Newest Children's Non-Fiction Reviews
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...
How the Meteorite Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland
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. Full review...
Discover the Savage World by Simon Adams, Camilla de la Bedoyere, Ian Graham, Steve Parker, Phil Steele, Clint Twist and Amanda Askew
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. Full review...
Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
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. Full review...
The Book Of Space: All About Stars, Planets and Rockets! by Clive Gifford
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. Full review...
Ripley's Believe It or Not! 2014 by Robert Leroy Ripley
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!' Full review...
Horrid Henry's World Records by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
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. Full review...
Dork Diaries OMG: All About Me Diary! by Rachel Renee Russell
I feel a pattern forming. After three books in the Dork Diaries series came a throw-away, 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!!!!!! Full review...
100 People by Masayuki Sebe
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. Full review...
Top 10 For Boys 2014 by Paul Terry
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. Full review...
Make a Mobile: 12 Cool Designs to Press Out and Hang by Lydia Crook
Make a Mobile is a delightful crafting book crammed full of projects for parents and children to share. The book contains 12 unique designs that fit together beautifully and are surprisingly easy to make. The perforated pages allow the components of each mobile to be simply pushed out from the page without the need for nimble scissor skills. Full review...
Space in 30 Seconds by Clive Gifford and Dr Mike Goldsmith
Back when I was a lad, and reading books on space science from my school library, they were nothing like this. There was little that was as colourful, no recap for every page, no homework suggestions, and certainly there was nothing as up-to-date as exoplanets or the latest dimensions of the International Space Station. Many of the changes are valuable, and make this volume quite a success. Full review...
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...
