Shelagh McNicholas – illustratör

Jessy loves going shopping -- but her family isn't so keen because Jessy always tries to run away. You see, Jessy has Down's Syndrome, and she can't take care of herself. One shopping trip, Jessy's game of hide and seek turns into something more frightening!

Jessy feels left out when her sister brings a friend home to tea. Worse still, the friend isn't used to people who have Down's Syndrome, like Jessy. A friend of her own is what Jessy wants, and one turns up in an unlikely place. `

From ballet class to rehearsal for the big show to the final curtsies—budding ballet stars show emergent readers each step and pirouette along the way! This Step 1 reader has big type and easy words, rhyme and rhythm. It's a natural for young readers who are learning ballet or aspire to take ballet classes.

From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boy's clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.