Difference between revisions of "Newest Children's Non-Fiction Reviews"
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| + | |title=Explore and Draw Patterns: An Art Activity Book | ||
| + | |author=Owen Davey and Georgia Amson-Bradshaw | ||
| + | |rating=4.5 | ||
| + | |genre=Crafts | ||
| + | |summary=Explore and Draw Patterns is a beautifully presented interactive workbook designed to spark creativity and imagination. The appeal of the subject matter is universal; everyone loves to doodle, so the book would be equally enjoyable for adults or children. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782401407</amazonuk> | ||
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{{newreview | {{newreview | ||
|title=Top 10 of Everything 2015 | |title=Top 10 of Everything 2015 | ||
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|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. | |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. | ||
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472900103</amazonuk> | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472900103</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 10:19, 27 July 2014
Explore and Draw Patterns: An Art Activity Book by Owen Davey and Georgia Amson-Bradshaw
Explore and Draw Patterns is a beautifully presented interactive workbook designed to spark creativity and imagination. The appeal of the subject matter is universal; everyone loves to doodle, so the book would be equally enjoyable for adults or children. Full review...
Top 10 of Everything 2015 by Paul Terry
The Top 10 of Everything 2015 is, as the title implies, a compilation of 'top ten' lists covering a wide variety of topics including the natural world, pop culture, sport and technology. The style of the book will appeal to its target audience of pre-teens with its use of bright colours, vibrant images, fun facts, puzzles and quizzes. Full review...
The Life of a Car by Susan Steggall
As the daughter of a car worker and the mother of a little boy who is fascinated by wheels, The Life of a Car stood out on the shelf. Part of the Busy Wheels series, this non fiction picture book illustrates the life cycle of a car from manufacture to scrapping with the help of just the odd word or two or three. Full review...
S is for South Africa by Beverley Naidoo and Prodeepta Das
Beverley Naidoo is best known for her award winning fiction for older readers but in this title in the World Alphabet series she brings her native country of South Africa to life for younger children. Starting with A for the Apartheid Museum and finishing with Zoo Lake in Jo’burg she covers many different aspects of life including traditions, food, landscape, animals, music and family life and each subject is accompanied by one of Prodeepta Das’s stunning photos. The poetic text flows and this would work well read aloud. Full review...
Rubik's Quest: Mission Invent by John Farndon
The Rubik Cube is not only a great toy, but also a great brand. Why should Lego have all the fun? To wit Rubik have recently branched out into creating variations of their famous puzzle, but also into other formats including books. Rubik's Quest: Mission Invent by John Farndon is one of a new series of fun puzzle books designed for kids that combine a story with improving your knowledge; in this case, in science. Can science be fun? The answer is yes, but perhaps Mission Invent is not the best example of this. Full review...
Elephant by Suzi Eszterhas
Elephant is part of the wonderful Eye on the Wild series by award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas. The book follows the journey of a young bull elephant calf from birth through adulthood. The vivid full-page photographs show heartwarming snapshots of life in the herd; a purely matriarchal society where strong females form a close family bond and work hard rearing and protecting their young. Full review...
Tiger by Suzi Eszterhas
Tiger is a simply stunning picture book following the lives of a tiger family from birth to adulthood. Each page is filled with enchanting pictures of the tigers in the wild, taken by award-winning photographer Suzi Eszterhas. Full review...
50 Things You Should Know About The First World War by Jim Eldridge
It's a non-fiction book certainly for the primary school audience, and as a result is fully pictorial and not terribly wordy. The '50 Things' idea is a hook to draw one in, and that leads to fifty more salient paragraphs being given us in bold print, mostly but not all given a double-page spread. But there are other boxed-out paragraphs, timelines, factoids written up the edge of the page, illuminating captions and more, so there is certainly a welter of detail. Said diversity of detail can be delivered at times in awkward fashion – even with three paragraphs at most per page it can still be a test to read them in the right order – but it does mean this book covers the gamut of the War, pretty much in chronological order, and more or less in perfectly-judged depth. Full review...
The Secrets of Stonehenge by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
I hope you agree with me about the sheer optimism of this book's title. It carries a certain chutzpah to pretend to show all the secrets about a mystical site which remains, even with a lot of evidence, sheer conjecture. Yes we know when the stones were erected, and from where they came under the orders of what kind of prehistoric man, but nothing is guaranteed in the occult world of pagan ritual, prehistoric pantheons and primitive perpetual calendars. This book won't admit to doubt beyond saying some people have different ideas about Stonehenge, but it will succeed in giving a fleeting glimpse to some of the mysteries and oo-er factors that make the site so intriguing for all ages to this day. Full review...
Big Meals for Little Hands by Virginie Aladjidi, Caroline Pellissier and Marion Billet
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. Full review...
Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy by Bernadette Russell
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. Full review...
The Story of the World Cup by Richard Brassey
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 left. For non-football fans it's more excuses for people to watch a pigskin be knocked around. Be you young or old, football can get in your blood and you want to know more. For 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'. Full review...
Outdoor Wonderland by Josie Jeffery
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. Full review...
Secrets of the Seashore by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
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. Full review...
Earth in 30 Seconds by Anita Ganeri
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 times. She 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. Full review...
Flowerpot Farm: A First Gardening Activity Book by Lorraine Harrison
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. Full review...
A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld
There is a difference between a book for children that the kids themselves will like and one that adults will like. A 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 pants. However, there are books that transcend this and can appeal to both groups. Books 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. Full review...
Jake's Bones by Jake McGowan-Lowe
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. Full review...
The Beatles by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
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. Full review...
Let's Paint! by Gabriel Alborozo
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. Full review...
Secrets of the Apple Tree by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
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… Full review...
Eye Benders: The Science of Seeing and Believing by Clive Gifford and Professor Anil Seth
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. Full review...
A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy by Tracey Kelly
I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F Kennedy. He 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 gone. Books on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites 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'. Full review...
Richard Hammond's Great Mysteries of the World by Richard Hammond
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. Full review...
Deadly Detectives: Top Tips to Track Wildlife by Steve Backshall
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. Full review...
Bones Rock by Peter L Larson and Kristin Donnan
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. Full review...
Alan Turing (Real Lives) by Jim Eldridge
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. Full review...
