Manchester City Council and Read Manchester are pleased to announce this year’s transition read to support children starting school reception classes in September.  

Moving up to school is a big step for children, and the idea behind the transition read is to support and encourage families to chat and spend time together. Shane Hegarty and Ben Mantle’s brilliant book, The One and Only You does just that!  The beautifully detailed illustrations of scenes which will be familiar to children and families will encourage families to talk about the pictures as well as enjoying the story. This picture book celebrates individuality and the uniqueness of each and every one of us. 

Children starting reception in a Manchester Local Authority primary school in September 2025 will be gifted their free copy of The One and Only You during their transition day visits in the summer term.  Registered childminders, nurseries and SureStart Children’s Centres in the city have also been sent a copy so that they can share the story in their settings. 

A ‘Take 10 Minutes Everyday’ leaflet has been produced to support the programme, with top tips for families about sharing stories. These are available to download in English and nine other community languages – Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, French, Kurdish, Oromo, Polish, Romanian and Urdu. 

The One and Only You is written by Shane Hegarty and illustrated by Ben Mantle. It is available to borrow from Manchester Libraries. 

Thanks to publishers, Hachette for their generous support once again this year. 

Where to find more information 

Getting ready for school 

You might like to look at another leaflet, Starting-Reception  This will be given to children alongside the book and the ‘Take 10 Minutes Everyday’ leaflet.  This leaflet is brimming with practical tips and things you can do together at home. 

Resources in community languages 

The National Literacy Trust’s Words for Life website is filled with fun, free activities and resources to improve children’s speech, language and communication skills. Lots of the resources are available in additional languages too. The walk and talk trail is a great place to start. Visit: Words for Life – Walk and Talk Trail 

Join the Summer Reading Challenge in Libraries 

The Summer Reading Challenge is a great way to get into a regular reading habit.  Visit your local library to join this summer’s challenge to read 6 books during the school holidays. The Challenge runs from 1 July – 13 September and it’s free to take part and borrow books.  Find out more information about the Summer Reading Challenge on our website Summer Reading Challenge