Hungry Planet: a beautiful way to think about food, abundance and responsibility

Hungry Planet: a beautiful way to think about food, abundance and responsibility

Food waste is becoming a global concern. Economists, environmentalists and human rights advocates are all on the same page: we have to stop wasting, start sharing, and get fresh food to people who need it. They’re the sort of goals everyone can get behind.

Ages 3 - Grown Ups

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Tea and Sugar Christmas: a peaceful Nullabor Christmas full of delight and excitement

Tea and Sugar Christmas: a peaceful Nullabor Christmas full of delight and excitement

ages 2 to 12 years
A perfect Australian Christmas picture book, it’s the story of Kathleen – a little girl who lives along Australia’s Nullarbor Plain – and of the Tea and Sugar Train which used to travel across the Plain each week. A charming balance to the OTT commercialism that sometimes surrounds Christmas.

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one book each—2 books that help us know and feel what it is to be a refugee

one book each—2 books that help us know and feel what it is to be a refugee

One book each (adult and child) to help us know and feel what it is to be a refugee: certain that there was no choice but to leave, yet living a life devoid of sureness. Both are beautiful to look at, both tell personal stories respectfully and without compromise.
 

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a tender and gentle look at grief and recovering joyfully

a tender and gentle look at grief and recovering joyfully

ages 2 to 12 years
Books that offer positive mechanisms for coping with grief that aren’t overly sad or far too heavy thematically for young children are thin on the ground, but this is one. And it's a rare child whose life remains untouched by grief, traumatic or simple. 

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you probably have one of these at your house

you probably have one of these at your house

ages 4 to grownup
There’s a flower child, peace loving vibe about this book! A young girl calls a family meeting basically to try to convince her parents of the need for ‘better’ jobs so that they can ‘buy a lot of nice new things’ and the story is about how she becomes convinced of the value of the life they live.

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a wonderfully rich book about loving and growing plants and people

a wonderfully rich book about loving and growing plants and people

ages 2 - 8 years. 

Tucked in and around this story about a young woman in the Great Depression are a myriad of really valuable thoughts and lessons. 

The Gardener is Lydia Grace, who is sent to live and work with her uncle in the city because her parents have no more work. 

She's worried of course, but also well aware of her own gifts and abilities. The story is told in a series of letters from Lydia Grace to her uncle in the city and then home to her family.

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