Newest Children's Non-Fiction Reviews
Myths in 30 Seconds by Anita Ganeri
Back when I was a lad, and reading books on mythology from my school library, they were nothing like this. There was no full-colour, no recaps, no homework suggestions, and certainly there was not the global PC-flavoured reach that broadened things out from Greek, Roman and the occasional bit of Norse myth. You'll excuse me if I say why in this instance all those changes aren't completely for the better. Full review...
Paper Play by Lydia Crook
Paper Play is a virtual time machine, taking us back to an era before the PC, tablet and games console, when children had the ability to amuse themselves for hours with a few sheets of paper, some scissors and some glue. Simple papercraft skills were passed down from generation to generation, arming creative minds with a seemingly endless supply of crafting ideas, including paper dress-up dolls, flying contraptions and finger puppets. Full review...
Craft it Up Around the World by Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong
With long summer holidays looming ahead along with uncertain British weather it's alway a good idea to have plans about activities which will involve and interest children. In Craft it Up Around the World we've got thirty five suggestions for projects which will keep children entertained. As the title suggests we're going on a world tour and you can pick the projects to suit other activities you have planned, as a reminder of a holiday or just on a random basis. Full review...
Read On - Unsolved Mysteries by Keith West
Collins Read On books are not specifically listed as a dyslexia friendly line of books. Instead, these are what is known as hi-lo books. Book developed to motivate and engage older readers, while still being accessible to readers who are reading far below grade level. I would estimate the reading level of this book to be roughly age eight, but the subject matter is apt to appeal to children much older, or even adults. Although not designed especially for children with dyslexia like the famous Barrington Stoke range, this does have several features to make this book more appropriate to children with dyslexia than the average children's book. With the exception of a few small picture captions, this is printed in black ink with a large standard font. The print is double spaced, with short paragraphs and chapters giving the reader plenty of breaks. The paper is thick enough that print and pictures from the other side will not show through. This combined with the easy to read text will help to build a child's confidence. Full review...
If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today by Dougal Dixon
The book starts with a simple question. How would we cope, how would dinosaurs cope if they had not become extinct and were around today? They're put in context, going back to the beginnings of Planet Earth four and a half billion years ago and working forward to show how life evolved and asking if the skills the dinosaurs developed would allow them to survive today. The four groups of dinosaurs - plant-eaters, meat-eaters, ocean-dwellers and flying reptiles - are then looked at in some detail. Full review...
Judith Kerr's Creatures: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Judith Kerr by Judith Kerr
In children's literature there are some authors whom you know are not just reliable, but always impressive. One of those names is Judith Kerr. For decades she's been delighting our children (and grandchildren) but it still came as something of a surprise to discover that she would be ninety in June 2013. To celebrate this, Harper Collins have published Creatures in which Judith tells not just her own story but that of the creatures - the characters in her books and her family - who have contributed to her inspirational life. It is, though, far more than just an autobiography with a marvellous collection of paintings, drawings and memorabilia. Full review...
Don't You Dare by Sharky and George
Older readers like myself may recognise a great many of Sharky and George's ideas from our own childhood games, in the days when children's games usually did take place outdoors. Most of us will have played games like torch tag (which is enemy spotlight in this book), cops and robbers, boxes with a pen and paper, made drip sand castles, skimmed a stone or built a dam in childhood. So you might ask - why do need a book to teach us games we already know how to play? The sad fact is, most of these games are rapidly being forgotten. I rarely see children other than my own play any type of tag or hide and seek games. Full review...
Monsters and Legends by Davide Cali and Gabrriella Giandelli
My sons love stories of unsolved mysteries, monsters and mythical creatures. Like many boys, my oldest has a very strong leaning towards the non-fiction side of things. This book is for children who want to know how the legends were born, if any of the creatures could be real, and what the science behind the story is. I do feel this book is better suited to older children seeking a more rational explanation to the old stories, but my youngest did enjoy it as well. It might be useful for a child with a slight fear of monsters to get a more realistic view of them, but I would use caution with a child who is truly terrified of monsters as it might just give them more things to be afraid of. Full review...
Do Try This at Home: Cook It!! by Punk Science
Do Try This At Home - Cook It!! is a fun, very boy friendly ( but not just for boys) cookbook combining very basic recipes, science facts and a few science experiments with food. Not every recipe in this book includes science facts and in some the science bit is limited to mentioning vitamins or giving us a very simple fact like the fact a tomato is a fruit, or a water chestnut isn't really a nut. But other recipes have quite a bit of scientific information. For instance this will tell you why cooking makes an egg hard, but makes cheese softer. Children will learn what an emulsion is, why onions make us cry, how yeast works, how to make a bouncing rubber-like egg and how to make a colour changing cabbage solution that will tell if a substance is acid or alkaline. Full review...
Super Geek, Dinosaurs, Brains and Supertrains by Glenn Murphy
Super Geek, Dinosaurs, Brains and Supertrains is divided into eight sections. The first four sections are questions on dinosaurs and prehistoric life, the human brain, natural disasters and finally transport. The following four sections are much longer and provide not only the answers to the previous sections' questions, but a detailed, scientific explanation in clear easy to understand language that even my four year old can usually follow. These answers are very well written and quite interesting to both of my children, and even as an adult I found this both educational and entertaining. I have to admit, I learned a few things from this book as well, and we will certainly be brushing up on our knowledge of the human brain before bringing this out again. Full review...
Rescuing Gus by Melissa Wareham
Melissa Wareham was convinced that she must be adopted: how could someone like her who loved dogs have been born to parents who, well, wouldn't have them in the house? She wasn't even that convinced when her mother produced her birth certificate. Melissa wouldn't be able to have a dog until she had a home of her own but in the meantime she got a job at Battersea Dogs' Home and it was there that she met Gus. He wasn't in the first flush of youth and his breath was a weapon of mass destruction, but he and Melissa bonded and when he was very poorly - he had kennel cough - she took him home. Full review...
Deadly Days in History (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary and Martin Brown
Horrible Histories' catch phrase is History - with all the nasty bits left in. This is not completely true, Scholastic is not going to print a children's book with details which are too graphic for children, but this is without a doubt the nastiest and most gruesome of all of the Horrible Histories books we have read. While I am happy enough reading most of the Horrible Histories books to my 4 year old as well as my 8 year old, I do think this one is best for the older children, would recommend a minimum age of 7, and this only if the child is already aware of the Holocaust, or the parent is prepared to broach this subject in a sensitive manner and provide further information. Full review...
What If... Humans Were Like Animals? by Paul Moran
'What If Humans Were More Like Animals' takes various unusual animal attributes and imagines what it would be like if humans had an equivalent behaviour, ability, or physical feature. For instance, if we had teeth like a shark, we wouldn't have to worry about eating too many sweets, brushing our teeth, or even chomping down on a hard object. Whenever a tooth fell out, a new one would take its place. If we had the comparative strength of a Hercules beetle, we could lift a double decker bus, and if we could jump the equivalent of a froghopper insect, we'd be able to leap over sky scrapers with ease. Not all of the animal traits would be so much fun though. We wouldn't want our parents to eat us if we were not as strong as our siblings like the vole, and while eyes on our hands like a starfish might have a few advantages, it would be very awkward as well - who wants to pick things up with their eyes? Full review...
How Dinosaurs Really Work by Alan Snow
It’s sometimes difficult to find books which appeal to reluctant readers, particularly boys. Three cheers, then, for Alan Snow who has produced a really smashing book about those ever-popular dinosaurs. Here is a book which will appeal not only to bright kids during their inevitable dinosaur phase, and also to more struggling readers, a little later on. This is exactly the sort of book kids can pore over for several weeks on end in order to become something of an authority on prehistoric animals in front of their mates. Full review...
Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders - World War II by Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders is an informative, easy to read book for children covering WW2. I would describe it as something of a cross between a school text book and Terry Deary's Horrible Histories series - as much as I am certain Mr Deary would shudder at the thought of any of his books being crossed with a text book. This isn't quite facts, facts and nothing but the facts, it does break things up with humour, but I would describe this as book meant to teach history, unlike Deary's books which I would describe as books which make reading fun, and just happen to inform children on history as well. Full review...
The Beastly Best Bits (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary
Horrible Histories: The Beastly Best Bits begins with a brief introduction by a black clad executioner who looks like he has stepped of the pages of the Horrible Histories Terrifying Tudors book. Our friendly executioner will be our guide for the rest of the book, pointing out some of the most gruesome moments in history. After some classic gallows humour and a brief mention of Vlad the Impaler we begin the tour with ancient Mesopotamia. The book includes the Assyrians, Sumerians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, Vikings, Normans, Samurai Aztecs, Incas, Irish and Americans. It also covers several different periods of English history, gangsters in The Roaring 20's, the first and second world wars, and a quick section on Ruthless Rulers. Full review...
Terrifying Tudors (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary
I've always thought Terry Deary was years ahead of his time. He was writing books that boys really wanted to read many years before the current emphasis on boy friendly reading material and all the efforts to close the ever widening gender gap in reading. Horrible Histories have always been brilliant to motivate boys to read, but the older copies do show their age. Progress has been made in the way books are printed to make them more accessible to struggling readers over the last 20 years. Horrible Histories new editions celebrating 20 Horrible Years has addressed this issue and makes the books not only the type of books that boys want to read, but also the type of book that younger children or those with reading difficulties can read. Full review...
Awful Egyptians (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary
Facts, facts and nothing but the facts - if this is your idea of a history book - stop right here. Terry Deary's Horrible Histories do contain facts, in a well laid out easy to follow manner. But Terry Deary did not intend to write the Horrible History as history books, but rather as joke books. They may have ended up with far more history than he originally intended, but they remain a collection of amusing stories and jokes, rather than a collection of dry facts. Deary never intended his books to be used to teach history - in fact the mere mention of this really sets him off. He set out to write books that children wanted to read, books that are both engaging and entertaining, and whether he intended it as such or not - he has created a series which truly engages boys long before this concept became popular. Very few children pick up a book because they want to learn about history. Children pick up Deary's books because he speaks directly to them, not in the language of authority and the adult world, but in a as co-conspirator. They read his books because they are fun, but because he makes history both entertaining and relevant to them, they actually do learn this as well. What's more, they remember it unlike the facts they might memorise for a history quiz. Full review...
Measly Middle Ages (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary
The Horrible Histories series is a favourite with both schools and Home Educators, but Terry Deary never intended his books to be used in education. He originally set out to write a joke book, based on a historical subject, but freed from the constraints of school - he discovered what so many of us have also found - history really is fun. Instead of a joke book with a bit of history, Deary ended up with a history book - with quite a lot of jokes. But these books were never intended as educational texts, they were written to entertain, and his Horrible Histories - Measly Middle Ages does just that, it entertains both children and adults. It is difficult to read any of Deary's books without learning something, but learning is incidental - the fun comes first. Full review...
Maximus Musicus Visits the Orchestra by Hallfridur Olafsdottir and Porarinn Mar Baldursson
One day Maxi wanders into a rehearsal of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, where he is entranced to hear Ravel’s Bolero. He encounters most of the orchestral instruments and there’s a lot of whimsical humour as Maxi moves from instrument to instrument. Eventually he falls asleep on the stage, tired out by the excitement of his adventures. He wakes to a loud booming noise as the beginning of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is played, and he finds that the orchestra is in concert. He scuttles down into a packed auditorium. At the end of the concert, Maximus joins in the standing ovation which precedes the stirring home-grown encore. Full review...
The Truth About Love by Philip Ardagh
We are never too far from springtime, when, of course, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Beardy Ardagh is hoping that young people's fancies turn to trivia about love customs, predictions of who they'll marry and what the whole symbolism around love, Valentines and marriage mean. The emphasis is on young – this book is definitely suited for the primary school library, although he slips up once when asking if we think our partners smell nice. Full review...
Alphasaurs and Other Prehistoric Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Nelson Forss
I suppose you could describe any book about dinosaurs as being sixty-five million years in the making. What is definite is that this title was certainly not knocked up overnight. After a suitably clever, rhyming introduction, we enter the world of prehistory with A, and exit with Z, having met 27 (yes, there's a surprise guest entrant) animals along the way. And the way we meet them on these supremely clever pages is the selling point. Full review...
Wild Town (RSPB) by Mike Dilger
Would you like to know what about the thriving wildlife in Britain's towns and cities? What natural riches are out there, if only you know where (and how) to look? Wild Town will tell you. Divided into habitats - desert, grasslands, wetlands, forests, scrub, caves - the book describes animals, and some plants, to be found in each. You'll be amazed at what's out there. And you'll find out a lot about a teeming natural world right on your doorstep. It will tell you the best places to spot animals and plants - and, thanks to the wonderful photography, you'll have no trouble recognising them once you're there. From the iconic foxes and badgers to the less well known species of bird, amphibian and insect, it's all there in all its diversity and beauty. Full review...
Discover the Awesome World by Camilla de la Bedoyere, John Farndon, Ian Graham, Richard Platt and Philip Steele
Back in 2011 I was impressed by Discover the Extreme World by Camilla de la Bedoyere, Clive Gifford, John Farndon, Steve Parker, Stewart Ross and Philip Steele. I said that In my day it would have been called an encyclopaedia. It would have had a lot more text, been rather dull – and remained largely unread by those who received it as a worthy present, but with that book you needed to start at the opposite end of the scale. It's about visual impact. A fact is linked to a picture and the more striking the better – and only then is it explained. The text is as simple as possible – clear, unambiguous wording which drives the point home as quickly as possible. The layout encourages you to move the book so that you see the pictures better and can read the words. It's fun and (say it quietly) it's educational. Now I'm not in the habit of recycling reviews (honest!) but sometimes you know that you can't say it any better as exactly the same comments apply to Discover the Awesome World. Full review...
