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

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[[Category:Children's Non-Fiction|*]]
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Deborah Patterson
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|isbn=1839948493
|title=My Book of Stories: Write Your Own Fairy Tales
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|title=A World of Dogs
 +
|author=Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe
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|rating=5
 +
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 +
|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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}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1529507987
 +
|title=The Repair Shop Craft Book
 +
|author=Walker Books and Sonia Albert (Illustrator)
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Pity the child these days who never reads fairy tales.  The irony in that, however, is that they may well be too busy watching ''Frozen'' on repeat to read fairy talesBut read them they should, in some form or another, and of one era or anotherThey don't all have to go back to the oldest collections, especially as they will like as not be more gory than what, say, Disney or Ladybird Books put out in our youthThey can read a fairy tale from any age, then – and when they're done, they can easily turn to this book, which provides more than enough impetus for you to write your ownFairy tales do, as it happens, have the ability to last for centuries – but there's nothing quite like giving them a little tweak to get them up-to-date…
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|summary=I love ''The Repair Shop''.  It's my go-to programme when I want to be cheered upAfter 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 holdNo expense appears to be spared and the experts spend as much time and effort as is required to achieve the desired resultRegular viewers know the experts and they're all brilliant at explaining what it is they're doingBut how did they start?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0712356428</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Harriet Russell
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|isbn=024162343X
|title= This Book Thinks You're a Scientist
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|title=Stolen History
|rating= 5
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|author=Sathnam Sanghera
|genre= Children's Non-Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary= ''This Book Thinks You're a Scientist'' takes children through a whole world of scientific areas: forces and motions, light, matter, sound, electricity and magnetism.  It encourages children to look, ask questions and a have a go.  This science-based activity book, published in association with the Science Museum, will stimulate and inspire young minds.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0500650810</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Deborah Patterson
 
|title=My Book of Stories: Write Your Own Myths
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I don't know about you, but as a young child I was always looking ahead, not backwardsMusically, I could bear a few of my older brother's records, but wanted to know what was released next week, never what was in the charts of my parent's era. I think the same would have been said about my reading, and my interests – although that's only to a certain extent.  I don't think I'd have thanked you for pointing to my dinosaur books, right next to my space and science fiction shelves, and I think I'd have preferred you to see the latest novel, rather than those books of myths I also enjoyed.  Myths?  They're, like, old.  But they don't need much embellishment to be seen as great funThe next step, however, to see them as something you yourself could write, well – that's a bit greaterBut it's one taken by this book, nevertheless.
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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 stillNot 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 placeLooking back, I still believe I was right - but I regret that I lacked the maturity to approach 'the problem' politelyI wish I'd had Sathnam Sanghera's ''Stolen History''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0712356436</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Camilla Hallinan
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|author=Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene
|title=The Ultimate Peter Rabbit: A Visual Guide to the World of Beatrix Potter
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|title=Fritz and Kurt
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=I had a deprived childhood: I never knew Peter RabbitHe'd have been at about his half century by the time I could have been reading him, but books at home didn't go beyond Enid BlytonPeter was drawing his old age pension by the time that I discovered him when my daughter fell in love with him and - in her turn - read them to her own children thirty years laterHe's well past his century now and still delighting children of all ages: he's accessible and relatable and I can't recollect ever meeting a child who didn't have a soft spot for him.
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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 schoolKurt 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 JewsThese 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>0241289653</amazonuk>
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|isbn=024156574X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=DK
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|isbn=1913750353
|title=My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|rating=4
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|author=Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary= Depending on the curiosity level of your child, you may start to hate the word why.  Why is the sky blue?  Why do some elephants have bigger ears than others?  Why, why, why, why!  I can suggest to most parents that they make something up that sounds vaguely intelligent. The problem is that kids are canny little thingsSo, rather than trying to download the entirety of the internet into your head, get your child their own first encyclopaedia, something like ''My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things''.
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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 tooI don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241224934</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Mariadiamantes
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|isbn=0711266204
|title=Little People, Big Dreams: Amelia Earhart
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|title=The Secret Life of Birds
|rating=3.5
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|author=Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker (illustrator)
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Amelia Earhart was born just before the end of the nineteenth century but she would become the most famous female pilot of the twentieth, having first become interested in planes when she went to an airshow when she was just nineteen.  Shortly afterwards a pilot gave her a ride in a biplane and from that moment on she knew that she had to flyThere had been precursors to this obsession though: when she was a little girl she like to imagine that she could stretch her wings and fly like a bird.
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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 knowledgeableIt 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>1847808859</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Helen Bate
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|isbn=0192779230
|title=Peter in Peril
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|rating=3.5
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|author=Isabel Thomas
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Meet PeterHe hasn't got a brilliant life, by modern standards – always getting into trouble, and playing some form of football with coat buttons, but with a loving nanny and parentsThe trouble is that he is living in Budapest, and while Peter understands nothing about the outside world's problems as yet, he is about to see what happens when the Nazis take controlAnd, in these graphic novel-styled pages, so are we…
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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 illIn 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 germsWe get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over timeThe 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>191095957X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Raman Prinja
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|isbn=1800464495
|title=50 Things You Should Know About Space
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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
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Emma Smith
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Space is a cold and desolate place, but learning about it does not need to be.  Nothing else quite captures the immensity that is Space – all the stars and planets out there that could contain alien life.  How can you capture this majesty and put it onto a page so that you inspire the youth of today to be the astronauts and astronomers of tomorrow?  A series of dry fact is perhaps not the best option, unless they happen to be a very specific type of child.
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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>1784934720</amazonuk>
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}}
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Did you know this? I didn't! How about:
{{newreview
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|author= Clive Gifford
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''Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.''
|title=This is Not a Science Book: A Smart Art Activity Book
+
 
|rating= 5
+
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.
|genre= Children's Non-Fiction
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}}
|summary=''This is Not a Science Book'' explores the often-overlooked link between science and creativity. This interactive book encourages readers to get cutting, glueing, twisting, colouring and shading in order to create a variety of at-home experiments that are as entertaining as they are educational. The activities are also perfect for a rainy day; making this book a welcome resource during the long (and often wet) school holidays.
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{{Frontpage
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782403973</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1406395404
}}
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|title=The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain
{{newreview
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|author=Nicola Morgan
|author= Laura Barwick
 
|title=Animal Babies
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= Confident Readers
 
|summary=Let's face it: with a fluffy lion cub on the cover, inviting readers to take a peek inside, only the most hard-hearted of individuals could resist the temptation to pick up ''Animal Babies'' to explore the further delights within its pages. Once hooked, the reader is rewarded with a visual feast of adorable baby creatures, each page seemingly cuter than the last.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785941003</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Nikalas Catlow and David Sinden
 
|title=The Arty Book
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Arty is your creative friend. He is the star of this art activity book from Nikalas Catlow and David Sinden. He's a bit brusque on the first page. This is Arty announces a big, black arrow. And Arty commands, Colour me in. Who could resist? Because Arty is a winsome little figure with nutty, curly hair and great big red glasses. On the cover, those red glasses spell book and they look unruly and exciting, don't you think?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408870665</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=CoderDojo
 
|title=Build Your Own Website: Create with Code
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Teens
|summary=The Nanonauts want a website for their band, and who better to build it for them than the CoderDojo network of free computing clubs for young people? In this handbook, created in conjunction with the CoderDojo Foundation, children of seven plus will learn how to build a website using HTML, CSS and JavascriptDon't worry too much if some of those words don't mean anything to you - all will be made clear as you read through the bookThere's also information about how to start a CoderDojo Nano club with friends - which has great benefits in terms of harnessing creativity, learning how to code - and the benefits of teamwork.
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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 unnecessarilyMost people, from children to adults will have the odd bad night but worrying about your lack of sleep is only likely to make it worseAnd 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>1405278730</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Libby Walden
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|isbn=1849767343
|title=In Focus: 101 Close Ups, Cross-Sections and Cutaways
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|title=Count on Me
|rating=4
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|author=Miguel Tanco
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Only recently I've had reason to applaud a children's non-fiction book for concentrating on showing its audience what they have no hope to see – in that case, the underground and underwater worlds, from the shallowest plant roots to the deepest oceanic explorations and everything in betweenOther unseen worlds are all around us, however – they're what goes on on the inside of things – inside a pocket watch (remember them?), inside a yurt, a space shuttle, a volcano, a toilet… This pleasant square block of book not only gives us the outside image and a caption, but the full story of the innards, meaning the young reader is certainly going where they've never been before…
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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 maths. It's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184857505X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=CoderDojo
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|isbn=1849767009
|title=Build Your Own Website: Create with Code
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|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
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|author=Rosie Haine
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The Nanonauts want a website for their band, and who better to build it for them than the CoderDojo network of free computing clubs for young people?  In this handbook, created in conjunction with the CoderDojo Foundation, children of seven plus will learn how to build a website using HTML, CSS and JavascriptDon't worry too much if some of those words don't mean anything to you - all will be made clear as you read through the book.  There's also information about how to start a CoderDojo Nano club with friends - which has great benefits in terms of harnessing creativity, learning how to code - and the benefits of teamwork.
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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 bustBut... Rosie Haines makes it into something so much more than a book about not wearing clothesIt'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>1405278730</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Michael Bright
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|isbn=1776572858
|title=See Inside Dinosaurs
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|title=How Do You Make a Baby?
|rating=3.5
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|author=Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary=What would you do if the doorbell rang and when you opened the door you saw a giant Trojan-Horse waiting for you? I for one would not drag the thing in; it would be too big and could be full of angry GreeksThe same could be said of ''See inside Dinosaurs'' by Michael BrightYou may think that you are buying one thing, but instead you are getting an impressive triceratops skeleton, or a T-Rex model, or maybe even a book.
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|genre=Home and Family
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784934739</amazonuk>
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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.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Steve Parker
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|isbn=1526362759
|title=100 Facts Butterflies & Moths
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|title=Dosh: How to Earn It, Save It, Spend It, Grow It, Give It
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|author=Rashmi Sirdeshpande
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Damn those bees. They're not the only flying creatures vanishing from our world at alarming rates, and the others, like butterflies and moths, are actually runners-up to Mr Bumble and his mysteriously dying ilk in pollinating plantsPlus they're more visually attractiveBut even though this book has two nudges and a thanks given to the Butterfly Conservation body, that's certainly not the more notable feature of these pages.  What stands out is the superlative content.
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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>1786170116</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= National Geographic Kids
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|isbn=178112938X
|title= Angry Birds Playground: Atlas (Angry Birds Playgrounds)
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|title=Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission
|rating= 5
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|author=David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)
|genre= Confident Readers
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|rating=5
|summary=''Angry Birds Playground'' is a new educational book series based on a geographical theme. Rovio-the team responsible for the popular game- have teamed up with National Geographic Kids to create a stunning set of books that perfectly blend the cheeky humour from the game with informative text and breathtaking real-world photography. The series will appeal to young fans of the game and anyone who has an interest in the wonders of the natural world.
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|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1426324596</amazonuk>
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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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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Joe Archer and Caroline Craig
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|author=Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick
|title=The Kew Gardens Children's Cookbook: Plant, Cook, Eat
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|title=Nine Ways to Empower Tweens
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Confident Readers
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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. 
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|isbn= 0228818826
 +
}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1609809173
 +
|title=Eiffel's Tower for Young People
 +
|author=Jill Jonnes
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I grew up in the immediate post war period.  Growing your own vegetables had been a necessity in the war and it was still a habit for those who had a bit of garden, so ''The Kew Gardens Children's Cookbook'' was a real pleasure for me, as well as a touch of nostalgia. The principle is very simple: show children how to grow their own vegetables and then how to transform them into delicious food. It sounds simple, doesn't it?  Well, it might come as a surprise, but it is!
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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>0750298197</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= John Haslam and Steve Parker
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|isbn=1848576536
|title= A Journey Through Nature
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|title=Humanatomy: How the Body Works
|rating= 4.5
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|author=Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank
|genre= Children's Non-Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary= Beautifully presented, this is a book that takes a worldwide look at the natural world, in both urban and rural locations. We start off in the city, looking at pigeons, the American racoon, the Australian possum and the South American Marmoset. I learnt 3 things from those first two pages, including what Kits are, how long babies live with the possum mothers and the pregnancy traits of the monkeys. We were off to a good start.
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784934496</amazonuk>
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|summary=''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.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Aleksandra Mizielinski, Daniel Mizielinski and Antonia Lloyd-Jones (translator)
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|isbn=Langford_Emily
|title=Under Earth, Under Water
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|title=Emily's Numbers
|rating=5
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|author=Joss Langford
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=One of the major remits of children's non-fiction books is to get them to look around them and gain a better understanding of what they're seeingAfter a volume such as this, the obvious response is to see that as an incredibly narrow focusFor this book will take the reader and show them exactly what they can't see – from microscopic things living in soil even seasoned Scrabble players haven't heard of, right down to the fish swimming their way towards the Mariana Trench, the deepest section of sea on earthMake no bones about it, this book is entirely focused on what is beneath our feet and sea levels, and – no pie in the sky response this – it is a winner.
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|summary=Emily found words ''useful'', but counting was what she loved bestObviously, 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 twosShe 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.)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783703644</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= John Haslam and Steve Parker
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|isbn=Buckingham_Dawn
|title= A Journey Through the Weather
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|title=The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus
|rating= 4.5
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|author=Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington
|genre= Children's Non-Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary=  
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
We're British. We LOVE to talk about the weather. But beyond the usual platitudes of ''Bit cold out isn't it'' or ''What a beautiful day'', how much do you actually know about what's happening up in the sky?
+
|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>178493450X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Emma Adams and James Weston Lewis
+
|isbn=Pankhurst_Women
|title=The Great Fire of London: 350th Anniversary of the Great Fire of 1666
+
|title=Fantastically Great Women Who Made History
 +
|author=Kate Pankhurst
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=While the average primary school child may not quite be able to fathom the importance and actual length of 350 years, it is no reason not to put a book out looking back that distance of time to major historical events.  But it has to be a good book to justify the mental time travel that entails.  And you have to hit on a remarkable subject, something that will open the young eyes to the danger, tragedy and drama of our history. Something like the Great Fire of London, as seen in this large hardback, which when it comes down to it, and for many reasons, is a very good book indeed.
+
|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>0750298200</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Young Rewired State
+
|isbn=Ignotofsky_Sport
|title=Get Coding!: Learn HTML, CSS & JavaScript & build a website, app & game
+
|title=Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
 +
|author=Rachel Ignotofsky
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Learning to code, even heading into my seventh decade, changed my life and for today's children it's important because it opens so many doors. It might look complicated, but all it required is concentration and - eventually - imagination.  I had a reasonable mastery of the skills of basic HTML in three days with the benefit of a personal tutor, but where to go if you don't have that privilege or if you need some extra support?  ''Get Coding!'' seems like the perfect answer.
+
|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>1406366846</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Andrea Mills
+
|isbn=Rooney_Dino
|title=Top Of The League
+
|title=Discovering Dinosaurs
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Football is known as the beautiful game and when I was younger I kind of believed this.  I would spend my free time playing Heads and Volleys with my mates and then go home to try and complete my Panini sticker album.  There was even the halcyon days when Blackburn Rovers won the title.  As I have grown older, my cynicism has grown too.  Leicester may be champions, but the day I feel that a group of multimillionaires beating a group of slightly richer multimillionaires is a win for the everyman, will be a sad one.  Perhaps the love of football still burns bright in the youth of today?  ''Top Of the League'' certainly hopes so as it is full of facts and figures all about the ball they call foot.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784934577</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Justin Miles
 
|title=Ultimate Mapping Guide for Kids
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I've always been fascinated by maps: diverse features can be converted into symbols, drawn on a piece of paper and then passed to someone else to interpret.  Making or reading maps are skills which stay with you throughout life and learning 'how to' is relatively simple and great fun.  Author Justin Miles had a car accident in 1999 and brain injuries meant that he had to learn to walk and talk from scratch.  Whilst he was doing this he decided to become a full time explorer and to support charities which inspire children to learn.  He raises funds by taking on daring challenges, which have included climbing mountains, exploring the Arctic, crossing deserts and cutting his way through the jungle.  If a man knows about maps, then it's Justin Miles.
+
|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>178493464X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Imogen Greenberg and Isabel Greenberg
+
|isbn=Mason_poo
|title=The Ancient Egyptians
+
|title=The Poo That Animals Do
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=There was more to the Ancient Egyptians than keeping the entrails of their dead in a jar, but that is a pretty cool fact anyway. As a civilisation they knocked around for centuries until Cleopatra had a nasty incident with an Asp.  Cramming all the information on one of the most complex and intriguing peoples of all time is a big ask; making it assessable to children is even bigger.  Imogen Greenberg and Isabel Greenberg have attempted this in ''The Ancient Egyptians''.  
+
|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>1847808255</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 13:29, 9 September 2023

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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