunny Bolton, via Narnia. Growing up with a love…
**WINNER British Sports Book Awards SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR**
**Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award**
Gareth Thomas had it all. He was a national hero, a sporting icon. He was a leader of men, captain of Wales and the British Lions. To him, rugby was an expression of cultural identity, a sacred code. It was no mere ball game. It gave him everything, except the freedom to be himself.
This is the story of a man with a secret that was slowly killing him. Something that might devastate not only his own life but the lives of his wife, family, friends and teammates. The only place where he could find any refuge from the pain and guilt of the lie he was living was on the pitch, playing the sport he loved. But all his success didn’t make the strain of hiding who he really was go away. His fear that telling the truth about his sexuality would lose him everything he loved almost sent him over the edge.
The deceit ended when Gareth became the world’s most prominent athlete to come out as a gay man. His gesture has strengthened strangers, and given him a fresh perspective. Gareth’s inspiring and moving story transcends the world of sport to tell a universal truth about feeling like an outsider, and facing up to who you really are.
To understand how to empower yourself, first of all you have to recognize and accept your vulnerability.
In Stronger, Gareth shares how he has managed to deal with the adversity life has thrown at him over the years, from his school years to his most recent difficult announcement that he is living with HIV.
Gareth's incredible willingness to expose his deepest emotional frailties as a man and come through even stronger as a result have made him a national hero and a role model for us all. Whether he is confronting the physical challenges of an Iron Man, or the mental resilience needed to be true to who you are, or weighing the medals and trophies he's won alongside the mistakes he's made, Gareth is unwaveringly honest.
An inspirational rallying call, Stronger is a vital read for anyone who wants to turn their fear into a strength and to not only survive, but to thrive.
Gareth Thomas is a former international rugby star having played rugby union for Bridgend, Celtic Warriors, Toulouse and Cardiff Blues, as well as…