Non-fiction – Page 3 – THE INQUISITIVE NEWT

May 26, 2018

Lots by Marc Martin & Maps; special edition by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski

In addition to the lovely books we’ve been reading about migration, I also broke out these beauties – Lots by Marc Martin & Maps; Special Edition by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski.

Lots definitely lives up to its name. It is, essentially, a picture book of many things, grouped by country.

It’s safe to say that the artwork is the book’s main selling point, but although the words are sparse, they still manage to convey a wealth of humour and information. I particularly like the page about Japan, featuring Godzilla.

The detail present is magical, and the artwork glorious.

I love which details the artist has chosen to highlight from each place, like these pretzels from New York.

I also really like the fact that this book isn’t British-centric. In fact, we don’t even feature. It really is about the wider world and for me, that adds to the feel of adventure.

Coupled with the special edition of Maps, these books are a fantastic introduction to geography.

The format of Maps isn’t that dissimilar; the pages are divided into countries, and some aspects of the nation’s culture are overlaid on the map in the form of small pictures.

I really love the selection of things that are displayed in this book. Despite having studied Danish for four years and living in Denmark for two years, this spread still taught me new things about the country.

I really love the detail in the illustrations, the colours, and the beautiful writing. As with Lots, I feel as though this book would have been far poorer for having been type-set. The hand-written look makes it feel almost as though you’re paging through someone’s sketch book – something that I really enjoy.

Although both of these books are classed as children’s books, I would feel good about giving them to an adult friend who appreciated good art and travelling. And to me, that’s the mark of great children’s books – they appeal to everyone and bring generations closer together.

Which of your kids books are your favourites?

Farn ❤

May 24, 2018

We Travel So Far by Laura Knowles and Chris Madden & Wildlife: a map colouring book

Recently, we’ve enjoyed watching the swallows and house martens return to their nests around our eaves. There’s something about the construction of our cottage which seems to make it particularly inviting to these amazing birds and last year, we had over 30 nests by the end of the season. The skies outside have certainly become a lot busier and I wonder how many residents we’ll have by the time summer is out!

Coincidentally, We Travel So Far by Laura Knowles and Chris Madden arrived in our local library this week and gleefully we took it home to pair with our Wildlife maps colouring book.

As you can probably guess from the title, this book follows the migration journeys of various animals from around the world. Whether they’re going home to mate, or to spend winter in warmer climates, the book offers an insight into the lives of many incredible creatures that I’m guilty of taking for granted.

For example, I had no idea whatsoever that the humble monarch butterfly was a migratory creature!

The art work is absolutely beautiful – it’s bright and colourful, without being patronising, and accurate whilst maintaining its style.

Adding in the information from the maps colouring book, we were able to build up a pretty good idea of how far things had come in relation to existing journeys that we’ve taken – my kids know how long it takes for us to drive from Scotland to Denmark and we could look at that distance on the map and match it to those the animals had taken. We could also have a look at pictures of countries we know and see which animals we recognised from We Travel So Far.

One of the things I like most about this particular colouring book is that the pages are perforated and blank on the back. They’re ideal for hanging on the wall or on an easel. So often when I’ve coloured gorgeous pictures, I’ve thought about hanging them, only to decide against it on account of the fact I’d have to choose between sides.

Do you have any favourite books about the natural world?

Farn ❤

April 17, 2018

The Street Beneath My Feet, by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer

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The Street Beneath My Feet, by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer is an absolute gem of a book.

The format makes it exciting, the art makes it beautiful and the information is presented in such a way that it can be enjoyed by a huge range of ages (parents included).

We’ve had it for a week, and already it’s become a firm favourite.

The book itself is a giant cross-section of the earth, folded in such a way that you can lay it out on the floor…

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…Or look at it like a regular book as each side is printed on, showing different things you can see beneath the surface.

To give you an idea of scale, here’s a picture in which I managed to accidentally photograph my foot…

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I really love the way that the text draws your attention to different elements within the pictures, and how it’s not at all dry – there’s a lot of humour present.

Which are your favourite science books? I think this one might be mine!

– Farn ❤

April 6, 2018April 3, 2018

The Fossil Girl by Catherine Brighton and Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt

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Mary Anning was a pretty inspiring person – because who doesn’t love dinosaur fossils, right? – so it’s hardly surprising that there are a number of books for children, written about her amazing work.

The Fossil Girl by Catherine Brighton and Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt are two examples.

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Both books tell of Anning’s early life as she gathered enough ‘curiosities’ to fill her shop.

The Fossil Girl by Catherine Brighton

Pictured above, this book tells Anning’s story using a comic-book format. The pictures are beautiful and light and have a real seaside-feel – to me at least, they’re reminiscent of the early railway posters.

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The format lends itself really well to early readers on account of the deliberate narrative, but manages not to be patronising. There is a wealth of information there – it’s just presented in a really concise, accessible manner. And though the words are few and scattered, the pictures really do tell their own story. I really love this detail from the cover – the clusters of swirling fossils, Anning’s practical shoes and her utilitarian apron, all help to tell us about her without actually saying anything at all.

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Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt

Unlike the previous book, Stone Girl, Bone Girl lends itself well to being read aloud. Don’t get me wrong – I love a comic as much as anyone – but if I’m reading bedtime stories, comics just don’t have the same ‘flow’ as prose or poetry. I always feel the need to fill in the descriptive narrative myself and the book goes from being an elegant, well-considered series of plot-points to me, waffling about the pictures until the kids get bored and remind me to read the next panel.

The prose is nice, the pictures are rich and colourful, though it is heavily stylised so if realism is important for your family, this book probably isn’t for you.

I found that the two books worked really well in combination. Any differences in the two stories merited investigation – an invitation to further study the life of Mary Anning.

Do you have any favourite books about the science of palaeontology?

Farn ❤