Is it appropriate to explore political ideas or ideology in children’s books? Are books that validate society as it is any less “political” than those that ask children to question society? This paper explores these questions through the examination of four children’s books, all aimed at the pre- teen age group, which address racism, socialism, asylum and even anarchy.

'Beyond the Secret Garden' is an accessible and generous resource for educators, offering a comprehensive exploration and contextual knowledge of how racially minoritised people have been represented in children's literature. The book is made up of short digestible chapters which focus in on fascinating provocations such as: -whose world is celebrated during World Book Day? -who counts as 'English' in nonfiction? -what do school stories tell us about society?

The Reflecting Realities research has never just been about the numbers of books starring characters of colour although quantity does, of course, matter. It has always been heavily weighted towards the quality of those characterisations. The leaps in the proportion of books with POC representation between the first and sixth report are so elevated as to be heady.