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Children's reading lists

13 wonderful children’s books by Black authors and illustrators

A selection of fiction books with empowering girl characters on a light blue background with orange squiggles and doodles

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12 books packed with girl power

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Children's quizzes

What should you be when you grow up?

You Must Be Layla

'If you want to invent something nobody has ever thought of before, you need to read the things that others don't read, look in the spaces other people are not in...' 
 
Layla believes she was right to stand up for herself against a bully, but it's landed her a suspension - not the way she (or her parents) would have wished to begin her time at her fancy new school! This is just a setback though, and she's determined to prove that she does deserve her scholarship by making new friends and setting her sights on inventing something that could win the big robotics competition. 
 
But where to begin? 
 
You Must Be Layla introduces Sudanese-born author, broadcaster, social advocate and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied as an exciting new voice in children's writing. 
 
Praise for You Must Be Layla: 
'This warm, humorous account of a larger-than-life Sudanese girl navigating a posh Australian school is an engaging read' Guardian 
'Fresh funny and empowering' BookTrust 
'A one-of-a-kind bundle of comedy and compassion' LoveReading

This is a laugh out loud story about making friends, carving your way in the world and having the confidence to do things your way. Layla is a fabulous, plucky protagonist, and her inventive attitude to surmounting hurdles is inspiring. The book is also an introduction to thinking about some of the barriers people of colour can face, illustrated by Layla's older brother Ozzie who has been applying for jobs and not even getting interviews. It offers an insight into normal Muslim family life (the Australian setting will be effortlessly accessible to UK kids) together with a brilliant glossary of terms. This story is fresh and funny and is an empowering read - especially for girls and people of colour. A really great secondary school-age novel that everyone should read!

...this warm, humorous account of a larger-than-life Sudanese girl navigating a posh Australian school is an engaging read for 12-plus.

I adored Layla's openness, her aptitude for shrugging off set-backs, taking suggestions on board and embracing change. As the You Must Be Layla title suggests, she's a one-of-a-kind heroine, and this funny, thought-provoking novel - the first children's book from inspirational Sudanese-born broadcaster, social advocate and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied - is a one-of-a-kind bundle of comedy and compassion.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied's You Must Be Layla is a tonic, and a terrific debut for 11+. Its narrator is (like its author) a Sudanese girl who has won a scholarship to a posh Australian school. Bossy, smart and brave, she has to face the students who have it in for her as the only Muslim. Underneath its buoyant humour is a timely wisdom about finding friends in an alien culture.

Sudanese-Australian activist Abdel-Magied's first novel is the sparkling tale of 13-year-old Layla, who moves to a new school, where she is the only pupil to wear a headscarf.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-born Australian writer, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate with a background in mechanical engineering. 
 
 
Yassmin founded her first organization, Youth Without Borders, at the age of sixteen, published her debut memoir, Yassmin's Story, with Penguin Random House Australia at age twenty-four, and in 2019 followed up with her first fiction book for young readers, You Must Be Layla, which she is adapting for screen. She was also selected for the 2020 Soho Theatre Writers' Lab in London, as well as for the prestigious 2021 Australia Council Keesing Studio Writers Residency in Paris. 
 
 
An advocate for the empowerment of women, youth and people of colour, Yassmin has been awarded numerous awards for her advocacy, including the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for Free Speech. Yassmin has travelled to over twenty countries speaking to governments, NGOs and multinational companies on a range of topics including unconscious bias, resilience and inclusive leadership. Her TED talk, 'What does my headscarf mean to you?', has been viewed over two million times and was chosen as one of TED's top ten ideas of 2015. Yassmin's critically acclaimed essays have been published in numerous anthologies, including the Griffith Review, the bestselling It's Not About the Burqa and New Daughters of Africa. Her words can also be found in publications like the Guardian, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The Independent and Glamour. 
 
 
Yassmin's broadcasting portfolio is diverse: she presented the national TV show Australia Wide, a podcast on becoming an F1 driver and created Hijabistas, a series looking at the modest fashion scene in Australia. Yassmin is a regular contributor to the BBC, Al Jazeera, TRT and Monocle 24, and has co-hosted The Guilty Feminist. 
 
 
Outside advocacy, she worked as an engineer on oil and gas rigs for four years and is an internationally accredited F1 journalist.

'If you want to invent something nobody has ever thought of before, you need to read the things that others don't read, look in the spaces other people are not in...' 
 
Layla believes she was right to stand up for herself against a bully, but it's landed her a suspension - not the way she (or her parents) would have wished to begin her time at her fancy new school! This is just a setback though, and she's determined to prove that she does deserve her scholarship by making new friends and setting her sights on inventing something that could win the big robotics competition. 
 
But where to begin? 
 
You Must Be Layla introduces Sudanese-born author, broadcaster, social advocate and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied as an exciting new voice in children's writing.

Listen, Layla

The hilarious follow-up title to You Must Be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied. 
 
I am Layla Kareem Abdel-Hafiz Hussein, the greatest Sudanese Australian inventor the world has ever seen. And if they don't know my name yet, they soon will. Inshallah! 
 
School's out for the summer! And Layla's going to spend it getting her inventions ready for the grand design competition. But when her grandmother falls ill and her family must rush to Sudan to be with her, Layla feels like she's being pulled in many different directions. 
Family, friends, home, inventions - there's a lot to navigate. With big protests looming in Sudan, could Layla save the day with her revolutionary ideas? 
 
 
Exploring the diaspora experience, Listen, Layla is an own voices novel for young readers bursting with passion, humour and truth. 
 
Praise for You Must Be Layla: 
'A tonic, and a terrific debut . . . underneath its buoyant humour is a timely wisdom about finding friends in an alien culture' New Statesman 
'This warm, humorous account of a larger-than-life Sudanese girl navigating a posh Australian school is an engaging read' Guardian 
'Fresh funny and empowering' BookTrust 
'A one-of-a-kind bundle of comedy and compassion' LoveReading

Praise for You Must Be Layla: A laugh out loud story about making friends, carving your way in the world and having the confidence to do things your way. Layla is a fabulous, plucky protagonist, and her inventive attitude to surmounting hurdles is inspiring. The book is also an introduction to thinking about some of the barriers people of colour can face, illustrated by Layla's older brother Ozzie who has been applying for jobs and not even getting interviews. It offers an insight into normal Muslim family life...This story is fresh and funny and is an empowering read.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: This warm, humorous account of a larger-than-life Sudanese girl navigating a posh Australian school is an engaging read for 12-plus.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: I adored Layla's openness, her aptitude for shrugging off set-backs, taking suggestions on board and embracing change. As the You Must Be Layla title suggests, she's a one-of-a-kind heroine, and this funny, thought-provoking novel - the first children's book from inspirational Sudanese-born broadcaster, social advocate and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied - is a one-of-a-kind bundle of comedy and compassion.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: Yassmin Abdel-Magied's You Must Be Layla is a tonic, and a terrific debut...Underneath its buoyant humour is a timely wisdom about finding friends in an alien culture.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: Sudanese-Australian activist Abdel-Magied's first novel is the sparkling tale of 13-year-old Layla, who moves to a new school, where she is the only pupil to wear a headscarf.

I am Layla Kareem Abdel-Hafiz Hussein, the greatest Sudanese Australian inventor the world has ever seen. And if they don't know my name yet, they soon will. Inshallah! 
 
 School's out for the summer! And Layla's going to spend it getting her inventions ready for the grand design competition. But when her grandmother falls ill and her family must rush to Sudan to be with her, Layla feels like she's being pulled in many different directions. 
Family, friends, home, inventions - there's a lot to navigate. With big protests looming in Sudan, could Layla save the day with her revolutionary ideas? 
 
 
 Exploring the diaspora experience, Listen, Layla is an own voices novel for young readers bursting with passion, humour and truth.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
You Must Be Layla, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Layla is a 13-year old Muslim girl. She has just moved to one of the best schools in Brisbane. Layla is clever and funny, and loves making things, but some of the students are not kind to her. How can Layla show that she is a good student and make friends?

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Penguin Readers Level 4: You Must Be Layla (ELT Graded Reader)

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