Tom Percival’s This Way Up is a beautifully uplifting picture book that I am really looking forward to buying and sharing with my class in September. I love its gentle message about resilience, self-belief, and finding your own path, and I know it will open up meaningful conversations about feelings, challenges, and perseverance. The illustrations are vibrant and expressive, and I can already picture them helping my pupils identify and talk about emotions with confidence. I can also see this book inspiring thoughtful writing activities, from personal reflections to stories about overcoming obstacles. It feels accessible, meaningful, and full of opportunities for rich learning. This is exactly the kind of book that stays with children long after reading, and I know my pupils will enjoy it just as much as I will enjoy reading it aloud again soon.

Little blobs Queetle and Meeple have a disagreement about which way is up.
Which way is up? We figure out in the end, so they do.
Adorable characters in an interesting setting.
Nice design and colours.
The morals are integrated into the story smoothly.

I read this to my 6 year old to see what he thought.
First off, we loved the characters, they were relatable in their arguments (my boy and his 10 year old brother 🤣) and the way they managed to find a way to a happy compromise and became friends.
The story flowed and was fun and enjoyable.
The vivid colours in the book added that something extra to keep his attention.
We both laughed along with the characters disagreements. It was written in a great way.

This is a fun book about learning to compromise, full of wonderful, vibrant illustrations. Books by Tom Percival seem to have a habit of appearing on my reading newsletter for school, and this one is no exception.