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

From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Category:Children's Non-Fiction|*]]
 
[[Category:Children's Non-Fiction|*]]
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Children's Non-Fiction]]__NOTOC__  <!-- Remove -->
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Children's Non-Fiction]]__NOTOC__  <!-- Remove -->
 
+
<!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->
  <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->
 
 
{{Frontpage
 
{{Frontpage
 
|isbn=1526362759
 
|isbn=1526362759
Line 27: Line 26:
 
|isbn= 0228818826
 
|isbn= 0228818826
 
}}  
 
}}  
{|class-"wikitable" cellpadding="15"
 
<!-- Jonnes -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1609809173.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1609809173/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
  
 
+
{{Frontpage
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|isbn=1609809173
===[[Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes]]===
+
|title=Eiffel's Tower for Young People
 
+
|author=Jill Jonnes
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
+
|rating=5
 
+
|genre=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. [[Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes|Full Review]]
+
|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.
 
+
}}
<!-- Edwards -->
+
{{Frontpage
|-
+
|isbn=1848576536
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|title=Humanatomy: How the Body Works
[[image:1848576536.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1848576536/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
+
|author=Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank
]]
+
|rating=5
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
+
|summary=''Get under your own skin, pick your brains, and go inside your insides!''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[Humanatomy: How the Body Works by Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]
 
 
 
''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.
 
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.
[[Humanatomy: How the Body Works by Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank|Full Review]]
+
}}
<!-- Langford -->
+
{{Frontpage
|-
+
|isbn=Langford_Emily
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|title=Emily's Numbers
[[image:Langford_Emily.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999947509/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
+
|author=Joss Langford
 
+
|rating=4
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|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 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.)
===[[Emily's Numbers by Joss Langford]]===
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]]
+
|isbn=Buckingham_Dawn
 
+
|title=The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus
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 were odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occured 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.) of review [[Emily's Numbers by Joss Langford|Full Review]]
+
|author=Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington
 
+
|rating=5
<!-- Buckingham  -->
+
|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|-
+
|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?
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
}}
[[image:Buckingham_Dawn.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1908489332/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Pankhurst_Women
 
+
|title=Fantastically Great Women Who Made History
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|author=Kate Pankhurst
===[[The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus by Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington]]===
+
|rating=5
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Animals and Wildlife|Animals and Wildlife]]
+
|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.
 
+
}}
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? [[The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus by Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington|Full Review]]
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Ignotofsky_Sport
<!-- Pankhurst  -->
+
|title=Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
|-
+
|author=Rachel Ignotofsky
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|rating=5
[[image:Pankhurst_Women.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408878909/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
+
|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.
 
+
}}
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
{{Frontpage
===[[Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst]]===
+
|isbn=Rooney_Dino
 
+
|title=Discovering Dinosaurs
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
+
|author=Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter
 
+
|rating=4
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. [[Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst|Full Review]]
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
+
|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.
<!-- Ignotofsy -->
+
}}
|-
+
{{Frontpage
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|isbn=Mason_poo
[[image:Ignotofsky_Sport.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1526360926?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1526360926]]
+
|title=The Poo That Animals Do
 
+
|author=Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles
 
+
|rating=5
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
===[[Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win by Rachel Ignotofsky]]===
+
|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.
 
+
}}
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Wood_Gothic
''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 women succeeding at it is probably in this book somewhere. Each entry is a double page spread with a brief biography and a striking portrait. [[Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win by Rachel Ignotofsky|Full Review]]
+
|title=American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood
 
+
|author=Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald
<!-- Rooney  -->
+
|rating=4.5
|-
+
|genre=Art
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|summary=Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing of three oak leaves before he was properly in his teens? Who sought acclaim as an artist and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and frilly ballet dancers? The answer in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at one time, and still the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings.
[[image:Rooney_Dino.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784938750?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784938750]]
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Hill_Atlas
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|title=The Atlas of Monsters
===[[Discovering Dinosaurs by Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter]]===
+
|author=Stuart Hill and Sandra Lawrence
 
+
|rating=4
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
+
|summary=There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as trolls, leprechauns, goblins and minotaurs. They're the stuff of far too many stories to remain mysterious, and every schoolchild should know all about them. There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as Gog and Magog, Scylla and Charybdis, and the bunyip. They are what you find if you take an interest in this kind of thing to the next level; even if you cannot place them all on a map you should have come across them. But there are monsters and mysterious characters, such as the dobhar-chu, the llambigyn y dwr, and the girtablili. To gain any knowledge of them you really need a book that knows its stuff. A book like this one…
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. [[Discovering Dinosaurs by Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter|Full Review]]
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
<!-- Mason  -->
+
|isbn=Murray_Dino
|-
+
|title=Dinosaurium (Welcome to the Museum)
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|author=Lily Murray and Chris Wormell
[[image:Mason_poo.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1526303949?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1526303949]]
+
|rating=5
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
+
|summary=One of the selling points for entities like the Jurassic Park films is that they bring all the high-energy action of dinosaur life to the screen, in a way that is suitable, they would say, for children of all ages. But there is a very different way of going about things. This book does feature dinosaur-on-dinosaur combat, but only in presenting the most scientific of fossil remains. It delves into the evolutionary life of what we have long loved to enjoy and all the major scientific developments for the most inquisitive student, so the book is actually worth considering in a very different way. I would say this is ideal for ''adults'' of all ages.
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
}}
===[[The Poo That Animals Do by Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles]]===
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Tee_Gross
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
+
|title=This Cookbook is Gross
 
+
|author=Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez
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. [[The Poo That Animals Do by Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles|Full Review]]
+
|rating=4
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
<!-- Wood  -->
+
|summary=The misuse of language is a modern disease. Too many times something is described as awesome or stupendous, but were you truly awed by it? Or stupefied? People just seem to pluck words out of the ether and pretend that they are the correct ones. Are the recipes in Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez's 'This Cookbook is Gross' truly gross? For once the language is not overplayed. These recipes may taste nice, but in appearance, they are absolutely vile.
|-
+
}}
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
{{Frontpage
[[image:Wood_Gothic.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1419725335?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1419725335]]
+
|isbn=Siwa_Jojo
 
+
|title=Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life
 
+
|author=Author
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|rating=5
===[[American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood by Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald]]===
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
+
|summary=JoJo with the Bow Bow has written a Book Book! And without meaning to sound like my expectations were low, it was surprisingly good. I say this because we know JoJo as the girl from Dance Moms with the outspoken mother (well, one of the outspoken mothers) who is known for her dancing and the big bows she wears, more than for her brains. And yet this book shows us another side, a side in which she is an articulate, insightful and intelligent young woman.
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Art|Art]]
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing of three oak leaves before he was properly in his teens? Who sought acclaim as an artist and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and frilly ballet dancers? The answer in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at one time, and still the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings. [[American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood by Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald|Full Review]]
+
|isbn=Beattie_Stupendous
 
+
|title=Stupendous Science
<!-- Hill  -->
+
|author=Rob Beattie and Sam Peet
|-
+
|rating=5
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
[[image:Hill_Atlas.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783706961?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1783706961]]
+
|summary=Education should be fun. We learn best when we are engaged with practical, enjoyable tasks. That's the secret behind the experiments in Stupendous Science. They have the fun element, the 'wow factor,' and most importantly, can be easily replicated with items that are readily available in the home. Each experiment teaches an important scientific concept; essentially teaching through play.
 
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|isbn=Sarcone_Optical
===[[The Atlas of Monsters by Stuart Hill and Sandra Lawrence]]===
+
|title=Optical Illusions
 
+
|author=Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Spirituality and Religion|Spirituality and Religion]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]
+
|rating=5
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as trolls, leprechauns, goblins and minotaurs. They're the stuff of far too many stories to remain mysterious, and every schoolchild should know all about them. There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as Gog and Magog, Scylla and Charybdis, and the bunyip. They are what you find if you take an interest in this kind of thing to the next level; even if you cannot place them all on a map you should have come across them. But there are monsters and mysterious characters, such as the dobhar-chu, the llambigyn y dwr, and the girtablili. To gain any knowledge of them you really need a book that knows its stuff. A book like this one… [[The Atlas of Monsters by Stuart Hill and Sandra Lawrence|Full Review]]
+
|summary=I used to work as a library assistant and I remember arriving to work one morning to find all of my fellow librarians crowded around a book, chattering excitedly and...squinting rather oddly. The book was called ''Magic Eye'' and promised a magical 3D viewing experience if you looked at the psychedelic pictures in a certain way. For a brief period in the early 90s, the pictures had a sudden spike in popularity, until everyone presumably got eye strain and went back to their everyday lives. Well, good news Magic Eye fans! The pictures are back (albeit only two images), in the engrossing and immersive new book ''Optical Illusions.''
 
+
}}
<!-- Murray -->
+
{{Frontpage
|-
+
|isbn=Chou_Make
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|title=Make and Play: Nativity
[[image:Murray_Dino.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783707925?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1783707925]]
+
|author=Joey Chou
 
+
|rating=5
 
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|summary=I always feel a slight disappointment for children at Christmas when they're presented with a tree to decorate with a box of ornaments and a nativity scene (sometimes quite precious, so it's Not To Be Played With) which is set up Somewhere Safe. Where's the imagination, the creativity, the sense of pride in that? How much better to have a child create their own nativity scene, which they can then play with? That's exactly what they get with Joey Chou's ''Make and Play Nativity''.
===[[Dinosaurium (Welcome to the Museum) by Lily Murray and Chris Wormell]]===
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]][[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
+
|isbn=Parker_50
 
+
|title=50 Things You Should Know About the Vikings
One of the selling points for entities like the Jurassic Park films is that they bring all the high-energy action of dinosaur life to the screen, in a way that is suitable, they would say, for children of all ages. But there is a very different way of going about things. This book does feature dinosaur-on-dinosaur combat, but only in presenting the most scientific of fossil remains. It delves into the evolutionary life of what we have long loved to enjoy and all the major scientific developments for the most inquisitive student, so the book is actually worth considering in a very different way. I would say this is ideal for ''adults'' of all ages. [[Dinosaurium (Welcome to the Museum) by Lily Murray and Chris Wormell|Full Review]]
+
|author=Philip Parker
 
+
|rating=4.5
<!-- Tee  -->
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|-
+
|summary=The Vikings have got a lot to own up to. A huge DNA study in 2014 was the first thing that proved to the Orkney residents that they had Viking blood in their veins – they had been insisting it was that of the Irish. The Vikings it was that forced our English king's army to march from London to Yorkshire to kill off one invasion, only to spend the next fortnight schlepping back to Hastings to try and fend off another – and the Normans had the same Norse origin as the first lot, hence the name. There is a Thames Valley village just outside Henley – ie pretty damned far from the coast – that has a Viking longship on its signpost. Yes, they got to a lot of places, from Greenland to Kiev, from Murmansk to Turkey and the Med, and their misaligned history is well worth visiting – particularly on these pages.
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
}}
[[image:Tee_Gross.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784938289?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784938289]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[This Cookbook is Gross by Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Cookery|Cookery]]
 
 
 
The misuse of language is a modern disease. Too many times something is described as awesome or stupendous, but were you truly awed by it? Or stupefied? People just seem to pluck words out of the ether and pretend that they are the correct ones. Are the recipes in Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez's 'This Cookbook is Gross' truly gross? For once the language is not overplayed. These recipes may taste nice, but in appearance they are absolutely vile. [[This Cookbook is Gross by Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Siwa  -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Siwa_Jojo.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1419728172?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1419728172]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life by Jojo Siwa]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
 
 
 
JoJo with the Bow Bow has written a Book Book! And without meaning to sound like my expectations were low, it was surprisingly good. I say this because we know JoJo as the girl from Dance Moms with the outspoken mother (well, one of the outspoken mothers) who is known for her dancing and the big bows she wears, more than for her brains. And yet this book shows us another side, a side in which she is an articulate, insightful and intelligent young woman. [[Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life by Jojo Siwa|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Beattie  -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Beattie_Stupendous.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784938467?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784938467]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Stupendous Science by Rob Beattie and Sam Peet]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
 
 
 
Education should be fun. We learn best when we are engaged with practical, enjoyable tasks. That's the secret behind the experiments in Stupendous Science. They have the fun element, the 'wow factor,' and most importantly, can be easily replicated with items that are readily available in the home. Each experiment teaches an important scientific concept; essentially teaching through play. [[Stupendous Science by Rob Beattie and Sam Peet|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Sarcone  -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Sarcone_Optical.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784938475?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784938475]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Optical Illusions by Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]
 
 
 
I used to work as a library assistant and I remember arriving to work one morning to find all of my fellow librarians crowded around a book, chattering excitedly and...squinting rather oddly. The book was called ''Magic Eye'' and promised a magical 3D viewing experience if you looked at the psychadelic pictures in a certain way. For a brief period in the early 90s, the pictures had a sudden spike in popularity, until everyone presumably got eye strain and went back to their everyday lives. Well good news Magic Eye fans! The pictures are back (albeit only two images), in the engrossing and immersive new book ''Optical Illusions.'' [[Optical Illusions by Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Chou  -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Chou_Make.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1788000064?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1788000064]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Make and Play: Nativity by Joey Chou]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]]
 
 
 
I always feel a slight disappointment for children at Christmas when they're presented with a tree to decorate with a box of ornaments and a nativity scene (sometimes quite precious, so it's Not To Be Played With) which is set up Somewhere Safe.  Where's the imagination, the creativity, the sense of pride in that?  How much better to have a child create their own nativity scene, which they can then play with?  That's exactly what they get with Joey Chou's ''Make and Play Nativity''. [[Make and Play: Nativity by Joey Chou|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Parker  -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Parker_50.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784937908?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784937908]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[50 Things You Should Know About the Vikings by Philip Parker]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:History|History]]
 
 
 
The Vikings have got a lot to own up to. A huge DNA study in 2014 was the first thing that proved to the Orkney residents that they had Viking blood in their veins – they had been insisting it was that of the Irish. The Vikings it was that forced our English king's army to march from London to Yorkshire to kill off one invasion, only to spend the next fortnight schlepping back to Hastings to try and fend off another – and the Normans had the same Norse origin as the first lot, hence the name. There is a Thames Valley village just outside Henley – ie pretty damned far from the coast – that has a Viking longship on its signpost. Yes, they got to a lot of places, from Greenland to Kiev, from Murmansk to Turkey and the Med, and their misaligned history is well worth visiting – particularly on these pages. [[50 Things You Should Know About the Vikings by Philip Parker|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->
 
|}
 

Revision as of 12:23, 19 August 2020

1526362759.jpg

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

178112938X.jpg

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

0228818826.jpg

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

1609809173.jpg

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

1848576536.jpg

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

Wood Gothic.jpg

Review of

American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood by Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald

4.5star.jpg Art

Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing of three oak leaves before he was properly in his teens? Who sought acclaim as an artist and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and frilly ballet dancers? The answer in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at one time, and still the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings. Full Review

Hill Atlas.jpg

Review of

The Atlas of Monsters by Stuart Hill and Sandra Lawrence

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as trolls, leprechauns, goblins and minotaurs. They're the stuff of far too many stories to remain mysterious, and every schoolchild should know all about them. There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as Gog and Magog, Scylla and Charybdis, and the bunyip. They are what you find if you take an interest in this kind of thing to the next level; even if you cannot place them all on a map you should have come across them. But there are monsters and mysterious characters, such as the dobhar-chu, the llambigyn y dwr, and the girtablili. To gain any knowledge of them you really need a book that knows its stuff. A book like this one… Full Review

Murray Dino.jpg

Review of

Dinosaurium (Welcome to the Museum) by Lily Murray and Chris Wormell

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

One of the selling points for entities like the Jurassic Park films is that they bring all the high-energy action of dinosaur life to the screen, in a way that is suitable, they would say, for children of all ages. But there is a very different way of going about things. This book does feature dinosaur-on-dinosaur combat, but only in presenting the most scientific of fossil remains. It delves into the evolutionary life of what we have long loved to enjoy and all the major scientific developments for the most inquisitive student, so the book is actually worth considering in a very different way. I would say this is ideal for adults of all ages. Full Review

Tee Gross.jpg

Review of

This Cookbook is Gross by Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

The misuse of language is a modern disease. Too many times something is described as awesome or stupendous, but were you truly awed by it? Or stupefied? People just seem to pluck words out of the ether and pretend that they are the correct ones. Are the recipes in Susanna Tee and Santy Gutierrez's 'This Cookbook is Gross' truly gross? For once the language is not overplayed. These recipes may taste nice, but in appearance, they are absolutely vile. Full Review

Siwa Jojo.jpg

Review of

Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life by Author

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

JoJo with the Bow Bow has written a Book Book! And without meaning to sound like my expectations were low, it was surprisingly good. I say this because we know JoJo as the girl from Dance Moms with the outspoken mother (well, one of the outspoken mothers) who is known for her dancing and the big bows she wears, more than for her brains. And yet this book shows us another side, a side in which she is an articulate, insightful and intelligent young woman. Full Review

Beattie Stupendous.jpg

Review of

Stupendous Science by Rob Beattie and Sam Peet

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Education should be fun. We learn best when we are engaged with practical, enjoyable tasks. That's the secret behind the experiments in Stupendous Science. They have the fun element, the 'wow factor,' and most importantly, can be easily replicated with items that are readily available in the home. Each experiment teaches an important scientific concept; essentially teaching through play. Full Review

Sarcone Optical.jpg

Review of

Optical Illusions by Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I used to work as a library assistant and I remember arriving to work one morning to find all of my fellow librarians crowded around a book, chattering excitedly and...squinting rather oddly. The book was called Magic Eye and promised a magical 3D viewing experience if you looked at the psychedelic pictures in a certain way. For a brief period in the early 90s, the pictures had a sudden spike in popularity, until everyone presumably got eye strain and went back to their everyday lives. Well, good news Magic Eye fans! The pictures are back (albeit only two images), in the engrossing and immersive new book Optical Illusions. Full Review

Chou Make.jpg

Review of

Make and Play: Nativity by Joey Chou

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I always feel a slight disappointment for children at Christmas when they're presented with a tree to decorate with a box of ornaments and a nativity scene (sometimes quite precious, so it's Not To Be Played With) which is set up Somewhere Safe. Where's the imagination, the creativity, the sense of pride in that? How much better to have a child create their own nativity scene, which they can then play with? That's exactly what they get with Joey Chou's Make and Play Nativity. Full Review

Parker 50.jpg

Review of

50 Things You Should Know About the Vikings by Philip Parker

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

The Vikings have got a lot to own up to. A huge DNA study in 2014 was the first thing that proved to the Orkney residents that they had Viking blood in their veins – they had been insisting it was that of the Irish. The Vikings it was that forced our English king's army to march from London to Yorkshire to kill off one invasion, only to spend the next fortnight schlepping back to Hastings to try and fend off another – and the Normans had the same Norse origin as the first lot, hence the name. There is a Thames Valley village just outside Henley – ie pretty damned far from the coast – that has a Viking longship on its signpost. Yes, they got to a lot of places, from Greenland to Kiev, from Murmansk to Turkey and the Med, and their misaligned history is well worth visiting – particularly on these pages. Full Review