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

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==Children's non-fiction==
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1839948493
{{newreview
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|title=A World of Dogs
|author=Richard Platt
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|author=Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe
|title=Would You Believe...two cyclists invented the aeroplane?!
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Where can you find a welter of trivia and facts about transport from the ages, from the first use of Shanks’s pony, to the latest holidays to the edge of space?  What has so much detail it can fit in the reasons for Mark Twain’s pen-name?  Where can the adult browsing their child’s non-fiction library find a 'Glamorous Glennis' going 'kinda screwy' and see how it refers to the breaking of the sound barrier?  In these tidy 48 pages, for one.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199119694</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Glenn Murphy
 
|title=Science: Sorted! Evolution, Nature and Stuff
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Ever wanted to know about evolution, nature and stuff? Unsurprisingly, this is the book for you. If you're interested in [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0330508938?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0330508938 space, black holes and stuff], then Glenn Murphy has also written a sister book in the ''Science: Sorted!'' series packed full of all the information you'd want to know. It's all written with the fabulous quality that made [[Why is Snot Green? by Glenn Murphy|Why is Snot Green?]] such a must-read.
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|summary=In the interests of full disclosure, I must tell you that I'm a sucker for dogs. In nearly eight decades, I've never met one I didn't trust and I've loved most of them. I wish I felt the same about human beings. So, any book about dogs, I'm going to sit down and devour.  Then I'm going to go back and read it properly.  And so it was with ''A World of Dogs'', with ninety-six pages devoted entirely to my four-legged friends. Author Carlie Sorosiak found herself the accidental owner of an American Dingo - she's learned quite a lot about dogs since then.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330508946</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529507987
|author=Nicole Dryburgh
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|title=The Repair Shop Craft Book
|title=Talk to the Hand
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|author=Walker Books and Sonia Albert (Illustrator)
|rating=4
 
|genre=Teens
 
|summary=We first met Nicole Dryburgh in her book ''The Way I See It'', which she wrote at eighteen, and which detailed her battles with cancer and the loss of her sight. We loved the warts-and-all picture of her life that she gave us then, and so we were really pleased to see that she's written a second book.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340996978</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Gary Blackwood
 
|title=The Great Race: The Amazing Round-The-World Auto Race Of 1908
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=In 1908, Henry Ford's Model T hadn't yet brought cars to the masses. The pioneers of the world of automobiles were experimenting and discovering just what the car could do, by driving right round the world. Except they didn't want to be pioneers. One of the competitors, Antonio Scarfoglio, put it so perfectly when he said ''We had set out to perpetuate an act of splendid folly, not to open up a new way for men. We wished to be madmen, not pioneers.'' Isn't that about the best quote you've ever read?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0810994895</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Nicola Davies
 
|title=Gaia Warriors
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=The best way to read this book is to treat it like a magazine:  flip the pages and dip in.  I can guarantee that you will find something to catch your eyeFashion addicts could start on page 136 ''Dressing for the climate'', foodies may prefer page 124 ''Rock-star food''. The array of different typefaces and page colours make the book very easy to browse, and the author excels at explaining difficult concepts in a straightforward waySo certain sections in it could be considered not just as for older children or teen readers, but as an informative read for adults as well.
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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 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>1406312347</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=024162343X
|author=Gary Blackwood
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|title=Stolen History
|title=Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers
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|author=Sathnam Sanghera
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=There's something utterly cool about codes and ciphers. It's not just the spies with their secret world, it's the mystery of an ostensibly random set of letters or pictures. It's being able to unravel them and see what they're hiding. It's a combination of geeky riddle solving (and geeks are cool, so there) and uncovering the unknown meanings. Gary Blackwood treats us to a history of codes and ciphers, looking at their creation, the stories behind them, and how to crack them.
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|summary=I was the bad company other people got into at school.  I was disruptive in religious education classes because I disputed the existence of a 'god'. Where was the proof?  In history lessons, it was probably worse still.  Not too long after the end of WWII, I didn't so much want to learn about the British army's successes (and occasional failures, but we didn't dwell on those) in what came to be called 'the colonies' as want to dispute what right the army had to be there in the first place. Looking back, I still believe I was right - but I regret that I lacked the maturity to approach 'the problem' politely. I wish I'd had Sathnam Sanghera's ''Stolen History''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0525479600</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Robert Crowther
 
|title=Cars - A Pop-Up Book Of Automobiles
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Robert Crowther tells the story of the car, from Cugnot's steam engine, Trevithick's road locomotive and Benz's Motorwagen, right through to the record-breaking Thrust SSC and to future cars, like the biodegradable Eco One. There are plenty of pop-ups and pull tabs to bring it all to life, and it's packed with detail.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406312274</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene
|author=Various
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|title=Fritz and Kurt
|title=Hello Kitty Guide to Life
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=''Hello Kitty'' is a huge worldwide phenomenon with a whole heap of related merchandise featuring the cute cartoon cat in dresses and ribbons. It appeals to girls and women of many ages, but this new hardback book ''Hello Kitty – Guide to Life'' is aimed at the brand's younger fans, probably around 6 to 14 year olds.
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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 Jews.  These in their turn leave the younger Kurt at home with his mother and sisters anxious to hear word of an evacuation to Britain or the US, while Fritz and his father are, unknown initially to each other, packed off on the same train to Buchenwald and the stone quarry there. And us wondering how the titular event for the adult variant of all this could come about…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000732622X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=024156574X
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913750353
|author=John Abbott Nez
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|title=Cromwell Dixon's Sky-Cycle
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|author=Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Meet Cromwell Dixon.  He's a real tinkerer, forever in a barn or somewhere building something manically unusual.  Luckily - although his long-suffering mother may disagree with that word - he's around at the birth of powered flight.  Will his plans for a pedalled air machine work?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0399250417</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Tracey Turner
 
|title=Deadly Peril and How To Avoid It
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Have you ever wondered what to do if you're bitten by blue-ringed octopus, or if you find yourself up to your neck in quicksand? It's a dangerous world out there and Tracey Turner has all the information that young explorers, daredevils and fact-hounds need to know.
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|summary=''Britannica's Word of the Day'' has a sub-title: ''366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus'' which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book.  It starts on January 1st with ''Razzmatazz'', tells you how to pronounce it (''raz-muh-TAZ''), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used.  You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too. I don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747597944</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0711266204
|author=Philip Ardagh
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|title=The Secret Life of Birds
|title=Philip Ardagh's Book of Howlers, Blunders and Random Mistakery
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|author=Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker (illustrator)
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=There's nought so queer as folk.  From the idiot who broke into a car without realising his name and date of birth were clearly seen on his tattoo on CCTV, to the people who ordered someone to paint clothes on all the people in the Sistine Chapel - before others came along who decided the original had been better, and the people who dismissed The Beatles as never likely to make a name for themselves.  We have long been a race of idiots.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330471724</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner
 
|title=The Comic Strip History of Space
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner treated us to a [[The Comic Strip History of the World by Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner|Comic Strip History of the World]], and have now turned their attention to space. They explain to children everything from the origins of the universe, to what ancient civilisations thought of the stars, through astronomers discovering the truth about planets, right up to current space missions.
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|summary=I have recently discovered a great pleasure: I sit and watch the vast numbers of birds which visit our garden on a daily basis.  An hour can pass without my noticing. I've established which species feed from the ground, which pop to the feeders for a quick snatch of some food and who settles in for a good munch but I wish I was more knowledgeable.  It would have been wonderful if, as a child, I'd had access to a book such as ''The Secret Life of Birds''. So – what is it?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747594325</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0192779230
|author=Tony Robinson
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|title=Bad Kids: the Worst-Behaved Children in History
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|author=Isabel Thomas
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I'm starting to wonder about the type of person who would write such a horrible and terrifying book for children; it's as confusing as trying to work out an age category for this book. ''Bad Kids'' is a gruesome look through history using the ways children were punished through the ages as a central core. It runs right through history from ancient Iraq, where you could get your fingers chopped off for hitting your parents (they only recently abolished that one) to the modern day and the use of ASBOs.
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|summary='Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill. In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of 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>0230737870</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Robert Leroy Ripley
 
|title=Ripley's Believe It or Not 2010
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=If you're looking for a book which is going to keep a child (or some adults!) happy for hours on end then look no furtherSo long as you don't mind the groans of (mock) disgust, screams of horror and constantly being asked to look at (another) picture or listen as more is read to you then you should be absolutely fineFollowing hot on the heels of last year's success ''Ripley's Believe It or Not 2010'' is packed full of bizarre facts (some of which you might appreciate knowing – others you will definitely wish you didn't), fiends and freaks.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847945856</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1800464495
|author=Charlie Norton
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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
|title=The Bumper Book of Bravery
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|author=Emma Smith
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=The Bumper Book of Bravery looks at bravery in all its forms - from people in wars, to explorers enduring amazing hardships, through spies and revolutionaries, by way of sportsmen and women, even to brave animals.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905264836</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Philip Ardagh and Mike Gordon
 
|title=Dinosaurs (Henry's House)
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Henry's House is extraordinary: it's full of fossils, footprints, and even real dinosaurs. Jaggers the caretaker and Mr Boffin show him around, explaining all about dinosaurs, as Henry sees for himself just what amazing creatures they were, and learns the differences between the various types.
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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>1407107194</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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Did you know this? I didn't! How about:
|author=Conn Iggulden and David Iggulden
 
|title=The Dangerous Book of Heroes
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=For most of us (well, for me certainly) the word 'hero' summons an image of capes, spandex and garish primary colours. Conn and David Iggulden have written a book about the other kind – the every day heroes from history, who achieve incredible things without the aid of superpowers.
 
  
From household names like Horatio Nelson and Winston Churchill, to lesser known people, like Aphra Behn and Hereward the Wake, ''The Dangerous Book of Heroes'' covers a comprehensive range of characters from the history of the British Empire. From campaigners for political change, brilliant battle strategists to daring explorers, each and every one of the people in this book lived brilliant lives and changed the world forever.
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''Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000726092X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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I didn't know this either! I think most parents are aware that giving your children a good start in literacy - reading stories, teaching pen grips, singing rhymes - gives children a solid foundation when they start school. But do we think the same way about maths, beyond counting? I don't think we do, in part because so many of us are afraid of maths. But why are we? Most of us use maths in daily life without realising and it follows that giving our children a similar pre-school grounding will be just as beneficial.
|author=Jane Brocket
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|title=Ripping Things to Do
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1406395404
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|title=The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain
 +
|author=Nicola Morgan
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=2020 has been a strange year: I doubt anyone would argue with that statement.  Lots of our routines have been completely dismantled and for some teenagers this will have brought about sleep problems.  Some teens will dismiss this as irrelevant ('who needs sleep? - I've got loads to be doing) and others will worry unnecessarily.  Most people, from children to adults will have the odd bad night but worrying about your lack of sleep is only likely to make it worse.  And there's also the fact that for far too long, lack of sleep has been lauded as a virtue and sleep made to seem like laziness.  Being up early, working late has been praised and the ability to survive on little sleep has almost become something to put on your CV.
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1849767343
 +
|title=Count on Me
 +
|author=Miguel Tanco
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Right from the very moment I opened the envelope this book was delivered in, I had the distinct feeling this would be a real gem of a book, and how right I was. Though, initially, I was reminded of the Iggulden brothers' ''Dangerous Book for Boys'' series, this book has a very different ethos, even though the subject matter overlaps somewhat unavoidably making it bear comparison.
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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 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340980966</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1849767009
|author=Andy Cullen and Simon Rickerty
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|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
|title=Peas!
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|author=Rosie Haine
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The farmer sows the seed from which Penelope and Pete Pea grow. They're picked, packed, delivered, bought, cooked and eaten, and we follow them on every step of their journey.
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|summary=This could have been one of those books which 'preaches to the choir': the only people who'll buy it are the people who know that nudity is OK and the ones who ''know'' that it's shameful will avoid it like they avoid the hot-and-bothered person in the supermarket who is coughing fit to bust.  But... Rosie Haines makes it into something so much more than a book about not wearing clothes.  It's a celebration of bodies: bodies large and small and of every possible hue.  Bodies with disabilities and markings. They're fine.  In fact, they're wonderful.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141502584</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776572858
|author=Nicola Davies and Neal Layton
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|title=How Do You Make a Baby?
|title=What's Eating You?
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|author=Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Did you know that there are more than 430 types of parasites that can live on humans? Are you scratching? Good! Now you know what it was like for me reading What's Eating You? It's a fantastically detailed introduction to parasites - on humans and other animals - that any science-loving child will love.
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|summary=It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made.  My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about it.  A couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before)  and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it ''wasn't something which nice people talked about''.  I ''knew'' more, but was little ''wiser''.  Thankfully, times have changed.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406313548</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1526362759
|author=Aidan Potts
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|title=Dosh: How to Earn It, Save It, Spend It, Grow It, Give It
|title=The Smash! Smash! Truck
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|author=Rashmi Sirdeshpande
|rating=3
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=The Smash! Smash! Truck looks at the process of recycling glass, taking in a brief look at the Big Bang, atoms and the water cycle, to explain why recycling is a good idea.
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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 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0385608934</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=178112938X
|author=Leo Hickman
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|title=Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission
|title=Will Jellyfish Rule the World?
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|author=David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Have you ever wondered why it rains so much in Britain? What a glacier and a canary have in common? Or how lizards once managed to sunbathe in Antarctica? Green expert Leo Hickman is here to answer all these questions and more in his new book, ''Will Jellyfish Rule the World?''
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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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141323345</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Cylin Busby and John Busby
 
|title=The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=''When my dad dies, his body will go to the Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston,'' ''though I suspect they are mostly interested in his head... His was in an interesting case - the lower half of his jaw'' ''was removed when he was shot in the head with a shotgun. His tongue was torn in half, his teeth and gums blown'' ''away, leaving a bit of bone that was once his chin connected with dangling flesh at the front of his face.''
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408802015</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Phil Robins
 
|title=Can I Come Home, Please?
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Using the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum and other primary sources, this affecting volume gives an overview of the progress of Nazism as seen through the eyes of children in different parts of Europe. The simplicity of the language used in the transcribed interviews means it is accessible to children from Y6, yet remains useful to GCSE students as a succinct, linear timeline of WW2.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407109030</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick
|author=Anthony Adolph
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|title=Nine Ways to Empower Tweens
|title=Who Am I?: The Family Tree Explorer
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=A fascination with family history seems more than just a passing fad: for many it's a hobby approaching an obsession and in a mobile (both geographically and socially) and globalised society, people unable to answer a 'where we are all going' question find security and identity in pursuing an answer to 'where do I come from?'
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|summary=''9 Ways to Empower Tweens'' is a self-help book for tweens, setting out to show them vital #lifeskills. Don't groan! I know there is a market glut of such books for we grown-ups and for young adults too, but there is a needful space in an increasingly technological world accessible to younger and younger children for material for tweens too.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847245099</amazonuk>
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|isbn= 0228818826
}}
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}}  
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Various
 
|title=Bob's Great Green Book (Bob the Builder)
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Bob the Builder and his crew of machines live in the glorious Sunflower Valley and enjoy their work. However, as well as building new developments, they like to look after the world around them. Their motto is ''Reduce,'' '' Reuse and Recycle'' and they apply this to everything that they do. This book aims to introduce the youngest of children to the benefits of recycling, how to recycle and look after the world around them using characters that are familiar and in a way that teaches, not preaches.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140524657X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ali Valenzuela
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|isbn=1609809173
|title=Weighing It Up
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|title=Eiffel's Tower for Young People
|rating=3
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|author=Jill Jonnes
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|summary=Although never having had an eating disorder myself, I have been interested in them since I was young. I was a competitive gymnast and that is a world where eating disorders do creep in. Now I'm a mother of three teenage daughters, I worry about the subject from a whole new angle, especially as one of them is a size 6-8 and idolises those super-skinny celebrities.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340988401</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anita Ganeri and Mike Phillips
 
|title=Planet In Peril
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Saving the Earth is the latest bandwagon upon which authors seem determined to jump with children's authors at the forefront of the charge.  I've seen quite a few which were little more than a watered-down version of the sort of information which would be given to an adult and I can imagine that a lot of children would feel patronised. This ''Horrible Geography Handbook'' – ''Planet in Peril'' is a breath of fresh air.  Well, apart, that is, from when the loo gets a little too well used.
+
|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>1407105779</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1848576536
|title=The Blackest Hole in Space
+
|title=Humanatomy: How the Body Works
|author=Penny Little and Vincent Vigla
+
|author=Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank
|rating=2.5
+
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Charlie and his dad build a rocket, then Charlie and Doggo head off into space, where they're sucked into a black hole. They have a bit of a look around (as one does in a black hole, apparently), then head off home for their tea.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340944676</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Stewart Ross
 
|title=Moon: Science, History, and Mystery
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=By now we should be living in colonies on Mars and still using computers that take up a whole room: futurologists have a talent for getting things spectacularly wrong, but their predictions express the human ability to dream and transcend its limitations and conditions: we dream of reaching for the stars – and humans actually walked on the Moon. It's hard to believe that first landing happened forty years ago!
+
|summary=''Get under your own skin, pick your brains, and go inside your insides!''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0545127327</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
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.
|author=Melanie Walsh
 
|title=10 Things I Can Do To Help My World
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=It's never to early to start making a difference. Melanie Walsh's book introduces young children to simple things they can do to change the world, from switching lights off, to turning off the taps when brushing your teeth. What's more, the book is made from 100% recycled materials, making buying it an 11th thing you can do to help your world.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406320293</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Langford_Emily
|author=Rolf Heimann
+
|title=Emily's Numbers
|title=Dragonmazia
+
|author=Joss Langford
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=''Dragonmazia'' is packed to the rafters with detailed, engaging, varied and fascinating mazes. There's a strong dragon theme throughout, without ever getting samey: there are medieval dragons, Oriental dragons, and a few cuddly dragons too. Each page generally has one big maze, with a few smaller mazes or puzzles dotted around it. It doesn't have an overall narrative, but there's plenty of detail to pore over beyond the mazes themselves.
+
|summary=Emily found words ''useful'', but counting was what she loved best.  Obviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos.  She knew all about odd and even numbers.  Then she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called ''threeven''. (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>192127249X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Buckingham_Dawn
|author=We Are What We Do
+
|title=The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus
|title=Teach Your Granny To Text
+
|author=Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=I loved this book. I loved the positive tone of this book. It is just so packed full of great, interactive ideas for living a better life, that I even passed it onto to my household's resident politician. He agreed that there were lots of ideas in it that capture the spirit of these new-austerity times, and took a note of a few for his next council meeting. It's true!
+
|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>1406320714</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Pankhurst_Women
|author=Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner
+
|title=Fantastically Great Women Who Made History
|title=The Comic Strip History of the World
+
|author=Kate Pankhurst
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=''The Comic Strip History of the World'' is, as you might expect, a comic strip history of the world. It covers everything from the Big Bang to the present day, with each period of history summed up in a page or two. It's very much a potted history in the vein of the Horrible Histories series and 1066 and All That. It's a fantastic book, both as a light fun read, and as a brief education into everything that has been before.  
+
|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>0747594317</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Ignotofsky_Sport
|author=Dugald Steer
+
|title=Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
|title=Spyology
+
|author=Rachel Ignotofsky
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Agent K – also known as Spencer Blake – set out to write this manual of Spyology, otherwise known as Tradecraft, in the course of his last mission, the deadly Operation CODEX.  Obviously he saved the civilised world (again) but he apparently perished during the operation.  No one was more surprised than the head of Special Intelligence Service (P.O. Box 850, London) when the manual which I now have in front of me turned up at the headquarters of MI6 in an unmarked envelope several months after Agent K disappeared.  The original plan was to use it to train new recruits using various challenges based on Operation CODEX. It's recently become available to the public under the fifty year rule.
+
|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>184011861X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Rooney_Dino
|author=Giles Sparrow
+
|title=Discovering Dinosaurs
|title=Voyage Across The Cosmos
+
|author=Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=In the course of a year I see some wonderful books but this must rank as one of the most stunning that I've seen for a long time.  Billed as ''a journey to the edge of space and time'' the reader is off on a journey of a hundred and thirty billion trillion kilometres from earth.  On the way you'll see some breathtaking sights and get an idea of the unbelievable scale of the cosmos.
+
|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>1847245242</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Mason_poo
|author=Marion Bataille
+
|title=The Poo That Animals Do
|title=Abc 3d
+
|author=Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Wow. This is an ABC book with a difference. The publisher's notes say it's "astoundingly beautiful" and it is. Marion Bataille's careful, ingenious alphabet pops up from the pages to amaze and entrance all who look. From A, a proud pyramid on the inside cover, to Z, standing on its side at the end, each letter of our alphabet has a personality of its own. E morphs into F, V mirrors itself and becomes W, and U is a cascade of parabolas.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747595798</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Paul Kieve
 
|title=Hocus Pocus
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=''Hocus Pocus'' is part biography of the greatest magicians of all time, part fictional tale of the author meeting them as they come alive from his posters, and part magic instruction manual. All the parts foster an interest in magic, and act as an inspiration to the next generation of magicians.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>074759094X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Richard Scarry
 
|title=What Do People Do All Day?
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=As its title suggests, the book is about what people do all day. Since different people all do different things, the book covers a lot of topics. The first section looks at Busy Town itself along the high street. This book truly shines with some of the best examples of Scarry's illustrations, as we see the town above ground, and below ground in intricate detail. We see the men digging tunnels and the underground pipes, street cleaners at work, and peeks into the bank and various shops as well as the fire department, doctor, dentist, and so on. All are clearly labelled and much fun is to be had after reading the narrative, looking at and discussing all the marvellous detail. As the book progresses, we get to see what Mummy does all day at home, what the farmer does, the door to door salesman, the policeman, the fireman, the blacksmith, the postmen, the ferry workers, and so on.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007189508</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anne Morddel
 
|title=The Big Field: A Teachers' Guide
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=This teachers' guide is designed to accompany [[The Big Field: A Child's Year Under the Southern Cross by Anne Morddel]].  The inspiration for the book came about when the author worked as a librarian at a school in the state of Paranã in Brazil.  In trying to find a book about the seasons (and how the natural world around them changed) for children in the five to eleven age group she realised that none existed for the southern hemisphere.  She set out to remedy the situation.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>2953186417</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anne Morddel
 
|title=The Big Field: A Child's Year Under the Southern Cross
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=''My Mama and Papa work hard in the city and they're always busy. That's why we live on Granny's farm, Chloe and Baby and me.'' 
+
|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.
 
 
We never know the name, or gender of the narrator, but it's a gentle, sensitive voice which guides us through the seasons.  The farm – Southern Cross - has been in the family for at least three generations, as Granny's grandfather burned all the trees in the big field and planted coffee and soybeans.  Her father did the same but Granny says that she keeps forgetting to plough – but she says it with a smile.  She has something else in mind for the field.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>2953186409</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews]]
|author=Lynn Cullen and Amy Young
 
|title=Moi and Marie Antoinette
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Marie Antoinette and her pug dog, Sebastien, had an idyllic life in her native Austria.  She was the fifteenth child of the Empress, who, in the traditions of the time, used her children to make marriages which would strengthen her own position.  Marie Antoinette was told at the age of thirteen that she was to marry a Prince – the grandson of the King of France.  Sebastien narrates this charming tale of Marie Antoinette's journey to France, her marriage, life at Versailles and the birth of her daughter Therese.  It stops mercifully short of her execution.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>074759774X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Clarke Hutton
 
|title=A Picture History of Great Discoveries
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=As soon as I opened this book I was taken back in time by about half a century.  In a frieze around my classroom walls were lithographs by Clarke Hutton and they're all to be founds here in this book first published in 1954.  Unusually it's the illustrator who is given credit for the book with Mabel George's text only being acknowledged on the title page of the book.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199118353</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Richard Walker
 
|title=The Human Machine
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=In my youth (yes, alright – but it was quite some time ago) books for children about the human body were written in text-book style with some parts being obviously well-thumbed and others largely ignored other than by those who would be going on to do A level biology.  As a result many people of my generation are ignorant about how their body really works – or only learn about it when something goes wrong.  ''The Human Machine: An Owner's Guide to the Body'' is a welcome look at the subject written in a chatty and informal style and in a format familiar to the target age group of eight plus.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199116776</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Clive Gifford
 
|title=Outstanding Olympics
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=With 2008 being the year of the Beijing Olympics an authoritative book for children on the Olympic movement is opportune.  The fact this one is written by Clive Gifford – sports fanatic and award-winning children's writer – is a real bonus.  Gifford has a chatty style which pulls you in from page one.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199117764</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Ernie Malik
 
|title=Prince Caspian: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Entertainment
 
|summary=Who would have thought that Prague in the Czech Republic could so convincingly masquerade as 1940s London, complete with authentic Routemaster buses and the lions of Trafalgar Square? This sleight of hand and many more are revealed in the Official Movie Companion to the forthcoming CS Lewis adaptation, ''Prince Caspian''.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007270593</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Richard Horne and Tracey Turner
 
|title=101 Things You Wish You'd Invented and Some You Wish No One Had
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Gearing up for the long school summer holidays yet? If not, you probably should be. It always pays to plan in advance. Bored children aren't a pretty sight. You could certainly prepare yourself well by taking a look at the latest in Bloomsbury's 101 Things To Do series. This one is Things You Wish You'd Invented and it entertained me for a good few hours.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747591989</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Mike Flynn
 
|title=The Ultimate Survival Guide For Boys
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=A potentially interesting book about how to survive in the wilderness or your back garden, which unfortunately misses the mark by not being enough of one thing or the other. It's worth a read, but you wouldn't take it on a dangerous camping trip to the back garden.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230700519</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Georgina Phillips
 
|title=Ouch! Extreme Feats of Human Endurance
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Everything from Shackleton to Ellen MacArthur, by way of the Japanese word for fried rice-field grasshopper, and 32 hour long after dinner speeches. ''Ouch!'' contains fascinating trivia on every page that children will love to repeat back to you at length.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330454056</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today
 
|author=Dougal Dixon
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|rating=4.5
 
|summary=As a child and even during my daughter's childhood, dinosaurs had not really gripped the public consciousness in the way that they have done over the last decade or so. This was useful in reviewing If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today as it meant that I approached the book with interest and curiosity but without being burdened by a great deal of prior knowledge.
 
 
 
I was impressed.
 
 
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846966264</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

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

1529507987.jpg

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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