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

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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Big Meals for Little Hands
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|isbn=1839948493
|author=Virginie Aladjidi, Caroline Pellissier and Marion Billet
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|title=A World of Dogs
|rating=3.5
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|author=Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary=When you learn that it features recipes from a Michelin starred chef, Sébastien Guénard, you immediately know that this is not going to be just any kids’ cook book. And it’s not. Featuring recipes categorised by season, and utilising fresh fruit and vegetables as the centre for each dish, this is a book that may appeal most to children with more adventurous palates.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909263168</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy
 
|author=Bernadette Russell
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Bringing up a child right seems an almost impossible task to me. You can do right by them at home, only for them to go crazy out of the house. Kids will be kids, be they happy, sad, curious, lazy or any other trait that adults also have. If you are lucky to have a kind natured kid, or are hoping to influence them a little, then ‘Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy’ by Bernadette Russell is a super sweet book that is bound to chime with the right type of mini human.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782401059</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=The Story of the World Cup
 
|author=Richard Brassey
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Look at the calendar and you will see that it is a year ending in an even number, what does this mean? To a host of football fans it means a summer free from boredom as an International Tournament will fill the void that the Premier League has leftFor non-football fans it's more excuses for people to watch a pigskin be knocked aroundBe you young or old, football can get in your blood and you want to know moreFor the younger fan, there are worse places to start their obsession than the World Cup and getting to know more about the esteemed tournament in Richard Brassey’s 'The Story of the World Cup'.
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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 beingsSo, any book about dogs, I'm going to sit down and devourThen 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 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>144400946X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529507987
|title=Outdoor Wonderland
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|title=The Repair Shop Craft Book
|author=Josie Jeffery
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|author=Walker Books and Sonia Albert (Illustrator)
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=When I was growing up we had ‘Why Don’t You’ to inspire us what to do during the summer holidays, but I still don’t understand why a TV show would encourage me to switch off the telly – how am I meant to know what to do?  A far more sensible guide for outdoor fun is a book like Josie Jeffery’s ‘Outdoor Wonderland’, an informative book full of interesting things to do outside no matter the weather or time of day.
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|summary=I love ''The Repair Shop''.  It's my go-to programme when I want to be cheered up.  After a hard day, there's nothing better than watching experts repair treasured items without ever mentioning what they're worth.  You see, the value is in what these possessions are worth to the people who own them and the memories they hold.  No expense appears to be spared and the experts spend as much time and effort as is required to achieve the desired result.  Regular viewers know the experts and they're all brilliant at explaining what it is they're doing. But how did they start?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400826</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=024162343X
|title=Secrets of the Seashore
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|title=Stolen History
|author=Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
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|author=Sathnam Sanghera
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=This book starts in a rock pool. It’s not a boring, quiet, calm place, though, it’s bustling with life, and with every page that turns we learn more about the mysterious creatures that live within it. You might not see them at first, but with a hint of magic they appear.
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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>1782401105</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene
|title=Earth in 30 Seconds
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|title=Fritz and Kurt
|author=Anita Ganeri
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=As a former cataloguer of children’s books there are names that are synonymous with juvenile non-fiction, in my time the author Anita Ganeri has graced my work table 112 timesShe is a prolific author and her legacy continues in the form of ‘Earth in 30 Seconds’, part of a series of books for 7-11 year olds that explore scientific principles in easy bite size pieces.
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|summary=We start with the pair of brothers Fritz and Kurt, and their muckers, doing things any Jewish lad in 1930s Vienna would want to do – kicking things around the empty market place, helping the neighbours, being dutiful when it comes to the synagogue choir and at a vocational school.  Kurt has to make sure the lamps are turned on at their very Orthodox neighbours' each Friday night – the Sabbath preventing them for using anything nearly as mechanical and workmanlike as a light switchBut this is the time just before the Austrian leader is going to cave to Hitler's will, and instead of having a national vote to keep the Nazis out, invite them in with open arms.  ''Kristallnacht'' happened in Vienna just as much as in Germany, as did all the round-ups of Jews.  These in their turn leave the younger Kurt at home with his mother and sisters anxious to hear word of an evacuation to Britain or the US, while Fritz and his father are, unknown initially to each other, packed off on the same train to Buchenwald and the stone quarry there.  And us wondering how the titular event for the adult variant of all this could come about…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782401091</amazonuk>
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|isbn=024156574X
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913750353
|title=Flowerpot Farm: A First Gardening Activity Book
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|author=Lorraine Harrison
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|author=Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy
|rating=3.5
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=With the demand for us to eat seemingly more fruit and vegetables every day, the world of grow-your-own is back.  Why buy from the supermarket when you can release the kids into the garden to graze like cattle?  However, before you do this, perhaps you should pick up a book like ‘Flowerpot Farm’ by Lorraine Harrison and Faye Bradley which will show them how to create their own fruit, veg and flower garden no matter how small a space they have to work with.
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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>1782400818</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0711266204
|title=A First Book of Nature
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|title=The Secret Life of Birds
|author=Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld
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|author=Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker (illustrator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=There is a difference between a book for children that the kids themselves will like and one that adults will likeA more mature person may like some interesting illustrations or imaginative story, but most of the children I know are happy just to see some dinosaurs in their pantsHowever, there are books that transcend this and can appeal to both groupsBooks that may have slightly dry reading for the very young, but illustrations that will transfix and amaze introducing ‘A First Book of Nature’ written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld.
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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 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 knowledgeableIt would have been wonderful if, as a child, I'd had access to a book such as ''The Secret Life of Birds''So what is it?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140634916X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0192779230
|title=Jake's Bones
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|author=Jake McGowan-Lowe
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|author=Isabel Thomas
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=My oldest son has wanted to be a palaeontologist since he was three and both boys are fascinated by how things work. Last year my youngest saw some scientific anatomy drawings and begged for more, so I began looking for children's books on skeletons, and anatomy. There are very few available and this looked the best by far, I spent two days searching not only British but American booksellers before noticing that the book had not been released yet - so sadly we were forced to wait. It was worth waiting for though, this book is truly one of a kind.
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|summary='Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill.  In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs.  We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time. The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783250259</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1800464495
 +
|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
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|author=Emma Smith
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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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.''
  
{{newreview
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Did you know this? I didn't! How about:
|title=The Beatles
 
|author=Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=''The Beatles'' begins with the childhood of John Lennon at the end of the second world war. The first illustration seems to convey and infant John twisting and shouting on his way to the air raid shelter. The text and illustrations both paint a picture of mischievous but intelligent child. We especially loved an illustration that shows the mixed emotions of the passengers and driver as John plays an old harmonica for hours on the bus. Some of the passengers look desperate to escape, but the driver is so impressed he gives John a better harmonica.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847804519</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''Maths ability on entry to school is a strong predictor of later achievement, double that of literacy skills.''
|title=Let's Paint!
 
|author=Gabriel Alborozo
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=''Are you keen to paint pictures, but afraid of making mistakes?''
 
  
With this opening gambit ''Let’s Paint!'', kicks off a short exploration of artistic styles and concepts. Illustrated with a combination of black pen and ink line drawings and paintings, Alborozo sets out to demonstrate how art can be fun.
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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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1743361327</amazonuk>
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1406395404
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|title=The Awesome Power of Sleep: How Sleep Super-Charges Your Teenage Brain
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|author=Nicola Morgan
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|rating=5
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|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 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
{{newreview
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|isbn=1849767343
|title=Secrets of the Apple Tree
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|title=Count on Me
|author=Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
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|author=Miguel Tanco
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=On a cold winter night, long after bedtime, what could be more inviting than curling up under the blankets with a book to read by torch light? What surprises might your torch reveal? In the case of ‘Secrets of the Apple Tree’ you may get more than you bargained for…
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|summary=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>1782400680</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1849767009
|title=Eye Benders: The Science of Seeing and Believing
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|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
|author=Clive Gifford and Professor Anil Seth
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|author=Rosie Haine
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=My husband doesn't usually do books, but when this arrived in the post it was a good two hours before anyone could get it out of his hands. The whole family ended up joining in and commenting on each illustration or illusion. On the surface, it just seems like some light-hearted fun, and this book certainly is fun. But in addition to being great fun, this is  an incredibly educational book as well.
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|summary=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>1782400842</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776572858
|author=Tracey Kelly
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|title=How Do You Make a Baby?
|title=A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy
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|author=Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)
|rating=4
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|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Home and Family
|summary=I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F KennedyHe was young, charismatic and a hope for the future after the old guard who seemed to have been in power for ever - and then he was goneBooks on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites [[Top Ten Books on President John F Kennedy|here]], but it's rather more difficult to find a book which puts Kennedy and what happened into context, so I was delighted to receive a copy of 'A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy'.
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|summary=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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445123576</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1526362759
|title=Richard Hammond's Great Mysteries of the World
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|title=Dosh: How to Earn It, Save It, Spend It, Grow It, Give It
|author=Richard Hammond
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|author=Rashmi Sirdeshpande
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Have you ever wondered whether or not the Loch Ness Monster actually exists? What about the Abominable Snowman? Do you think about what really goes on inside the Bermuda Triangle? Well, don't expect a definitive answer from Richard Hammond's ''Great Mysteries of the World''. You'll have to make up your own mind after being presented with the arguments. You'll need to marshal your brainpower. There are eighteen mysteries here, arranged within four topics - Weird Waters, Alien Encounters, Creepy Creatures and Ancient Treasures. All the biggies are here.
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|summary=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>0370332377</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=178112938X
|title=Deadly Detectives: Top Tips to Track Wildlife
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|title=Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission
|author=Steve Backshall
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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=Steve Backshall is best known for his Deadly 60 series, which focuses on deadly predators. This book has plenty of predators from all around the world, but it also includes many less dangerous creatures, including a fair amount on animals in the UK. Tracking a fox may not sound as exciting as tracking a leopard, but it something many children may find a chance to do in the UK, and Steve very helpfully shows the reader how to differentiate between a fox print and that of a dog. The book has several other footprint illustrations, teaching children subtle differences between may types of prints. It even had crab and bird prints to look for at the seaside. But this is about so much more than tracking and footprints.
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|summary=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>1444006436</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick
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|title=Nine Ways to Empower Tweens
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|rating=4.5
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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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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Bones Rock
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|isbn=1609809173
|author=Peter L Larson and Kristin Donnan
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|title=Eiffel's Tower for Young People
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|author=Jill Jonnes
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Most children go through a dinosaur phase, but there are always a few children who are completely captivated by dinosaurs - and everything that goes with them. This is the most detailed palaeontology book for children I have ever found. This book is written for older children, even teens who may wish to seriously consider palaeontology as a career choice. The book begins, not with dinosaurs, but with science. The book explains how science works. It presents science, not as a set of facts, but of theories and ideas that are subject to change. Science becomes a living and fluid thing rather than a stuffy set facts to memorise. Reading this book, I can almost forget how much I hated science as a child.
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|summary=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>193122935X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1848576536
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|title=Humanatomy: How the Body Works
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|author=Nicola Edwards and Jem Maybank
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|rating=5
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|summary=''Get under your own skin, pick your brains, and go inside your insides!''
  
{{newreview
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That's what ''Humanatomy'' invites you to do and honestly, I don't see how you could resist. This informative book provides a wonderful primer about the human body to curious children- from the skeletal system to the muscular system via circulation, respiration and digestion, right up to the DNA that makes who we are.
|title=Alan Turing (Real Lives)
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|author=Jim Eldridge
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=Langford_Emily
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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=Alan Turing was one of Britain's greatest thinkers of the last century. He did pioneering work on computing and artificial intelligence. He was also a hero of World War II, working in the famous code-breaking community at Bletchley Park, cracking German naval codes used to lethal effect organising U-boat attacks. Turing was the man who beat the Enigma machine.
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|summary=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>1472900103</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=How the Meteorite Got to the Museum
 
|author=Jessie Hartland
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=This is a cumulative tale in which one small event sets off a chain of other events which are repeated throughout the story. If your child loves books like ''This is the House That Jack Built'', this may prove a very useful addition to you home library, but this is a type of story telling which I have found some children really take to, and others do not.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609052528</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=Buckingham_Dawn
|title=Discover the Savage World
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|title=The Little Book of the Dawn Chorus
|author=Simon Adams, Camilla de la Bedoyere, Ian Graham, Steve Parker, Phil Steele, Clint Twist and Amanda Askew
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|author=Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=The range of subjects covered in ''Discover the Savage World'' is astonishing. The first three chapters are  science related topics. The first section ''Earth's Power'' covers the birth of the universe, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters. '' Deadly Nature'' brings new meaning to the phrase ''acting like animals'', as we see the darker side of nature, from venomous creatures, deadly carnivores and a real surprise about a very common and well known bird. ''Wild Science'' has a mixed bag of topics with dangerous elements, explosions, fireworks and exactly how a bullet works, as well as the birth of a star. ''Tough Machines'' dips into technology and innovation with an incredible variety of mechanical subjects with everything from massive transport vehicles and diggers, to robots, military vehicles, ice breaking ships, rockets, and flood control systems. The focus turns to geography with ''Harsh Lands'' show a myriad of cultures and lifestyles in inhospitable locations. Life is difficult in some regions due to nature, but man made hazards like Chernobyl and land mines occur as well. Finally we close with history and  ''Brutal Battles''. This covers ancient warfare with events such as the Battle of Marathon and the Siege of Masada right up to the Somme, the Battle Of Stalingrad with a heavy focus on snipers and the Battle of Kursk.
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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 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 aroundSo, what do you get?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848109180</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Pankhurst_Women
|title=Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space
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|title=Fantastically Great Women Who Made History
|author=Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
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|author=Kate Pankhurst
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=The first thing I noticed about this book was the illustrations. There is a strong nostalgic feel to this that makes me think of space race era film clips and early Flash Gordon comics. Perhaps it was the wonderfully fun illustrations that made me assume (incorrectly) that this would be less academic than most of the books in our space collection. I was expecting this to be a fun light read. It was certainly fun, the whole family loved this book, but it was anything but a light read. We spent three days reading this book, researching topics online after reading about them, engaging the entire family in debates on space, conducting experiments inspired by our research etc... We had to rearrange our entire school week  - and we still haven't finished - we have a number of new projects inspired by this book planned for next week as well. This book is, without any doubt one of the most educational books we have ever read, all the while not only holding the children's interest, but completely captivating them.
+
|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>1909263079</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Ignotofsky_Sport
|title=The Book Of Space: All About Stars, Planets and Rockets!
+
|title=Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
|author=Clive Gifford
+
|author=Rachel Ignotofsky
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=There's always a danger in putting a definitive article in the name of a children's non-fiction book title.  Luckily enough this volume does go almost as far as making itself definitive, with a lot of numbers and facts, yet a delivery that makes all of those and the theories and terminology it uses all palatable to the browser, and still manages to throw in the redundant unfunny cartoons at the side.  In using an intelligent system of going through all the subjects under the broad subject of space, with none of the tables, box-outs and so on other editors choose, this proves one of the more sober, measured and successful books of its kind.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780551398</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Ripley's Believe It or Not! 2014
 
|author=Robert Leroy Ripley
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I don't normally do annuals. I'm afraid too many of the silly cartoon variety put me off the genre, but this is something completely different. It seems a shame to even call it an annual. Instead I would call this an interactive encyclopaedia of the bizarre, unusual, twisted and absolutely delightful facts that challenge you to 'Believe it or not!'
+
|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>1847947166</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Rooney_Dino
|title=Horrid Henry's World Records
+
|title=Discovering Dinosaurs
|author=Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
+
|author=Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter
|rating=4
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=My son chose this book because he does like Horrid Henry, and he especially loves books with facts. As a parent, I have tried to supply my children with a wide choice of reading material, but I have to admit, I have leaned more towards fiction than non fiction simply because I mistakenly assumed it would be more fun. Girls do tend to prefer fiction, so I based my choices upon my own childhood reading habits. But when my sons began to beg for ''books a bout real things'', I saw the error of my ways.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444009214</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Dork Diaries OMG: All About Me Diary!
 
|author=Rachel Renee Russell
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I feel a pattern forming. After three books in the [[:Category:Rachel Renee Russell|Dork Diaries series]] came a throw-away, [[Dork Diaries: How to Dork Your Diary by Rachel Renee Russell|tie-in volume]] that offered a bit of a story to it but was not full-on plot and action like the routine books.  After six real novels comes this, where for the first time the star of the book really is not Nikki Maxwell, but whoever buys it (or gets it bought for them).  This is where the franchise branches away from fiction, to cover the purchaser or fan of the series, and gives her the chance to spill about herself, her school life, and her BFFs.  I think this is where I'm supposed to go ''SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!''
+
|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>1471117731</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Mason_poo
{{newreview
+
|title=The Poo That Animals Do
|title=100 People
+
|author=Paul Mason and Tony de Saulles
|author=Masayuki Sebe
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=If I told you this was a book in which every double page spread features exactly 100 people, and there’s no real story to go with it, you might be underwhelmed. You might wonder what the point would be. But I can tell you in one word: fun.
+
|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>1877579866</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews]]
|title=Top 10 For Boys 2014
 
|author=Paul Terry
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=OK, I'll admit – sometimes there comes a time when it would appear terribly easy to post a review of a book, when something so self-explanatory pops up that a description of it hardly seems necessary.  And you can judge the contents of this book similarly easily too – it takes the ''Top Ten of Everything'' format developed by the late Russell Ash, and makes it funkier, smaller, more brashly colourful, and apparently, suitable for boys.  There are unofficial, opinionated lists, and bits where kids can scribble their own content and ratings.  But despite how easy it is to get a handle on the book, I do hereby solemnly swear etc that I read almost every word, and just as I should, even no longer being a boy I learned a lot.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0600623459</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 13:29, 9 September 2023

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Review of

A World of Dogs by Carlie Sorosiak and Luisa Uribe

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield and David Ziggy Greene

4star.jpg Confident Readers

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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

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

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Teens

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

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Review of

Count on Me by Miguel Tanco

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

It Isn't Rude to be Nude by Rosie Haine

5star.jpg For Sharing

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Home and Family

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

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

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Review of

Nine Ways to Empower Tweens by Kathleen Boucher and Sara Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

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

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Review of

Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

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

Langford Emily.jpg

Review of

Emily's Numbers by Joss Langford

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

Buckingham Dawn.jpg

Review of

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

5star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

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

Pankhurst Women.jpg

Review of

Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

Ignotofsky Sport.jpg

Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

Rooney Dino.jpg

Review of

Discovering Dinosaurs by Anne Rooney and Suzanne Carpenter

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

Mason poo.jpg

Review of

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

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

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

Move on to Newest Children's Rhymes and Verse Reviews