Difference between revisions of "Newest Children's Non-Fiction Reviews"

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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1839948493
|title=Secrets of the Apple Tree
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|title=A World of Dogs
|author=Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
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|author=Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe
|rating=4
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|rating=5
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|summary=In the interests of full disclosure, I must tell you that I'm a sucker for dogs.  In nearly eight decades, I've never met one I didn't trust and I've loved most of them.  I wish I felt the same about human beings.  So, any book about dogs, I'm going to sit down and devour.  Then I'm going to go back and read it properly.  And so it was with ''A World of Dogs'', with ninety-six pages devoted entirely to my four-legged friends.  Author Carlie Sorosiak found herself the accidental owner of an American Dingo - she's learned quite a lot about dogs since then.
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529507987
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|title=The Repair Shop Craft Book
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|author=Walker Books and Sonia Albert (Illustrator)
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=On a cold winter night, long after bedtime, what could be more inviting than curling up under the blankets with a book to read by torch light? What surprises might your torch reveal? In the case of ‘Secrets of the Apple Tree’ you may get more than you bargained for…
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|summary=I love ''The Repair Shop''.  It's my go-to programme when I want to be cheered up.  After a hard day, there's nothing better than watching experts repair treasured items without ever mentioning what they're worth.  You see, the value is in what these possessions are worth to the people who own them and the memories they hold.  No expense appears to be spared and the experts spend as much time and effort as is required to achieve the desired result.  Regular viewers know the experts and they're all brilliant at explaining what it is they're doing.  But how did they start?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400680</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=024162343X
|title=Eye Benders: The Science of Seeing and Believing
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|title=Stolen History
|author=Clive Gifford and Professor Anil Seth
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|author=Sathnam Sanghera
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=My husband doesn't usually do books, but when this arrived in the post it was a good two hours before anyone could get it out of his hands. The whole family ended up joining in and commenting on each illustration or illusion. On the surface, it just seems like some light-hearted fun, and this book certainly is fun. But in addition to being great fun, this is an incredibly educational book as well.
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|summary=I was the bad company other people got into at school.  I was disruptive in religious education classes because I disputed the existence of a 'god'. Where was the proof?  In history lessons, it was probably worse still.  Not too long after the end of WWII, I didn't so much want to learn about the British army's successes (and occasional failures, but we didn't dwell on those) in what came to be called 'the colonies' as want to dispute what right the army had to be there in the first place.  Looking back, I still believe I was right - but I regret that I lacked the maturity to approach 'the problem' politely. I wish I'd had Sathnam Sanghera's ''Stolen History''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400842</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene
|author=Tracey Kelly
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|title=Fritz and Kurt
|title=A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F Kennedy.  He was young, charismatic and a hope for the future after the old guard who seemed to have been in power for ever - and then he was goneBooks on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites [[Top Ten Books on President John F Kennedy|here]], but it's rather more difficult to find a book which puts Kennedy and what happened into context, so I was delighted to receive a copy of 'A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy'.
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|summary=We start with the pair of brothers Fritz and Kurt, and their muckers, doing things any Jewish lad in 1930s Vienna would want to do – kicking things around the empty market place, helping the neighbours, being dutiful when it comes to the synagogue choir and at a vocational school.  Kurt has to make sure the lamps are turned on at their very Orthodox neighbours' each Friday night – the Sabbath preventing them for using anything nearly as mechanical and workmanlike as a light switchBut this is the time just before the Austrian leader is going to cave to Hitler's will, and instead of having a national vote to keep the Nazis out, invite them in with open arms.  ''Kristallnacht'' happened in Vienna just as much as in Germany, as did all the round-ups of Jews.  These in their turn leave the younger Kurt at home with his mother and sisters anxious to hear word of an evacuation to Britain or the US, while Fritz and his father are, unknown initially to each other, packed off on the same train to Buchenwald and the stone quarry there.  And us wondering how the titular event for the adult variant of all this could come about…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445123576</amazonuk>
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|isbn=024156574X
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1913750353
|title=Richard Hammond's Great Mysteries of the World
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|author=Richard Hammond
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|author=Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Have you ever wondered whether or not the Loch Ness Monster actually exists? What about the Abominable Snowman? Do you think about what really goes on inside the Bermuda Triangle? Well, don't expect a definitive answer from Richard Hammond's ''Great Mysteries of the World''. You'll have to make up your own mind after being presented with the arguments. You'll need to marshal your brainpower. There are eighteen mysteries here, arranged within four topics - Weird Waters, Alien Encounters, Creepy Creatures and Ancient Treasures. All the biggies are here.
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|summary=''Britannica's Word of the Day'' has a sub-title: ''366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus'' which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book.   It starts on January 1st with ''Razzmatazz'', tells you how to pronounce it (''raz-muh-TAZ''), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used.  You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too. I don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0370332377</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0711266204
|title=Deadly Detectives: Top Tips to Track Wildlife
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|title=The Secret Life of Birds
|author=Steve Backshall
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|author=Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker (illustrator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Steve Backshall is best known for his Deadly 60 series, which focuses on deadly predators. This book has plenty of predators from all around the world, but it also includes many less dangerous creatures, including a fair amount on animals in the UK. Tracking a fox may not sound as exciting as tracking a leopard, but it something many children may find a chance to do in the UK, and Steve very helpfully shows the reader how to differentiate between a fox print and that of a dog. The book has several other footprint illustrations, teaching children subtle differences between may types of prints. It even had crab and bird prints to look for at the seaside. But this is about so much more than tracking and footprints.
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|summary=I have recently discovered a great pleasure: I sit and watch the vast numbers of birds which visit our garden on a daily basis. An hour can pass without my noticing.  I've established which species feed from the ground, which pop to the feeders for a quick snatch of some food and who settles in for a good munch but I wish I was more knowledgeable. It would have been wonderful if, as a child, I'd had access to a book such as ''The Secret Life of Birds''. So – what is it?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444006436</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0192779230
|title=Bones Rock
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|author=Peter L Larson and Kristin Donnan
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|author=Isabel Thomas
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Most children go through a dinosaur phase, but there are always a few children who are completely captivated by dinosaurs - and everything that goes with them. This is the most detailed palaeontology book for children I have ever found. This book is written for older children, even teens who may wish to seriously consider palaeontology as a career choice. The book begins, not with dinosaurs, but with science. The book explains how science works. It presents science, not as a set of facts, but of theories and ideas that are subject to change. Science becomes a living and fluid thing rather than a stuffy set facts to memorise. Reading this book, I can almost forget how much I hated science as a child.
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|summary='Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill. In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs. We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time. The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>193122935X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1800464495
|title=Alan Turing (Real Lives)
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|title= 100 Ways in 100 Days to Teach Your Baby Maths: Support All Areas of Your Baby’s Development by Nurturing a Love of Maths
|author=Jim Eldridge
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|author=Emma Smith
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Alan Turing was one of Britain's greatest thinkers of the last century. He did pioneering work on computing and artificial intelligence. He was also a hero of World War II, working in the famous code-breaking community at Bletchley Park, cracking German naval codes used to lethal effect organising U-boat attacks. Turing was the man who beat the Enigma machine.
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|summary=''Babies seem to be born with an amazing number sense: understanding shapes in the womb, being aware of quantities at seven hours old, assessing probability at six months old, and comprehending addition and subtraction at nine months old.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472900103</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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Did you know this? I didn't! How about:
|title=How the Meteorite Got to the Museum
 
|author=Jessie Hartland
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=This is a cumulative tale in which one small event sets off a chain of other events which are repeated throughout the story. If your child loves books like ''This is the House That Jack Built'', this may prove a very useful addition to you home library, but this is a type of story telling which I have found some children really take to, and others do not.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609052528</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.''
|title=Discover the Savage World
 
|author=Simon Adams, Camilla de la Bedoyere, Ian Graham, Steve Parker, Phil Steele, Clint Twist and Amanda Askew
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=The range of subjects covered in ''Discover the Savage World'' is astonishing. The first three chapters are  science related topics. The first section ''Earth's Power'' covers the birth of the universe, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters. '' Deadly Nature'' brings new meaning to the phrase ''acting like animals'', as we see the darker side of nature, from venomous creatures, deadly carnivores and a real surprise about a very common and well known bird. ''Wild Science'' has a mixed bag of topics with dangerous elements, explosions, fireworks and exactly how a bullet works, as well as the birth of a star. ''Tough Machines'' dips into technology and innovation with an incredible variety of mechanical subjects with everything from massive transport vehicles and diggers, to robots, military vehicles, ice breaking ships, rockets, and flood control systems. The focus turns to geography with ''Harsh Lands'' show a myriad of cultures and lifestyles in inhospitable locations. Life is difficult in some regions due to nature, but man made hazards like Chernobyl and land mines occur as well. Finally we close with history and  ''Brutal Battles''. This covers ancient warfare with  events such as the Battle of Marathon and the Siege of Masada right up to the Somme, the Battle Of Stalingrad with a heavy focus on snipers and the Battle of Kursk.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848109180</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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I didn't know this either! I think most parents are aware that giving your children a good start in literacy - reading stories, teaching pen grips, singing rhymes - gives children a solid foundation when they start school. But do we think the same way about maths, beyond counting? I don't think we do, in part because so many of us are afraid of maths. But why are we? Most of us use maths in daily life without realising and it follows that giving our children a similar pre-school grounding will be just as beneficial.
|title=Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space
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|author=Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1406395404
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|title=The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain
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|author=Nicola Morgan
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Teens
|summary=The first thing I noticed about this book was the illustrations. There is a strong nostalgic feel to this that makes me think of space race era film clips and early Flash Gordon comics. Perhaps it was the wonderfully fun illustrations that made me assume (incorrectly) that this would be less academic than most of the books in our space collection. I was expecting this to be a fun light read. It was certainly fun, the whole family loved this book, but it was anything but a light read. We spent three days reading this book, researching topics online after reading about them, engaging the entire family in debates on space, conducting experiments inspired by our research etc... We had to rearrange our entire school week  - and we still haven't finished - we have a number of new projects inspired by this book planned for next week as well. This book is, without any doubt one of the most educational books we have ever read, all the while not only holding the children's interest, but completely captivating them.
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|summary=2020 has been a strange year: I doubt anyone would argue with that statement. Lots of our routines have been completely dismantled and for some teenagers this will have brought about sleep problems. Some teens will dismiss this as irrelevant ('who needs sleep? - I've got loads to be doing) and others will worry unnecessarily. Most people, from children to adults will have the odd bad night but worrying about your lack of sleep is only likely to make it worse. And there's also the fact that for far too long, lack of sleep has been lauded as a virtue and sleep made to seem like laziness. Being up early, working late has been praised and the ability to survive on little sleep has almost become something to put on your CV.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909263079</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1849767343
|title=The Book Of Space: All About Stars, Planets and Rockets!
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|title=Count on Me
|author=Clive Gifford
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|author=Miguel Tanco
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=There's always a danger in putting a definitive article in the name of a children's non-fiction book titleLuckily enough this volume does go almost as far as making itself definitive, with a lot of numbers and facts, yet a delivery that makes all of those and the theories and terminology it uses all palatable to the browser, and still manages to throw in the redundant unfunny cartoons at the sideIn using an intelligent system of going through all the subjects under the broad subject of space, with none of the tables, box-outs and so on other editors choose, this proves one of the more sober, measured and successful books of its kind.
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|summary=The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journeyIt isn't: it's a hymn of praise to mathsIt's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780551398</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1849767009
|title=Ripley's Believe It or Not! 2014
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|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
|author=Robert Leroy Ripley
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|author=Rosie Haine
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I don't normally do annuals. I'm afraid too many of the silly cartoon variety put me off the genre, but this is something completely different. It seems a shame to even call it an annual. Instead I would call this an interactive encyclopaedia of the bizarre, unusual, twisted and absolutely delightful facts that challenge you to 'Believe it or not!'
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|summary=This could have been one of those books which 'preaches to the choir': the only people who'll buy it are the people who know that nudity is OK and the ones who ''know'' that it's shameful will avoid it like they avoid the hot-and-bothered person in the supermarket who is coughing fit to bust.  But... Rosie Haines makes it into something so much more than a book about not wearing clothes. It's a celebration of bodies: bodies large and small and of every possible hue. Bodies with disabilities and markings.  They're fine.  In fact, they're wonderful.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847947166</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1776572858
|title=Horrid Henry's World Records
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|title=How Do You Make a Baby?
|author=Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
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|author=Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)
|rating=4
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|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
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|genre=Home and Family
|summary=My son chose this book because he does like Horrid Henry, and he especially loves books with facts. As a parent, I have tried to supply my children with a wide choice of reading material, but I have to admit, I have leaned more towards fiction than non fiction simply because I mistakenly assumed it would be more fun. Girls do tend to prefer fiction, so I based my choices upon my own childhood reading habits. But when my sons began to beg for ''books a bout real things'', I saw the error of my ways.
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|summary=It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made.  My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about it. A couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before)  and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it ''wasn't something which nice people talked about''.  I ''knew'' more, but was little ''wiser''.  Thankfully, times have changed.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444009214</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1526362759
|title=Dork Diaries OMG: All About Me Diary!
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|title=Dosh: How to Earn It, Save It, Spend It, Grow It, Give It
|author=Rachel Renee Russell
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|author=Rashmi Sirdeshpande
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I feel a pattern forming. After three books in the [[:Category:Rachel Renee Russell|Dork Diaries series]] came a throw-away, [[Dork Diaries: How to Dork Your Diary by Rachel Renee Russell|tie-in volume]] that offered a bit of a story to it but was not full-on plot and action like the routine booksAfter six real novels comes this, where for the first time the star of the book really is not Nikki Maxwell, but whoever buys it (or gets it bought for them)This is where the franchise branches away from fiction, to cover the purchaser or fan of the series, and gives her the chance to spill about herself, her school life, and her BFFs.  I think this is where I'm supposed to go ''SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!''
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|summary=What a relief! A book about money, for children, with clear explanations of what it is, why it matters, how to acquire more of it (nope - robbing banks is out) and what you can do with it when you've managed to get hold of itYour reasons for wanting money don't matter: we all need it to some extentYou might want to go into business, be a clever shopper, a saver (you might even become an ''investor'') and there might be something you really, ''really'' want to buy.  There's also the possibility of using to do good in the world.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471117731</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
 
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|isbn=178112938X
{{newreview
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|title=Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission
|title=100 People
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|author=David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)
|author=Masayuki Sebe
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
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|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
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|summary=It's fifty years since the Apollo 13 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but the story of that journey remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time.  ''Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission'' is a brilliant retelling of what happened.
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick
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|title=Nine Ways to Empower Tweens
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=If I told you this was a book in which every double page spread features exactly 100 people, and there’s no real story to go with it, you might be underwhelmed. You might wonder what the point would be. But I can tell you in one word: fun.
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|summary=''9 Ways to Empower Tweens'' is a self-help book for tweens, setting out to show them vital #lifeskills. Don't groan! I know there is a market glut of such books for we grown-ups and for young adults too, but there is a needful space in an increasingly technological world accessible to younger and younger children for material for tweens too.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877579866</amazonuk>
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|isbn= 0228818826
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Top 10 For Boys 2014
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|isbn=1609809173
|author=Paul Terry
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|title=Eiffel's Tower for Young People
|rating=4
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|author=Jill Jonnes
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=OK, I'll admit – sometimes there comes a time when it would appear terribly easy to post a review of a book, when something so self-explanatory pops up that a description of it hardly seems necessary.  And you can judge the contents of this book similarly easily too – it takes the ''Top Ten of Everything'' format developed by the late Russell Ash, and makes it funkier, smaller, more brashly colourful, and apparently, suitable for boys.  There are unofficial, opinionated lists, and bits where kids can scribble their own content and ratings.  But despite how easy it is to get a handle on the book, I do hereby solemnly swear etc that I read almost every word, and just as I should, even no longer being a boy I learned a lot.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0600623459</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Make a Mobile: 12 Cool Designs to Press Out and Hang
 
|author=Lydia Crook
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Crafts
 
|summary=''Make a Mobile'' is a delightful crafting book crammed full of projects for parents and children to share. The book contains 12 unique designs that fit together beautifully and are surprisingly easy to make. The perforated pages allow the components of each mobile to be simply pushed out from the page without the need for nimble scissor skills.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908005807</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Space in 30 Seconds
 
|author=Clive Gifford and Dr Mike Goldsmith
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Back when I was a lad, and reading books on space science from my school library, they were nothing like this. There was little that was as colourful, no recap for every page, no homework suggestions, and certainly there was nothing as up-to-date as exoplanets or the latest dimensions of the International Space Station.  Many of the changes are valuable, and make this volume quite a success.
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|summary=Brash and elegant, sophisticated, controversial and vibrant, the 1889 World's Fair in Paris encompassed the best, the worst and the beautiful from many countries and cultures. The French Republic laid out model villages from all their colonies, put on art shows, dance performances, food festivals and concerts to stun the senses. And towering above it all, the most popular and the most hated monument to French accomplishment and daring – the Eiffel Tower.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908005734</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1848576536
|title=Myths in 30 Seconds
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|title=Humanatomy: How the Body Works
|author=Anita Ganeri
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|author=Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Back when I was a lad, and reading books on mythology from my school library, they were nothing like this.  There was no full-colour, no recaps, no homework suggestions, and certainly there was not the global PC-flavoured reach that broadened things out from Greek, Roman and the occasional bit of Norse myth.  You'll excuse me if I say why in this instance all those changes aren't completely for the better.
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|summary=''Get under your own skin, pick your brains, and go inside your insides!''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908005742</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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That's what ''Humanatomy'' invites you to do and honestly, I don't see how you could resist. This informative book provides a wonderful primer about the human body to curious children- from the skeletal system to the muscular system via circulation, respiration and digestion, right up to the DNA that makes who we are.
|title=Paper Play
 
|author=Lydia Crook
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Crafts
 
|summary=Paper Play is a virtual time machine, taking us back to an era before the PC, tablet and games console, when children had the ability to amuse themselves for hours with a few sheets of paper, some scissors and some glue. Simple papercraft skills were passed down from generation to generation, arming creative minds with a seemingly endless supply of crafting ideas, including paper dress-up dolls, flying contraptions and finger puppets.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0762449578</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Langford_Emily
|author=Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong
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|title=Emily's Numbers
|title=Craft it Up Around the World
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|author=Joss Langford
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=With long summer holidays looming ahead along with uncertain British weather it's alway a good idea to have plans about activities which will involve and interest childrenIn ''Craft it Up Around the World'' we've got thirty five suggestions for projects which will keep children entertainedAs the title suggests we're going on a world tour and you can pick the projects to suit other activities you have planned, as a reminder of a holiday or just on a random basis.
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|summary=Emily found words ''useful'', but counting was what she loved best.  Obviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos.  She knew all about odd and even numbersThen she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called ''threeven''.  (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782490388</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Buckingham_Dawn
|title=Read On - Unsolved Mysteries
+
|title=The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus
|author=Keith West
+
|author=Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
+
|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=''Collins Read On'' books are not specifically listed as a dyslexia friendly line of books. Instead, these are what is known as hi-lo books. Book developed to motivate and engage older readers, while still being accessible to readers who are reading far below grade level. I would estimate the reading level of this book to be roughly age eight, but the subject matter is apt to appeal to children much older, or even adults. Although not designed especially for children with dyslexia like the famous Barrington Stoke range, this does have several features to make this book more appropriate to children with dyslexia than the average children's book. With the exception of a few small picture captions, this is printed in black ink with a large standard font. The print is double spaced, with short paragraphs and chapters giving the reader plenty of breaks. The paper is thick enough that print and pictures from the other side will not show through. This combined with the easy to read text will help to build a child's confidence.
+
|summary=What a treat!  I really did mean to just ''glance'' at ''The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus'' but the pull of the sounds of a dozen different birds singing their hearts out was far too much to resist on a cold and rather wet February morning. I spent an indulgent hour or so reading all about the birds and listening to their song. Then - just because I could - I went back and did it all again and it was just as good the second time around. So, what do you get?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007488904</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Pankhurst_Women
|author=Dougal Dixon
+
|title=Fantastically Great Women Who Made History
|title=If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today
+
|author=Kate Pankhurst
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=The book starts with a simple question. How would we cope, how would dinosaurs cope if they had not become extinct and were around today? They're put in context, going back to the beginnings of Planet Earth four and a half billion years ago and working forward to show how life evolved and asking if the skills the dinosaurs developed would allow them to survive today. The four groups of dinosaurs - plant-eaters, meat-eaters, ocean-dwellers and flying reptiles - are then looked at in some detail.
+
|summary=A lot of history is about men. Kings and generals and inventors and politicians. Sometimes, it feels almost as though there were no women in history at all, let alone ones young girls might like to read about or regard as role models. Of course, this isn't true and there are plenty of women who, throughout history, have achieved amazing things or shown incredible bravery, or created something never seen before. So here, in this wonderful picture book from Kate Pankhurst, are the stories of some of them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848985762</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Ignotofsky_Sport
|author=Judith Kerr
+
|title=Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
|title=Judith Kerr's Creatures: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Judith Kerr
+
|author=Rachel Ignotofsky
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Autobiography
 
|summary=In children's literature there are some authors whom you know are not just reliable, but always impressive.  One of those names is [[:Category:Judith Kerr|Judith Kerr]].  For decades she's been delighting our children (and grandchildren) but it still came as something of a surprise to discover that she would be ninety in June 2013.  To celebrate this, Harper Collins have published ''Creatures'' in which Judith tells not just her own story but that of the ''creatures'' - the characters in her books and her family - who have contributed to her inspirational life.  It is, though, far more than just an autobiography with a marvellous collection of paintings, drawings and memorabilia.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007513216</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Sharky and George
 
|title=Don't You Dare
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Older readers like myself may recognise a great many of Sharky and George's ideas from our own childhood games, in the days when children's games usually did take place outdoors. Most of us will have played games like torch tag (which is enemy spotlight in this book), cops and robbers, boxes with a pen and paper, made drip sand castles, skimmed a stone or built a dam in childhood. So you might ask - why do need a book to teach us games we already know how to play? The sad fact is, most of these games are rapidly being forgotten. I rarely see children other than my own play any type of tag or hide and seek games.
+
|summary=''Women in Sport'' is coming to us just before the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February 2018. It celebrates a century and a half of the development of women's sport by looking at fifty of its highest achievers, covering sports as diverse as swimming, fencing, riding, skating, and much more. Think of a sport and a pioneering woman succeeding at it is probably in this book somewhere. Each entry is a double-page spread with a brief biography and a striking portrait.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405258292</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Rooney_Dino
|author=Davide Cali and Gabrriella Giandelli
+
|title=Discovering Dinosaurs
|title=Monsters and Legends
+
|author=Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=My sons love stories of unsolved mysteries, monsters and mythical creatures.  Like many boys, my oldest has a very strong leaning towards the non-fiction side of things. This book is for children who want to know how the legends were born, if any of the creatures could be real, and what the science behind the story is. I do feel this book is better suited to older children seeking a more rational explanation to the old stories, but my youngest did enjoy it as well. It might be useful for a child with a slight fear of monsters to get a more realistic view of them, but I would use caution with a child who is truly terrified of monsters as it might just give them more things to be afraid of.
+
|summary=Lift the flap books have progressed somewhat since I was a child. This one comes with sounds! Taking us layer by layer, through various different ages of dinosaurs, we meet a variety of creatures, some of whom are very familiar but some I'd never heard of before! Each scene peels open, layer by layer, showing you what the various dinosaurs are getting up to, with background noises, roars and squawks to accompany them! The book creates a dinosaur experience, rather than just being facts about dinosaurs it's very visual, placing the dinosaurs in their habitats and giving us sounds too that spike your imagination.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909263036</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Mason_poo
|author=Punk Science
+
|title=The Poo That Animals Do
|title=Do Try This at Home: Cook It!!
+
|author=Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=''Do Try This At Home - Cook It!!'' is a fun, very boy friendly ( but not just for boys) cookbook combining very basic recipes, science facts and a few science experiments with food. Not every recipe in this book includes science facts and in some the science bit is limited to mentioning vitamins or giving us a very simple fact like the fact a tomato is a fruit, or a water chestnut isn't really a nut. But other recipes have quite a bit of scientific information. For instance this will tell you why cooking makes an egg hard, but  makes cheese softer. Children will learn what an emulsion is, why onions make us cry, how yeast works, how to make a bouncing rubber-like egg and how to make a colour changing cabbage solution that will tell if a substance is acid or alkaline.
+
|summary=I know, I know, sometimes you really don't want to encourage your children's poo jokes, but this book is brilliant! I sat and read it by myself when the kids had gone to school and found it fascinating! Who knew there was so much I didn't know about poo? The book manages to be both funny (and silly) as well as being very interesting and educational. Using a mixture of facts and figures, photographs and funny cartoons, you come away having sniggered a little at the vulture who poos on its own feet but also knowing a lot about different types of poo, why poos smell, and why wombats do square poos.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447205537</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 13:29, 9 September 2023

1839948493.jpg

Review of

A World of Dogs by Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

In the interests of full disclosure, I must tell you that I'm a sucker for dogs. In nearly eight decades, I've never met one I didn't trust and I've loved most of them. I wish I felt the same about human beings. So, any book about dogs, I'm going to sit down and devour. Then I'm going to go back and read it properly. And so it was with A World of Dogs, with ninety-six pages devoted entirely to my four-legged friends. Author Carlie Sorosiak found herself the accidental owner of an American Dingo - she's learned quite a lot about dogs since then. Full Review

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Review of

The Repair Shop Craft Book by Walker Books and Sonia Albert (Illustrator)

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I love The Repair Shop. It's my go-to programme when I want to be cheered up. After a hard day, there's nothing better than watching experts repair treasured items without ever mentioning what they're worth. You see, the value is in what these possessions are worth to the people who own them and the memories they hold. No expense appears to be spared and the experts spend as much time and effort as is required to achieve the desired result. Regular viewers know the experts and they're all brilliant at explaining what it is they're doing. But how did they start? Full Review

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Review of

Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I was the bad company other people got into at school. I was disruptive in religious education classes because I disputed the existence of a 'god'. Where was the proof? In history lessons, it was probably worse still. Not too long after the end of WWII, I didn't so much want to learn about the British army's successes (and occasional failures, but we didn't dwell on those) in what came to be called 'the colonies' as want to dispute what right the army had to be there in the first place. Looking back, I still believe I was right - but I regret that I lacked the maturity to approach 'the problem' politely. I wish I'd had Sathnam Sanghera's Stolen History. Full Review

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Review of

Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene

4star.jpg Confident Readers

We start with the pair of brothers Fritz and Kurt, and their muckers, doing things any Jewish lad in 1930s Vienna would want to do – kicking things around the empty market place, helping the neighbours, being dutiful when it comes to the synagogue choir and at a vocational school. Kurt has to make sure the lamps are turned on at their very Orthodox neighbours' each Friday night – the Sabbath preventing them for using anything nearly as mechanical and workmanlike as a light switch. But this is the time just before the Austrian leader is going to cave to Hitler's will, and instead of having a national vote to keep the Nazis out, invite them in with open arms. Kristallnacht happened in Vienna just as much as in Germany, as did all the round-ups of Jews. These in their turn leave the younger Kurt at home with his mother and sisters anxious to hear word of an evacuation to Britain or the US, while Fritz and his father are, unknown initially to each other, packed off on the same train to Buchenwald and the stone quarry there. And us wondering how the titular event for the adult variant of all this could come about… Full Review

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Review of

Britannica's Word of the Day by Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Britannica's Word of the Day has a sub-title: 366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book. It starts on January 1st with Razzmatazz, tells you how to pronounce it (raz-muh-TAZ), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used. You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too. I don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before! Full Review

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Review of

The Secret Life of Birds by Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker (illustrator)

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I have recently discovered a great pleasure: I sit and watch the vast numbers of birds which visit our garden on a daily basis. An hour can pass without my noticing. I've established which species feed from the ground, which pop to the feeders for a quick snatch of some food and who settles in for a good munch but I wish I was more knowledgeable. It would have been wonderful if, as a child, I'd had access to a book such as The Secret Life of Birds. So – what is it? Full Review

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Review of

Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs by Isabel Thomas

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

'Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill. In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs. We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time. The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves. Full Review

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Review of

100 Ways in 100 Days to Teach Your Baby Maths: Support All Areas of Your Baby’s Development by Nurturing a Love of Maths by Emma Smith

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Babies seem to be born with an amazing number sense: understanding shapes in the womb, being aware of quantities at seven hours old, assessing probability at six months old, and comprehending addition and subtraction at nine months old.

Did you know this? I didn't! How about:

Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.

I didn't know this either! I think most parents are aware that giving your children a good start in literacy - reading stories, teaching pen grips, singing rhymes - gives children a solid foundation when they start school. But do we think the same way about maths, beyond counting? I don't think we do, in part because so many of us are afraid of maths. But why are we? Most of us use maths in daily life without realising and it follows that giving our children a similar pre-school grounding will be just as beneficial. Full Review

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Review of

The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain by Nicola Morgan

5star.jpg Teens

2020 has been a strange year: I doubt anyone would argue with that statement. Lots of our routines have been completely dismantled and for some teenagers this will have brought about sleep problems. Some teens will dismiss this as irrelevant ('who needs sleep? - I've got loads to be doing) and others will worry unnecessarily. Most people, from children to adults will have the odd bad night but worrying about your lack of sleep is only likely to make it worse. And there's also the fact that for far too long, lack of sleep has been lauded as a virtue and sleep made to seem like laziness. Being up early, working late has been praised and the ability to survive on little sleep has almost become something to put on your CV. Full Review

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Review of

Count on Me by Miguel Tanco

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journey. It isn't: it's a hymn of praise to maths. It's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life. Full Review

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Review of

It Isn't Rude to be Nude by Rosie Haine

5star.jpg For Sharing

This could have been one of those books which 'preaches to the choir': the only people who'll buy it are the people who know that nudity is OK and the ones who know that it's shameful will avoid it like they avoid the hot-and-bothered person in the supermarket who is coughing fit to bust. But... Rosie Haines makes it into something so much more than a book about not wearing clothes. It's a celebration of bodies: bodies large and small and of every possible hue. Bodies with disabilities and markings. They're fine. In fact, they're wonderful. Full Review

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Review of

How Do You Make a Baby? by Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)

5star.jpg Home and Family

It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made. My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about it. A couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before) and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it wasn't something which nice people talked about. I knew more, but was little wiser. Thankfully, times have changed. Full Review

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Review of

Dosh: How to Earn It, Save It, Spend It, Grow It, Give It by Rashmi Sirdeshpande

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

What a relief! A book about money, for children, with clear explanations of what it is, why it matters, how to acquire more of it (nope - robbing banks is out) and what you can do with it when you've managed to get hold of it. Your reasons for wanting money don't matter: we all need it to some extent. You might want to go into business, be a clever shopper, a saver (you might even become an investor) and there might be something you really, really want to buy. There's also the possibility of using to do good in the world. Full Review

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Review of

Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission by David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

It's fifty years since the Apollo 13 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but the story of that journey remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission is a brilliant retelling of what happened. Full Review

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Review of

Nine Ways to Empower Tweens by Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

9 Ways to Empower Tweens is a self-help book for tweens, setting out to show them vital #lifeskills. Don't groan! I know there is a market glut of such books for we grown-ups and for young adults too, but there is a needful space in an increasingly technological world accessible to younger and younger children for material for tweens too. Full Review

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Review of

Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Brash and elegant, sophisticated, controversial and vibrant, the 1889 World's Fair in Paris encompassed the best, the worst and the beautiful from many countries and cultures. The French Republic laid out model villages from all their colonies, put on art shows, dance performances, food festivals and concerts to stun the senses. And towering above it all, the most popular and the most hated monument to French accomplishment and daring – the Eiffel Tower. Full Review

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Review of

Humanatomy: How the Body Works by Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Get under your own skin, pick your brains, and go inside your insides!

That's what Humanatomy invites you to do and honestly, I don't see how you could resist. This informative book provides a wonderful primer about the human body to curious children- from the skeletal system to the muscular system via circulation, respiration and digestion, right up to the DNA that makes who we are. Full Review

Langford Emily.jpg

Review of

Emily's Numbers by Joss Langford

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Emily found words useful, but counting was what she loved best. Obviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos. She knew all about odd and even numbers. Then she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called threeven. (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.) Full Review

Buckingham Dawn.jpg

Review of

The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus by Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington

5star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

What a treat! I really did mean to just glance at The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus but the pull of the sounds of a dozen different birds singing their hearts out was far too much to resist on a cold and rather wet February morning. I spent an indulgent hour or so reading all about the birds and listening to their song. Then - just because I could - I went back and did it all again and it was just as good the second time around. So, what do you get? Full Review

Pankhurst Women.jpg

Review of

Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

A lot of history is about men. Kings and generals and inventors and politicians. Sometimes, it feels almost as though there were no women in history at all, let alone ones young girls might like to read about or regard as role models. Of course, this isn't true and there are plenty of women who, throughout history, have achieved amazing things or shown incredible bravery, or created something never seen before. So here, in this wonderful picture book from Kate Pankhurst, are the stories of some of them. Full Review

Ignotofsky Sport.jpg

Review of

Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win by Rachel Ignotofsky

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Women in Sport is coming to us just before the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February 2018. It celebrates a century and a half of the development of women's sport by looking at fifty of its highest achievers, covering sports as diverse as swimming, fencing, riding, skating, and much more. Think of a sport and a pioneering woman succeeding at it is probably in this book somewhere. Each entry is a double-page spread with a brief biography and a striking portrait. Full Review

Rooney Dino.jpg

Review of

Discovering Dinosaurs by Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Lift the flap books have progressed somewhat since I was a child. This one comes with sounds! Taking us layer by layer, through various different ages of dinosaurs, we meet a variety of creatures, some of whom are very familiar but some I'd never heard of before! Each scene peels open, layer by layer, showing you what the various dinosaurs are getting up to, with background noises, roars and squawks to accompany them! The book creates a dinosaur experience, rather than just being facts about dinosaurs it's very visual, placing the dinosaurs in their habitats and giving us sounds too that spike your imagination. Full Review

Mason poo.jpg

Review of

The Poo That Animals Do by Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I know, I know, sometimes you really don't want to encourage your children's poo jokes, but this book is brilliant! I sat and read it by myself when the kids had gone to school and found it fascinating! Who knew there was so much I didn't know about poo? The book manages to be both funny (and silly) as well as being very interesting and educational. Using a mixture of facts and figures, photographs and funny cartoons, you come away having sniggered a little at the vulture who poos on its own feet but also knowing a lot about different types of poo, why poos smell, and why wombats do square poos. Full Review

Move on to Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews