The BEST 23 diverse children’s picture books staring BAME Boys

If you’ve ever tried to find diverse children’s books with BAME (black, asian or minority ethnic) characters, you’ll know that they are as rare as a Disney princess who can’t sing.

And as for picture books with a BAME boy as a main character? They are even harder to find.

Yet right here is where I’ve got the good news…

While there aren’t nearly as many as there should be, there are already some fabulous diverse children’s picture books out there staring BAME boys as main characters, and I’ve got the creme de la creme all lined up to share with you. So read on to find out all about them…

Pile of 23 picture books that star a BAME boy as the main character. — Our favourite picture books featuring BAME boy main characters.

Campfire Bread on a Stick Recipe

A Forest School activity you can do anywhere

Cooking bread on a stick over a campfire is a great Forest School activity that’s suitable for almost any age. The recipe is both super-simple and versatile, catering for vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free diets, while also allowing lots of scope to adapt and add ingredients for a more decadent treat.

Call it Damper bread, Bannock bread, or just plain bread twists, you can cook this over a campfire or barbeque in minutes, and it makes a fantastic (and slightly healthier) alternative to toasting marshmallows with kids.

damper bread cooking on sticks over a large fire pit

Painting Pumpkins – a fantastic Halloween activity for kids

Painting pumpkins for Halloween is a simple and fun alternative to carving pumpkins that allows even the smallest children get in on the fun.

Want to get little ones involved in decorating for Halloween, but not ready to let them loose with a knife? This activity is the perfect solution.

Painting pumpkins is so simple that even very, very young children can do it, it also only requires stuff that (apart from the pumpkin) you are bound to already have at home.

And the kids LOVE it!

pumpkin painting forest school activity for children

Halloween forest school – how to have spooky fun with nature

Forget the plastic, and have some spooky fun in the woods with a Halloween forest school session.

Over the years I’ve built up a whole assortment of frightfully good nature activities to do with children in October.

Here are thirteen of my favourite tried-and-tested Halloween activities for nature play.

Pumpkin Hammering

Pumpkin hammering – or rather, hammering golf tees into pumpkins – is a fabulously easy and fun activity that children love. It is perfect for the autumn season, and, come Halloween, it’s a favourite activity at my forest school sessions.

And don’t let the simplicity of the activity fool you. Not only do kids LOVE it, but there are also lots of developmental and educational benefits. And there are some great extension activities you can do as well.

Read on to find out what you need to get started, and why pumpkin hammering is a must-do activity for us!

Pumkins covered in golf tees that have been hammered in.

How to Make a Glow-worm Lantern

Glow-worms and fireflies have to be among the most magical creatures around. Living creatures that glow; is there anything stranger or more wonderful?

When we discovered there is a native British (or rather, European) glow-worm, we were inspired to make a lantern version, that shines just like the real thing.

Quick and easy to do, they are a great way to inspire children to learn about real glow-worms and the magic of bioluminescence. Read on to find out how to make them!

The Fascinating World of the Great British Glow-worm

**(or Lampyris noctiluca to their friends)**

Finding out there is a British glow-worm inspired the kids and me to make fabulous lantern versions of our own. But we also wanted to find out more about these fascinating insects. What we found out was so interesting, we had to share.

Read on to discover all about the glow-worm, or head over to our glow-worm lantern instructions to find out how we made them.

British glow-worm lit up among grass stems — **Lampyris noctiluca** (or Common Glow-worm)
*(Image source)*

How To Make Your Own Clay Star Christmas Ornaments

These DIY clay star ornaments were a simple to make, and are the perfect Christmas decoration. It’s a family tradition to create something new each year, and as these are so easy, this project is a great one to do with the kids in the lead up to the festive season.

Want to make some too? Read on to find out how.

Make your own clay star ornaments for Christmas decorations

How to Make Tutankhamun’s Mask

Think of ancient Egypt, and there’s an image that immediately comes to mind – King Tutankhamun’s mask. So when number one son was set a homework project to make something Egyptian, there was only one thing he wanted to do. And this was even after I’d told him about crocodile mummies.

We wanted to make a mask as much like the real King Tut’s as possible, and with a little bit of work and quite a lot of mess, we made a fantastic (and even wearable!) facsimile.

Our DIY Tutankhamun’s mask was a lot of fun to do, and was actually pretty easy. Read on to find out how we made it.

How to make pumpkin animals

Last Halloween I had the challenge of putting together a pumpkin trail for small children. This meant carving pumpkins that were friendly rather than frightening, and more gorgeous than gruesome. And so what could be more perfect for little ones than a Pumpkin Animals trail?

wool/yarn wrapped DIY twig letters for an animal pumpkin walk — We strung our wool/yarn-wrapped twig letters together to make a sign for our local pumpkin walk at Halloween.

Want some inspiration and ideas for your own unscary pumpkins? Read on to see what I made!

How to make hedgehog pumpkins!

These hedgehog pumpkins are are perfect non-scary halloween decorations for little children. What’s more, even tiny tots can get involved in making them.

Want to see how? Read on to find out!