Difference between revisions of "Newest Children's Non-Fiction Reviews"
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| + | |author=DK | ||
| + | |title=13½ Incredible Things You Need to Know About Everything | ||
| + | |rating=3.5 | ||
| + | |genre=Children's Non-Fiction | ||
| + | |summary=Having the Internet in the home for a child to learn from is all well and good, but it won't replace an encyclopaedia. For one thing, there definitely is an instance of having too much of a good thing – it is no use for the young mind to be exposed to every bit of knowledge we may have amassed. No, you need someone authoritative enough to come along and collate the important bits, letting you learn just enough, and the key things you do need to know, all from one place. This book doesn't really term itself as an encyclopaedia, that has to be said, but its large format puts it on the shelf next to them, and its colourful and educative mien proves it's a very close relative, at least of the modern kind. What it has decided to do is to structure the world into certain subjects, and to give us 13½ facts regarding every topic. And what a diverse range of topics it has amassed. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241238935</amazonuk> | ||
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|summary=I am a man who likes his creature comforts. Always have been, always will – and creature comforts don't involve snuggling down in a sleeping bag, however comfortable, to watch creatures, as far as I'm concerned. Luckily, however, many people are of another bent entirely – they find no problem in getting out and about, taking whatever weather and wildlife can throw at them, and spending time out of doors for the hell of it. This book is the first stage to that, and needs to be read in full before you step out your front door. And even if it's your ''only'' stage, it will still be pleasantly educational… | |summary=I am a man who likes his creature comforts. Always have been, always will – and creature comforts don't involve snuggling down in a sleeping bag, however comfortable, to watch creatures, as far as I'm concerned. Luckily, however, many people are of another bent entirely – they find no problem in getting out and about, taking whatever weather and wildlife can throw at them, and spending time out of doors for the hell of it. This book is the first stage to that, and needs to be read in full before you step out your front door. And even if it's your ''only'' stage, it will still be pleasantly educational… | ||
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Revision as of 08:16, 26 September 2017
13½ Incredible Things You Need to Know About Everything by DK
Having the Internet in the home for a child to learn from is all well and good, but it won't replace an encyclopaedia. For one thing, there definitely is an instance of having too much of a good thing – it is no use for the young mind to be exposed to every bit of knowledge we may have amassed. No, you need someone authoritative enough to come along and collate the important bits, letting you learn just enough, and the key things you do need to know, all from one place. This book doesn't really term itself as an encyclopaedia, that has to be said, but its large format puts it on the shelf next to them, and its colourful and educative mien proves it's a very close relative, at least of the modern kind. What it has decided to do is to structure the world into certain subjects, and to give us 13½ facts regarding every topic. And what a diverse range of topics it has amassed. Full review...
My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals by DK
The animal kingdom is a diverse one, full of creatures that do all sorts of things. The number of animals out there is so vast that even vets need to do a quick google when something strange appears in their practice. For budding vet-to-be animals are a constant source of fascination and they will absorb as much knowledge as you can give them. It is not practical to visit the zoo every day, but getting an educational and entertaining animal encylopedia is. Full review...
DK Children's Encyclopedia by DK
More than sixty years ago my grandparents bought me an encylopedia: it was a major purchase for them as they didn't really do books, but it was a treasure trove for me and I still have it today. It didn't just teach me facts - it taught me how to find out information for myself and how to use an index. It opened my eyes to subjects I'd never considered and widened my knowledge on those I already loved. In format, in size and content it was very similar to DK Children's Encyclopedia and I can imagine a younger me hunched over it and begging just to be allowed to finish this bit before I went to bed. Full review...
Life on Earth: Dinosaurs: With 100 Questions and 70 Lift-flaps! by Heather Alexander and Andres Lozano
I was a big fan of dinosaurs when I was a nipper. Since then the science regarding them has evolved leaps and bounds. We've got in touch with them perhaps being feathered, and have assumed colours and noises they made – we can even extrapolate from their remains what their eyesight, hearing and so much more may have been like. But science will never stop, and the next generation will need to be on board with the job of discovering them, analysing them, and presenting them to a world that never seems to get enough of the nasty, superlative beasties of Hollywood renown. As you're the kind of person to ask questions, you may well ask 'how do you get that next generation ready for their place in the field and in the laboratory?' I would put this as the answer – even if it is made itself of a hundred questions. Full review...
Life on Earth: Jungle: With 100 Questions and 70 Lift-flaps! by Heather Alexander and Andres Lozano
We're constantly being asked to save something. Save the hedgerows, save the elephant, save our seas. There's absolutely nothing wrong with any of those goals – some of them are larger than the others, and more demanding, but they are all worthy. But seeing as it's (a) the largest land feature we need to save, and (b) it's the most worthwhile to save, why not just go for the jugular – and try and save the Amazonian rainforest? Forget jugular, you'll be saving the jaguar; you'll be protecting the source of a lot of our food, spices and medicines – and when did a hedgerow near you have almost fifty different species of ant on a singular tree? The first step to saving anything is to understand it, to let us appreciate it, and this primer is how we get in touch with what's important about jungles so we can deem them worthwhile. Full review...
Iggy Peck's Big Project Book for Amazing Architects by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
Out of all the things I wanted to be as a child, an architect was not one of them. Which is a shame, perhaps – I might have had a few Prince Charles-friendly ideas under my belt, and even if I hadn't exactly progressed at that I might have been more at ease at those stupid team-bonding 'build-a-this-or-that' exercises you are sometimes forced to undergo as an adult. I never knew I would ever hold any importance in my ability to draw buildings, conceptualise towns and create model structures of my own creations – partly because I knew I had no ability. But for the likes of Iggy Peck, the whole idea is never in doubt – he spends his entire time thinking of buildings and how to improve on the ones he knows. And so, for the duration of your engagement with these pages, will you. Full review...
My First Wild Activity Book by Isabel Otter and Maxime Lebrun
You sit down together as a family and ask your child what they would like to read from your bulging bookcase. Will they choose the timeless classic that you yourself read as a child? Perhaps they will pluck for a modern tale with its dayglo colouring and storyline based around pants? Nope. Neither of these. All you will hear is Stickers! Your child would rather play with a sticker activity book than read with you, so best make it a worthwhile sticker activity book. Full review...
Scientist Academy: Are You Ready For the Challenge? by Steve Martin and Essi Kimpimaki
Kids seem to have an innate curiosity about the world around them. They are constantly asking How? and Why? Curious kids and budding scientists are going to love the new Scientist Academy book by Ivy Kids, which is filled with practical experiments and fun activities with an educational twist. Full review...
The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Unicorns and Rainbows by Rebecca Jones
I've a problem with many colouring books for children: some initial effort goes into the colouring, but the chances are that little will be kept on a long-term basis and it's not particularly satisfying. How much better would it be if the colouring produced something which could be sent to someone else, who would appreciate that it's unique and that effort and care has gone into the card? How much better to give a child something like The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Unicorns and Rainbows than an ordinary colouring book which will soon be discarded? Full review...
Wilfred and Olbert’s Totally Wild Chase by Stephan Lomp
Meet Wilfred and Osbert. They're not only the kind to completely flout the rules of the natural history explorer's club they belong to, but when they both spot an undiscovered butterfly together, they are the kind to fight tooth and claw to be the first to lay claim to it alone, and devil take the other one. What they don't know is that the drama that ensues when they're tailing this particular specimen will involve no end of peril – nearly drowning, almost being eaten by a lion, crashing a hot air balloon one of them just so happened to have in his pocket… This, then, is a fun and silly biology lesson – but that's only the best kind, surely? Full review...
Hidden World: Forest by Libby Walden and Stephanie Fizer Coleman
Sometimes, less is more. But a wood doesn't understand that, does it – it just stretches on and on, expanding outwards and outwards, and upwards and upwards – it's quite a galling thing for a young person to understand. This book reverts to the very basic detail that will let the very young student get a grip on the life in the forest, whether they can actually see it for the trees in real life or not… Full review...
Time Atlas: An Interactive Timeline of History by Robert Hegarty and Marcelo Badari
While it's always useful for a child to have access to an atlas, so they know where they are and what there is in every other location, it's equally important that they know when they are, and what has happened at any other place in time. That's the ethos behind this Time Atlas, which only has a few spreads, but takes us right back to prehistory, through the birth of civilisation, and up to today – as well as asking a few questions of what might happen in the future. It is, after all, vital we know not only where we are, but where we may be going… Full review...
Festivals and Celebrations by Sandra Lawrence and Jane Newland
Every day is a feast day, if you follow the Christian calendar very closely – there are probably enough saints now for each day to have about three people attributed to it. But that's just one religion, one way of thinking, one culture – the world is host to a whole lot more, and in every corner they have their own way of celebrating. Some poignantly light small fires and set them afloat to guide the visiting spirits of the deceased back to their post-life homes; some rejoice in the return of spring, or the bounties of the summer's harvest; some just throw crap like tomatoes or coloured water over each other. But the world has a ritual calendar of events such as these, and this is a brilliant book for the young that shows how diverse our celebrations can be. Full review...
Myths and Legends by Sandra Lawrence and Emma Trithart
Mythology is a peculiar realm, when you think about it – not quite legend, and not just the religions of the dead civilisations, but something like a mixture of the two. Certainly some of the entries in this pleasant little read hit on legend – King Arthur, Robin Hood – but we also seemed to believe they were true, even if they didn't fit into any pattern of organised worship. But seeing as it is the gospel truth that people lived by these mythologies, it's vital for the young to have some grounding in the subject, and this book is pretty good at providing such. Full review...
Dinosaur Detective's Search-and-Find Rescue Mission by Sophie Guerrive
This is a horrific world. Monsters leer over all the mountain tops, there's a giant octopus in one building and a green giant's arms coming through the windows of another, and everywhere you look someone has lost something. Luckily the Dinosaur Detective is on hand to help. Yes, despite his paws looking incredibly ungainly on the controls of his flying machine, he is able to visit all eleven zones, and find the five things requested of him in each. But can you? Full review...
Girling Up by Mayim Bialik
Aimed at teenagers, this book focuses on growing up as a girl, or Girling up if you will, and what it means to transition from school girl to grown up, via that hideous detour of teenage years. Full review...
10 Reasons to Love an Elephant by Catherine Barr and Hanako Clulow
Ten reasons to love an elephant, eh? Well, personally, I've never needed ten reasons as they've always been my favourite large animal, the gentle giants of Africa and India, but it was good to find out more about them. Perhaps the most surprising fact which I discovered was that they live in herds headed by their grandmothers. Female elephants and their calves stay together and the oldest female elephant is the one in charge as she knows where to find food and water - and she knows her herd. She remembers about people too. Full review...
Terrible True Tales from the Tower of London by Peter Cottrill
The history of the infamous Tower of London is full of gore and death. Its rich history dates back to the eleventh century and since then it has played host to many famous figures, many of them ill-fated prisoners. The history of the Tower is told within this book's pages, only this time it's told by the ravens that live there. They are the Tower's guardians who reside there permanently due to an ancient legend that all of London will fall should they be removed, and after centuries of watching over the Tower they have their own version of history to tell. Full review...
Cool Physics by Sarah Hutton
If you aren't entirely sure about a phrase such as Christiaan Huygens states his principle of wavefront sources, don't worry – it was only in 1678 that it happened, so you're not too far behind in physics. Brownian motion, and the gravitational constant being measured both date from before the Victorian era, and all of these three things are on the introductory timeline in this book, which I think might well be proof enough that a primer in the world of physics is very much needed. Full review...
The Prehistoric Times by Stella Gurney, Matthew Hodson and Neave Parker
With the ability to read the news on our phones or watch the 24 hour news channels, the days of the newspaper appear to be coming to an end. You could say that they are going to be extinct, much like the dinosaurs. So, if newspapers are a thing of the past and so are dinosaurs, it would make sense that dinosaurs had their own newspaper? Turns out this was the case and The Prehistoric Times covers several different eras on the hunt for only the best news and views. Full review...
Around the World Colouring Book by Thomas Flintham
Colouring books are a useful way for children to relax, develop manual dexterity and explore colour, but in the dash to appeal to the child so many miss the opportunity to be gently educational and to still appeal to the young. The two are not mutually exclusive! Look for instance at this colouring book: it's got page upon page of pictures to colour (with just a little narrative to set the scene) with the added attraction of four pages of stickers. You'll see grey shapes - and that's the signal to get stickering! Full review...
My Burptastic Body Book (Dirty Bertie) by David Roberts and Alan MacDonald
Oh, to be young and innocent, and to be full of questions. Questions like 'is eating my bogies good for me', or 'why is poo brown', or 'what makes sweat smell'. You don't have to be a kid like Dirty Bertie to want to know the answers – respectively, no; it's down to dead bacteria; and it doesn't – it's other bacteria again. If you think you have a lad (or, let's face it, a lass) interested in learning such stuff, this book could well be the place to turn. Full review...
Grow: A Family Guide to Growing Fruit and Veg by Ben Raskin
I worried when I looked at this book: Grow, it said, A family guide to growing fruit and veg. Why did it worry me? Well, it's a mere 48 pages and the cover says that it includes Games, stickers and MORE! I have weighty tomes which don't completely cover what I need to know about growing fruit and veg, so wasn't this going to fall a little short? Well, it doesn't - not at all. Full review...
Rainforest Masks: Ten 3D Rainforest Masks to Press Out and Make by Gavin Rutherford and Tanya Batrak
I have been having the most tremendous fun making rainforest masks: you know the effect that you get when a really talented face artist does a young child's face and you see the tiger? Well, this is an even better result and it's in 3D. All the creatures are, as you would expect, from the rainforest regions of the world, but there's decidedly more here than the usual suspects. You get a green iguana, toucan, jaguar, emperor tamarin, blue morpho butterfly, red-eyed tree frog, Brazilian tapir, giant otter, blue-and-yellow macaw and the emerald tree boa. Never heard of some of them? Well, don't worry: the book is gently educational, with a paragraph telling you just enough about the creature. Full review...
National Trust: Complete Night Explorer's Kit by Robyn Swift and Sara Lynn Cramb
There is a misfortune to the modern world, in that we have killed off a common hobby from when I was a lad. Nowadays light pollution is so awful it's certainly not uncommon for people to hardly see any of the stars and to get to learn the constellations, and while I only went out to go 'meteor hunting', it's patently obvious that the chance to lie down and stargaze is a dying one. Elsewhere the nocturnal youth can struggle to have much opportunity to explore the night-time nature as this book suggests – it begins with setting up a tent in your back garden, and too many don't even get that chance, for want of possession of one. Yes, if this book is only read once in the daytime and never referred to again, due to lack of opportunity, it really will be a crying shame. Full review...
National Trust: Go Wild in the Woods by Goldie Hawk and Rachael Saunders
I am a man who likes his creature comforts. Always have been, always will – and creature comforts don't involve snuggling down in a sleeping bag, however comfortable, to watch creatures, as far as I'm concerned. Luckily, however, many people are of another bent entirely – they find no problem in getting out and about, taking whatever weather and wildlife can throw at them, and spending time out of doors for the hell of it. This book is the first stage to that, and needs to be read in full before you step out your front door. And even if it's your only stage, it will still be pleasantly educational… Full review...
