Prince Henry- Olly Pike (Pop@n@Olly)

I have started using this in Year 2 and 3 in my own school because it's a great story which demonstrates two men can get married without any reaction from those around. However there is so much more to the story, which also presents an opportunity to discuss whether laws that are unfair should be changed, and shows a character choosing not to get married after all.

Olly Pike is engaging and fun to watch and my class loved this. There are some great resources on www.popnolly.com and I highly recommend taking a look.

Prince Henry is available in book form here

And Tango Makes Three- Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

"And Tango Makes Three" is a wonderful book to teach children about different families. Roy and Silo are two male penguins who are in love and when the zoo keeper sees the couple copy the nest making behaviour exhibited by the other couples in the Penguin house, he gives them an egg.

Tango becomes the first baby penguin in the zoo to have two daddies. This is a true story and you can see Roy, Silo and Tango if you visit New York City Zoo.

This was one of the first books I used that explored same sex relationships and different families and was part of the No Outsiders book list back in 2006. I am overjoyed to see it being re-published in 2015.

See lesson plans for this book in
"Emotional Health and well being: 100+ lesson plans for the primary classroom" by Andrew Moffat (Speechmark 2012)
and
"No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the equality act in primary schools" (Speechmark 2015)

Frog Is Frog - Max Velthuijs

Frog finds lots of things he can't do; he can't fly like Duck, bake cakes like Pig or read books like Hare. Frog feels useless; "I'm just an ordinary green frog," he sobs.

Hare helps Frog to be proud of who and what he is and by the end of the story, Frog understands the world is full of different animals with different skills. He feels lucky to be Frog.

I use this book to explore difference and promote an acceptance of who we are. There are some things I can't do but at the same time there are some things I am good at. We want children to like the person they are and this story is a great way to reinforce that.

This is our house- Michael Rosen

Perfect for introducing work on equalities in a Primary school and setting out the ethos where there are no outsiders in our school. George refuses to let children join his game and demonstrates discrimination by using their characteristics as the reason; twins, people who wear glasses and people who like tunnels are all denied entry in to his house. By the end of the story George realises that his house is for everyone!

Also great for assemblies. I cannot recommend this book enough.

"This is our house" is included in the book list for "No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the Equality Act in primary Schools" by Andrew Moffat, available soon from Speechmark.