Would You Believe...two cyclists invented the aeroplane?! by Richard Platt
| Would You Believe...two cyclists invented the aeroplane?! by Richard Platt | |
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| Category: Children's Non-Fiction | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: An enjoyable entry in a very bright and engaging series of trivia and knowledge for the primary school-age child, concerning travel and transport. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: April 2010 |
| Publisher: OUP Oxford | |
| ISBN: 978-0199119691 | |
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Where can you find a welter of trivia and facts about transport from the ages, from the first use of Shanks’s pony to the latest holidays to the edge of space? What has so much detail it can fit in the reasons for Mark Twain’s pen-name? Where can the adult browsing their child’s non-fiction library find a Glamorous Glennis going kinda screwy and see how it refers to the breaking of the sound barrier? In these tidy 48 pages, for one.
The only fault I have with this series of books is that they are not quite as tidy as they should be. It is a harder read than it need be, with three font sizes used where one would have done for a child of my generation. It can be very awkward to try and read each double-page spread in chronological order.
But that is a minor fault, and if I had a child interested in the subject matter of any of these ten books I would like them to enjoy a book such as this. It presents its facts in a handy way, via a couple of paragraphs only on each topic, and copious captions for very well-chosen pictures. It does not have any editorial slant, is accurate, very well produced, and covers its ground quickly and surprisingly comprehensively.
I appreciated the way the pictures are not the most obvious ones – as sexy as she is, the Blackbird does not feature anywhere in this book on vehicles and their uses. We do still get right from iron horses and rickshaws to record breakers and people carriers of the future.
In my limited experience of juvenile non-fiction, I don’t think this range is ideal for the home – I am sure there are further, more comprehensive reads out there on any of the subjects in the series. But for the school librarian, this book and the others I have experienced will, I am sure, handily replace many older volumes, with a perfectly up-to-date and very enjoyable learning experience.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy. I can see the younger brother and sister of the reader of this enjoying Cars - A Pop-Up Book Of Automobiles by Robert Crowther. You might also enjoy Would You Believe...in Mexico people picnic at granny's grave?! by Richard Platt.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Would You Believe...two cyclists invented the aeroplane?! by Richard Platt at Amazon.com.
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