Ten of the Best: Books for Little Rebels
2022 marks 10 years of the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction, an award run by Letterbox Library and Housmans Bookshop on behalf of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers. So here is a special Ten of the Best, ten books that social justice and political issues for children (ages 0-12) and which won the award! In order from 2012 to 2022 and pepped up with commentary from Little Rebels Award Judges and Organisers, here are the Biggest Rebels of Them All.
Sarah Garland, Frances Lincoln
An Amnesty-endorsed story, told in graphic format, of a family’s escape from war, their journey and their subsequent adjustment to a strange new nameless country (but which reads easily as the UK). Best known for her fuzzy-warm stories of everyday family life, this marked quite a departure – and a very successful one – for Garland. It was referred to by The Observer at the time as a ‘masterpiece’. ‘Azzi tells a simple and powerful story, one with which we should all be tragically familiar’ said Little Rebels judge Elizabeth Laird. (Age 7+)
Gillian Cross, Oxford University Press, 978-0192756268, £6.99 pbk
An apocalyptic vision of the UK. The major banks collapse and a full-scale economic crash threatens, bringing with it civil disorder and food shortages. Matt and his family’s only option is to flee, embarking on a dangerous escape to a refugee camp in France. This is sharp dystopian fiction which unsettles and flips assumptions about who refugees are and where refugees come from. Described by Little Rebels judge, Wendy Cooling as a ‘frighteningly believable page-turner.’ (Ages 9+)
Gill Lewis, Oxford University Press, 978-0192793560, £6.99 pbk
A novel which explores the fallout faced by a family in which a parent’s struggles with their mental health leads to their children being sent to different foster placements. Told from the point of view of the older sibling, this offers a skilful and balanced critique of our care system which, even at its best, so often fails to nurture young people, especially young carers. ‘A story that celebrates the often overlooked courage, loyalty and competence of children’ said judge Kim Reynolds. A four times shortlistee, Gill Lewis was given a special commendation in 2018 for her contribution to radical children’s fiction. (Ages 9+)
Alexis Deacon and Viviane Schwarz, Walker Books, 978-1406365481, £7.99 pbk
A treat for budding de Beauvoirs from an award-winning picture book team. The sparest of texts and most minimal of colour palettes playfully tease out some of the vastest ideas imaginable: identity, existence, thought, humanity. ‘This is a book which respects and honours the youngest of readers, believing them capable of and thirsty for philosophical thought’ said award co-organisers Letterbox Library. Schwarz’s blood red thumbprint finches will have young artists reaching for the paint pot. (Ages 3+)
Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, Abrams & Chronicle, 978-1419721373, £12.99 hbk
This was not the first, nor the last, time a book from The Questioneer picture book series, was highlighted by the Little Rebels Award: Rosie Revere was shortlisted in 2014; Sofia Valdez, Future Prez in 2020. But the ever-questioning, ever-quizzing, thrilled-by-all-things-STEM Ada Twist is the one who sailed up on to the pedestal. Pulsing rhythms are matched by pictures which busy themselves with scattered symbols and equations. ‘Ada is a true little rebel and, like the pioneering scientists she is named after (Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace), a fantastic feminist role model’ said Housmans Bookshop, award co-organisers. (Ages 4+)
The Muslims
Zanib Mian, Sweet Apple Books
The 2018 win marked a milestone in the history of the Little Rebels Award. A fantastically fresh middle grade comedy, The Muslims bounced along through the rowdy, scatty, upbeat, voice of 9-year-old Omar. In amongst the laughs were perfectly pointed swipes at Islamophobia as well as gags which imploded stereotypes about Muslim lives. The Muslims won the award and the rest is history: a series deal with Hachette UK and Penguin US and a World Book Day deal. The book may be more familiar to you as the Planet Omar series! ‘A fantastic book full of humour and eccentricity, The Muslims finds a way to explore racism and Islamophobia without allowing the characters to be defined by these things’ said judge Darren Chetty). (Age 7+)
Freedom
Catherine Johnson, Scholastic UK,
A novella from one of our most accomplished writers of middle grade historical fiction. Set in 1783, this story follows Nat as he’s removed from a Jamaican plantation and forced to accompany his mistress to the UK. What follows is an exposé of the pivotal role the UK played in enslavement and how its ‘empire’ was built on the profits of chattel slavery. ‘Johnson brings the horrific history of slavery to life in this important piece of historical fiction’ said judge Emily Drabble). (Age 8+)
Jane Porter, illus Maisie Paradise-Shearing, Walker Books, 978-1406392876, £7.99 pbk
A picture book for the very young, starring Dimitri, a boy who bubbles and brims with the need to tell everyone anywhere and always that he loves them, however startled or surprised their response. The ‘radical’ component? ‘In these challenging and divisive times, the most radical act of all is surely to love’ explains judge Shaun Dellenty. ‘The story’s sincerity, and its willingness to embrace uncertainty, make it a quietly radical book’ adds judge Darren Chetty. (Age 4+)
A.M. Dassu, Old Barn Books, 978-1910646649, £7.99 pbk
The third Little Rebels Award winner to humanise the refugee experience, this is also a remarkable debut novel. It tracks the fraught journey of teenage Sami and his family from Syria to the UK, exposing the unyielding and dehumanising bureaucracies refugees face in their flight to sanctuary. The centring of a middle class, professional and privileged family as asylum seekers, also shreds stereotypes. ‘A wonderful book with heart, passion and depth, with a very ordinary child narrating the story, it shows the reader that this could be them’ said judge Patrice Lawrence. (9+)
Proud of Me
Sarah Hagger-Holt, Usborne, 978-1474966245, £6.99 pbk
A coming-of-age adventure story told through the dual narratives of siblings, this nuanced novel slots easily into a canon of coming-out narratives. However this one is pitched, refreshingly, below the usual YA readership and it journeys outwards to draw on bigger questions about family and young people’s identity. The subtleties and overtness of institutionalised and internalised homophobia are woven in with an acute authenticity. ‘The radical core of this touching book is rooted in the way it humanises a traditionally marginalised family dynamic and platforms a family make-up that has had to resist being delegitimised at every turn’ says judge Farrah Serroukh). ‘A powerful tool of change’ adds judge Emily Haworth-Booth. (Age 9+)
The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award is run by booksellers Housmans Bookshop and Letterbox Library and is awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB). Full details of the award can be found at littlerebels.org.
