A social and emotional learning collection for early childhood, twelve books in all (two copies each of six titles), by best-selling Australian author Zanni Louise, published by Affirm Press. Designed to spark real conversations between children and the adults in their lives about the things that matter most.

The books are modelled on a survival-guidebook style, but instead of showing children how to build a fire, they explore how to be a good human. Each title speaks directly to children in a warm, funny, conversational voice, which is what makes them work equally well for a whole-group read-aloud or for a child to return to on their own in the book corner.

The six titles, one per theme:

• Fairness
• Integrity
• Friendship
• Compassion
• Confidence
• Inclusion

The themes deliberately cross over and connect, so children build a joined-up picture of how these ideas show up in everyday life, in play, in friendships, and in a group.

How educators use it: the two-copies-per-title format means you can run a title with a small group while another is being read elsewhere, or build a term-long focus on social and emotional learning with a different theme each fortnight. The conversations the books prompt give you natural observations to record against children's wellbeing and identity.

Aligned to EYLF Outcome 3: children have a strong sense of wellbeing. For children aged 3 to 6.

Illustrated by Kim Drane, Jingting Wang and Maja Veselinovic. Sits alongside Zanni Louise's companion series for older readers, Human-Kind.

Twelve books for $36, just $3 a book.

As Zanni Louise put it in an interview with Kids' Book Review, the series is about learning how to be a better human. [Read the full interview →] (link to the KBR page)

A few common questions

What's included?

Twelve paperback books, two copies each of six titles: Fairness, Integrity, Friendship, Compassion, Confidence and Inclusion. 24 pages each.

What ages is it for?

Children aged 3 to 6, ideal for preschool, kindergarten and the early years of school.

What does it support?

Social and emotional learning, and EYLF Outcome 3 (children have a strong sense of wellbeing).

Do these work as gifts?

Yes. With two copies of each title, it's easy to give a book to every child in a group, which suits graduation and end-of-year gifting, Book Week, and services that give each child a book a month.

Who wrote it?

Best-selling Australian author Zanni Louise, published by Affirm Press.

How much per book?

The pack is $36 for twelve books, which works out to $3 a book.

From an interview with Zanni Louise in the Kids Book Review:

Q. Juxtaposing this series with the ten books in the Human Kind series, how do they differ, or are they linked?
I would say Handbooks for Little Humans sits nicely beside Human-Kind. Both series set out to interrogate and make relevant important themes for kids. Handbooks for Little Humans does so in a more fun, direct way, by speaking directly to kids. The illustration and design style is quite different in Handbooks, as they’re modelled on a survival guidebook style. Rather than telling you how to build a fire, though, you’re learning how to be a better human.