Mission Possible
There are so many brilliant, amazing books on the market at the moment, especially for children! They have lots of bright colours, intriguing titles and a tag-line that makes readers want to dive straight in! But there is something essential missing. Children can’t see themselves reflected in all of the books they read. A CLPE survey from 2021 shows that only 7% of the children’s books published in the UK over the last 3 years feature characters of colour, and that ethnic backgrounds are significantly underrepresented in children’s literature. This is where we come in.
Tiny Owl are a small, independent publisher with a big mission; helping children feel seen and represented in the books that they read! Our energy and passion stems from our belief that stories act as bridges – providing pathways to new experiences whilst connecting us to the world around us. Tiny Owl’s books are diverse and inclusive – all children can see themselves in our books and relate to our characters! Our picture books are packed with stunning illustrations with timely, important messages that children need – these messages can be truly life-changing.
We have worked with many teachers and librarians across the country to create fantastic resources to open discussions with children about our diverse books and their important messages.
Our teacher resource packs are full of brilliant ideas to assist teachers in the teaching space. With the help of children’s literature experts and teachers, these packs make a great addition to any primary school classroom. With lesson plans ranging from English, Science, History and Art, these resources cover everything teachers need for an in-depth series of lessons on our gorgeous picture books! We currently have four existing teacher resource packs (and more in the works!) that are totally free for teachers to download and print. We also produce activity packs, locating the main themes from each of our books and creating fun activities from them! We have these for almost every one of our picture books, and they can be found on the books main page on our website.
There are four books in particular that have accompanying posters, activity packs and teacher resources that we’d like to highlight. We All Celebrate! is part of Tiny Owl’s non-fiction series, and introduces children to some less familiar celebrations from around the world! Our celebrations are full of colour, specially prepared food and good cheer. KS1 and KS2 students in particular will enjoy our free accompanying activity pack and teacher resources, with instructions for making lunar new year lanterns and lots more, which you can download on our website!
Human Town is a tale about pollution, consumerism and the importance of environment. This metaphoric story subtly introduces children to issues of animal conservation and extinction, and open opportunities for discussion and reflection on the importance of the natural world. KS1 and KS2 children will love delving into the book with our accompanying resources which are focused on elephants and other amazing wild animals that appear in the book!
The Phoenix of Persia is a legend from ancient Persia, which includes an original Iranian musical composition to stream online using a QR code in the book! With echoes of Snow White and Firebird folklore, this mythical tale of family, forgiveness and wisdom will enchant little readers. You can download a plethora of resources for this book on our website, including the soundtrack, poster, activity pack, teacher resources, educational resource events and programme of nationwide events!
Cinderella of the Nile is an Egyptian version of Cinderella is lovingly retold by the award-winning author Beverley Naidoo with vibrant and intricate illustrations by Marjan Vafaeian. This is first in Tiny Owl’s ‘One Story, Many Voices’ series, exploring well-known fairy tales told from different perspectives from all over the world! KS1 and KS2 children will love our activity pack, including making stick puppets and scrolls, and our intricate teacher resources which delve into fairytales!
As well as resources specifically for the classroom, we post regular read alongs of our books on our YouTube channel for children to follow along to at school or at home! These are sometimes read by us, but other times read by their authors, or teachers or librarians! We have a great relationship with teachers around the country and are always thrilled to receive a request to have our books read aloud. From bouncy Ethiopian folk-talk Gloria’s Porridge to poignant Stop the Clock, we have hours of free content.
You can keep up to date with Tiny Owl by following us on our social media:
Website – tinyowl.co.uk
Twitter – @tinyowl_books
Instagram – tiny_owl_publishing
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJkMec_cxEVzTf2iUGvk2Pg
