In many conversations with reading mediators, volunteers, teachers, and practitioners, we have been consistently asked to share a list of picturebooks that would be useful in a wide range of contexts. We have created a database that includes picturebooks trialled and used by different members of our network with great success in their respective communities. These books are rich in content, invite exploration and critical reflection, and offer generative ways of addressing a series of key themes that our communities may relate to: silence, tolerance, language barriers, gender, self-discovery, resilience. As you explore the database, you will encounter many more themes that you may decide to explore with your own group of readers.

The database includes titles in English, Arabic and Spanish because these are primarily the contexts in which we have developed our work. We hope that you will take a look at all of these titles, including those in a language other than the one you may be familiar with. The database is a common repository where you can contribute to with new titles in languages that may not be represented at the moment. If you would like to make some suggestions, do not hesitate to send us your book recommendations. You can do it by posting a blog story on how you used a particular book in the Mediators’ section, or by contacting us directly.

If you encounter a new title and wonder if the book meets the needs of your community, you may want to consult our Criteria for Selection. During the project, we have been asked for guidance on how to select rich picturebooks suitable for various contexts. If you work with a group of migrants or recently displaced children, careful selection of texts may have a great impact on the response and engagement level of your participants. The Criteria for Selection have been informed by our research, experience and feedback received from colleagues and practitioners over the course of this project. These are meant to support your decision-making process and to provide guidance on how to recognize and engage with high-quality texts.