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

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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jody Revenson
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|isbn=1839948493
|title=Incredibuilds: Buckbeak: Deluxe Model and Book Set (Harry Potter)
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|title=A World of Dogs
|rating=4.5
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|author=Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=The general perception is that to become a leading British actor, you need the fillip of Eton or somesuch education.  But you don't have to be an actor to make a great film.  ''Gravity'' for instance has extended scenes where the only thing natural is the performers' faces – everything else, even their bodies, was made in Britain by people using computersThe eight ''Harry Potter'' films, also made in the UK, needed a lot of computing power as well, but also a lot of craftsmen with their hands on tools and a keen eyeWhat better way to start training the young reader into that side of things, than with tasking them with making a, er, hippogriff?
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|summary=In the interests of full disclosure, I must tell you that I'm a sucker for dogsIn 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 properlyAnd so it was with ''A World of Dogs'', with ninety-six pages devoted entirely to my four-legged friendsAuthor Carlie Sorosiak found herself the accidental owner of an American Dingo - she's learned quite a lot about dogs since then.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783707232</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jody Revenson
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|isbn=1529507987
|title=Incredibuilds: Aragog: Deluxe Model and Book Set (Harry Potter)
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|title=The Repair Shop Craft Book
|rating=4
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|author=Walker Books and Sonia Albert (Illustrator)
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Aragog the giant spider, don't you know, took six man years just to build, and weighed a ton.  After countless trial models and pieces of visual design work, he could finally be constructed, and he stretched across eighteen feet of the studio floorOr, conversely, he is about seven inches long and seven wide, and you put him together in a day or two, for the cost of this book-and-gift set and some craft paints.
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|summary=I love ''The Repair Shop''.  It's my go-to programme when I want to be cheered up.  After a hard day, there's nothing better than watching experts repair treasured items without ever mentioning what they're worth.  You see, the value is in what these possessions are worth to the people who own them and the memories they holdNo expense appears to be spared and the experts spend as much time and effort as is required to achieve the desired result.  Regular viewers know the experts and they're all brilliant at explaining what it is they're doing. But how did they start?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783707240</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jody Revenson
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|isbn=024162343X
|title=Incredibuilds: House-Elves: Deluxe Book and Model Set (Harry Potter)
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|title=Stolen History
|rating=4.5
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|author=Sathnam Sanghera
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=How do you create a house-elf like DobbyWell, you have a tennis ball on a string, and point actors so they look at it, and say their lines to a pretty-much empty space.  You then film Toby Jones doing the elf's lines, and use that sound file and his facial expressions as basis for your CGI creation – the first major character to come from the digital realm in the ''Harry Potter'' filmsYou can throw in a few puppets, and now and again a gifted small person, particularly at the end of film #7… Or, of course, you can get this gift set, and press the wooden parts out, muckle them together – and lo and behold, a six inch tall Dobby for your windowsill.
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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 proofIn 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 placeLooking back, I still believe I was right - but I regret that I lacked the maturity to approach 'the problem' politely. I wish I'd had Sathnam Sanghera's ''Stolen History''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783707070</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=David Long and Kerry Hyndman
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|author=Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene
|title=Survivors: Extraordinary Tales from the Wild and Beyond
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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=There can be few people who are not captivated by stories of survival - those people who by chance, through knowledge but mostly because of their strength of will, survive against all the odds.  ''Survivors'' is a collection of such stories of people, some of whom knew that what they were doing was dangerous, but many are those who found themselves in situations which seemed impossible, but who didn't give upThe result is a wonderful mixture of the scariness of the peril and the glorious uplift of survivalIt's insightful, inspirational and all absolutely true.
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|summary=We start with the pair of brothers Fritz and Kurt, and their muckers, doing things any Jewish lad in 1930s Vienna would want to do – kicking things around the empty market place, helping the neighbours, being dutiful when it comes to the synagogue choir and at a vocational school.  Kurt has to make sure the lamps are turned on at their very Orthodox neighbours' each Friday night – the Sabbath preventing them for using anything nearly as mechanical and workmanlike as a light 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 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 thereAnd us wondering how the titular event for the adult variant of all this could come about…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571316018</amazonuk>
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|isbn=024156574X
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Emily Hawkins and Alice Letherland
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|isbn=1913750353
|title=Atlas of Miniature Adventures: A pocket-sized collection of small-scale wonders
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|rating=3.5
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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=I've hardly ever had a trouser pocket big enough to cram a whole 'pocket-sized' book in, and while the book under concern here won't comply either, it's not far off.  But it's an atlas – you know, one of those books that are usually clunky and huge, fitting awkwardly on the bottom shelf and taken out whenever some project or quirk of trivial life inspires a browseBut this is a special kind of atlas – it's a compendium of details, and very small details at that, of all the tiny things on our large planet.
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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>184780909X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Martin Brown
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|isbn=0711266204
|title= Lesser Spotted Animals
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|title=The Secret Life of Birds
|rating= 5
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|author=Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker (illustrator)
|genre= Confident Readers
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|rating=5
|summary=There may be as many as 5,500 different species of mammal on our planet, but how many of those do we actually get to see and read about? 'Animal Books' are packed with cute pictures of tigers, elephants, monkeys and zebras, but what about their lesser-known neglected cousins? Don't they deserve a minute in the spotlight? Numbat, Solenodon, Zorilla, Onager and Linsang: Now is your time to shine!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910200530</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Rachel Williams and Carnovsky
 
|title=Illuminature
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Like Halley's Comet, I am allowed out once every 70 years, or so, for the night.  On one such trip to the trendier side of London I was supping an ale in another Hipster Bar, but this one had a differenceThe walls were covered in overlapping paintings of animals in different colours. So what? The trick was revealing said animals.  The lights in the pub changed colour every few minutes revealing a different set of creatures that reacted to that colour.  It was cool after a few shandies, but now you can enjoy this process sober in a new book all about using coloured lenses to find hidden animals.
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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 basisAn hour can pass without my noticingI've established which species feed from the ground, which pop to the feeders for a quick snatch of some food and who settles in for a good munch but I wish I was more knowledgeable.  It would have been wonderful if, as a child, I'd had access to a book such as ''The Secret Life of Birds''. So – what is it?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847808867</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
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|isbn=0192779230
|title=Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|rating=4
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|author=Isabel Thomas
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=It is hard to imagine, but the original Gruffalo book came out almost twenty years ago.  This is a franchise that just keeps rolling onCertainly, you can buy the book or the sequel, but if you visit a shop you will find Gruffalo toys, cards, even egg cupsEach year brings with it a new idea of how to push the Gruf and pals2016 is the year of the recipe book, but will it live up to the quality of the original?
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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>1509804749</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Kate Baker, Zanna Davidson and Page Tsou
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|isbn=1800464495
|title=Highest Mountain, Deepest Ocean
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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
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|author=Emma Smith
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=The greatest thing a good library can do is lie in wait, holding the weight of the entire world on its shelves.  Let alone all the imaginative fiction it can take guardianship of, it can also store a huge gamut of facts, opinions and true tales, transporting a reader when they choose to take a book down and read it wherever they want to goThis book is one of those that can take you places, too – 3.6 metres down into the earth, where a Nile crocodile might have dug itself to lay out a drought, its heart beating twice a minute; or to the hottest or driest, or most rained-on placeIt can take you back to prehistory and size you up against the biggest raptors and other dinosaurs, or to the centre of the very earth itselfThere the pressure is akin to having the entire Empire State Building sat on your forehead – now that's weight indeed…
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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>1783704845</amazonuk>
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Did you know this? I didn't! How about:
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''Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.''
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I didn't know this either! I think most parents are aware that giving your children a good start in literacy - reading stories, teaching pen grips, singing rhymes - gives children a solid foundation when they start school. But do we think the same way about maths, beyond counting? I don't think we do, in part because so many of us are afraid of maths. But why are we? Most of us use maths in daily life without realising and it follows that giving our children a similar pre-school grounding will be just as beneficial.
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1406395404
 +
|title=The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain
 +
|author=Nicola Morgan
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Teens
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|summary=2020 has been a strange year: I doubt anyone would argue with that statement. Lots of our routines have been completely dismantled and for some teenagers this will have brought about sleep problems.  Some teens will dismiss this as irrelevant ('who needs sleep? - I've got loads to be doing) and others will worry unnecessarily.  Most people, from children to adults will have the odd bad night but worrying about your lack of sleep is only likely to make it 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 lazinessBeing up early, working late has been praised and the ability to survive on little sleep has almost become something to put on your CV.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Kate Baker and Eleanor Taylor
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|isbn=1849767343
|title=Secrets of the Sea
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|title=Count on Me
|rating=3.5
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|author=Miguel Tanco
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=When the young are urged to explore the world around them, we adults never state it, but there's a huge section of the world they are quite unlikely to go investigating inAnd for obvious reasons – it can be slightly dangerous even to enter it, and while it's huge it's not on every doorstepI'm talking about the ocean, of course – which is where books such as this come in to explain and illustrate the topic.  With so much of it to be researched and encountered, you never know – this book might well inspire a pioneering discovery some time in the future.
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|summary=The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journeyIt isn't: it's a hymn of praise to mathsIt's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783704349</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Zoe Ingram
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|isbn=1849767009
|title=Press Out and Colour: Birds
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|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
|rating=4
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|author=Rosie Haine
|genre=Crafts
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|rating=5
|summary=Ten beautiful birds which start life as detailed line illustrations by Zoe Ingram are then coloured in by anyone of any age who is capable of having reasonable control of a felt-tip pen or a crayon.  You've got to remember to do both the back and the front and whilst it would be nice if they matched it's in no way essentialIf you're skillful, so much the better, but the designs are decorated with foil which catches the light and gives that sheen which you see on the edges of birds' feathersWhen you've finished colouring you gently press the pieces out from the pageI experimented with pressing them out first and then colouring, but the pieces were easier to colour actually in the page.
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857637673</amazonuk>
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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 clothes.  It's a celebration of bodies: bodies large and small and of every possible hue.  Bodies with disabilities and markingsThey're fineIn fact, they're wonderful.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Katie Scott and Kathy Willis
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|isbn=1776572858
|title=Botanicum (Welcome To The Museum)
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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=Popular Science
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|rating=5
|summary=''Welcome to the Museum'' it says on the front cover and I'll admit that for the moment I was confused as I've never associated museums with living plants, but as soon as I stepped inside the covers, I knew where I wasOne of the authors, Professor Kathy Willis is the Director of Science at Kew Gardens: she's undoubtedly based her thoughts on Kew, but for me I was back in the glasshouses at the [http://www.rbge.org.uk/ Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh] - the glorious 'Botanics'.  I'm not certain why we're supposed to be in a museum, unless it's that it allows us to refer to author Kathy Willis and illustrator Katie Scott as curatorsStill it's a contrivance which doesn't affect the content.
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|genre=Home and Family
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783703946</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 itA 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=Deborah Patterson
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|isbn=1526362759
|title=My Book of Stories: Write Your Own Fairy Tales
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|title=Dosh: How to Earn It, Save It, Spend It, Grow It, Give It
|rating=4.5
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|author=Rashmi Sirdeshpande
 +
|rating=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 tales.  But 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 youth.  They 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=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 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 buyThere's also the possibility of using to do good in the world.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0712356428</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Harriet Russell
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|isbn=178112938X
|title= This Book Thinks You're a Scientist
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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= 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.
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|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0500650810</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=Deborah Patterson
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|author=Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick
|title=My Book of Stories: Write Your Own Myths
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|title=Nine Ways to Empower Tweens
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
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|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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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1609809173
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|title=Eiffel's Tower for Young People
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|author=Jill Jonnes
 +
|rating=5
 
|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 backwards.  Musically, 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 fun.  The next step, however, to see them as something you yourself could write, well that's a bit greater.  But it's one taken by this book, nevertheless.
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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>0712356436</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Camilla Hallinan
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|isbn=1848576536
|title=The Ultimate Peter Rabbit: A Visual Guide to the World of Beatrix Potter
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|title=Humanatomy: How the Body Works
|rating=4
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|author=Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I had a deprived childhood: I never knew Peter Rabbit.  He'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 Blyton.  Peter 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 later.  He'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=''Get under your own skin, pick your brains, and go inside your insides!''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241289653</amazonuk>
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That's what ''Humanatomy'' invites you to do and honestly, I don't see how you could resist. This informative book provides a wonderful primer about the human body to curious children- from the skeletal system to the muscular system via circulation, respiration and digestion, right up to the DNA that makes who we are.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=DK
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|isbn=Langford_Emily
|title=My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things
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|title=Emily's Numbers
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|author=Joss Langford
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|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 whyWhy 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 intelligentThe 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=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 numbersThen she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called ''threeven''.  (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241224934</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Mariadiamantes
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|isbn=Buckingham_Dawn
|title=Little People, Big Dreams: Amelia Earhart
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|title=The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus
|rating=3.5
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|author=Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|rating=5
|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 nineteenShortly 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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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847808859</amazonuk>
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|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 morningI spent an indulgent hour or so reading all about the birds and listening to their songThen - 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?
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Helen Bate
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|isbn=Pankhurst_Women
|title=Peter in Peril
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|title=Fantastically Great Women Who Made History
|rating=3.5
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|author=Kate Pankhurst
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|rating=5
|summary=Meet Peter.  He 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 parents.  The 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 control.  And, in these graphic novel-styled pages, so are we…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>191095957X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Raman Prinja
 
|title=50 Things You Should Know About Space
 
|rating=3.5
 
 
|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.
+
|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>1784934720</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Clive Gifford
 
|title=This is Not a Science Book: A Smart Art Activity Book
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Children's Non-Fiction
 
|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.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782403973</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|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
+
{{Frontpage
|author=CoderDojo
+
|isbn=Ignotofsky_Sport
|title=Build Your Own Website: Create with Code
+
|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=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 Javascript. Don'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.
+
|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>1405278730</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Libby Walden
+
|isbn=Rooney_Dino
|title=In Focus: 101 Close Ups, Cross-Sections and Cutaways
+
|title=Discovering Dinosaurs
 +
|author=Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|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 between. Other 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…
+
|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>184857505X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=CoderDojo
+
|isbn=Mason_poo
|title=Build Your Own Website: Create with Code
+
|title=The Poo That Animals Do
 +
|author=Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|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 Javascript.  Don'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.
+
|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>1405278730</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 13:29, 9 September 2023

1839948493.jpg

Review of

A World of Dogs by Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene

4star.jpg Confident Readers

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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

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

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Teens

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

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Review of

Count on Me by Miguel Tanco

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

It Isn't Rude to be Nude by Rosie Haine

5star.jpg For Sharing

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Home and Family

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

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

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Review of

Nine Ways to Empower Tweens by Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

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

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Review of

Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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

Move on to Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews