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Charlotte Guillain writes fiction and non-fiction for children including the George's Amazing Adventures series, as featured on CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Her non-fiction picture book The Street Beneath My Feet was shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards and selected by the Guardian as one of fifteen 'modern classics'.
October 2021 Book of the Month | Readers live the life of a young African elephant in this absorbing picture book, discovering lots in the process about elephants’ way of life and the threats they face from mankind. ‘I’ll tell you our history – hear every word’, says the little elephant, and we learn how the herds are led by the grandmothers, passing down information and knowledge to the younger members, until their ability to cross the savannah as they have for centuries is interrupted by man with roads and fences. Charlotte Guillain’s rhyming text and Sam Usher’s rich watercolour illustrations give a vivid sense of the elephants’ way of life and our young narrator himself feels very alive. The final pages contain more information about elephants as well as the work that is being done to protect them, and explains how young people can get involved with conservation either in Africa or closer to home. A well thought out information book, beautifully presented.
March 2021 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month February 2021 | A wonderful introduction to how a modern place somewhere in the UK will have been created over the centuries, this beautiful picture book cleverly records the history of a place as it would look from the perspective of an oak tree. Oaks are famous for the exceptional number of years that they live and their permanence makes an interesting contrast to how frequently humans change the landscape. “I first was an acorn, so tiny and round,/I fell from a branch and sank into the ground./ Then as I grew up, I turned into a tree…/ over hundreds of years! So, what did I see?” Taken together, the simple rhyming text matched by beautiful and carefully detailed illustrations offer a delightful history lesson. The book ends with a useful timeline: "What was happening in the world while the oak tree grew?". It comes right up to the present with the spreading of the Covid-19 virus!
Told in gentle rhyming verse, this beautiful non-fiction picture book follows the story of a flock of colourful macaws as they live their lives in the Amazon rainforest. Through the voice of one of the macaws, we hear about the bounty of the rainforest, as well as the challenges they have faced - threatened by the destruction of their home through machinery and forest fires to make room for vast plantations. Still, there are some areas where the land is protected and they can live a life of freedom among the trees... perhaps in the future, humans will learn the true value of the forest once again? Accompanying non-fiction pages at the end of the book include information on on endangered macaws, the importance of the rainforest, and the causes of deforestation, as well as what we can do to help.
Grab your very own VIP access pass and enter the wonderful world of the ballet theatre. Have you ever wondered how ballet dancers stay strong and avoid injury? Or how the magical scenes on stage are created by the set department? Step behind the scenes of the ballet theatre with your very own access-all-areas invitation to find out. Discover how stunning costumes are designed and see the thousands of shoes stored in the shoe room. Watch the dancers put on dramatic makeup, elaborate wigs and headdresses to create their characters. Discover the magic and wonder of performance night as the dancers prepare to dance Swan Lake. As you turn the pages you'll read the stories of other famous ballets such as The Nutcracker and The Firebird. With beautifully intricate illustrations, you'll discover more wonderful details each time you return.
Build your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right level Mary Seacole and Edith Cavell risked their lives to look after the wounded and the dying. They proved that bravery in wartime isn't just about fighting and winning battles. White/Band 10 books have more complex sentences and figurative language. Text type - A dual biography. A glossary on page 29 defines difficult words. A timeline on pages 30 and 31 allows children to recap the events of the gallant lives. Curriculum links - History: 'the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods [for example, ... Mary Seacole and Edith Cavell].'
'This beautifully drawn book is a delightful launchpad for home learning' - Sunday Times Told in gentle rhyming verse, this beautiful non-fiction picture book follows the story of an oak tree on a hilltop as it witnesses life changing around it over the course of hundreds of years. From the time when hunters chased deer through the woodland, to when trees were cleared for farmland, to the smog and factories emerging during the industrial revolution. One majestic oak has seen it all, and now we can too. Accompanying pages at the end of the book include a timeline of events in world history across the periods featured in the poem, the life cycle of an oak tree, and prompts to help parents and children explore their own local history. 10p from every book sold goes to support the work of the National Forest.
From the Look Closer series, this richly illustrated concertina book takes you on a journey through the deep dark waters, all the way down to the seabed, before floating back up to the surface. A follow-up to The Street Beneath My Feet, The Skies Above My Eyes and The World Around Me, this visually stunning book ventures to the very bottom of the sea on a journey of discovery. Through the waves and into the deep, you'll spot all kinds of weird and wonderful marine creatures, explore the seabed and discover the impact humans have had on the underwater world. As you dive below the surface, past sea otters playing in fields of giant kelp, you will see sea lions and shoals of mackerel playing in the shallows, before passing orcas hunting in pods in the deeper water. As well as animals, discover the technology which is used under the sea, from scuba breathing apparatus to oil pipelines and deep sea submarines. As you reach the very bottom of the sea, the 'twilight zone' where very little light can filter through, you will meet the mysterious creatures of the deep such as Lanternfish and the luminous swell shark. This book is part of the Look Closer series, a set of concertina books which help teach us about the mysteries which can be found in the world around us.
October 2021 Book of the Month | Readers live the life of a young African elephant in this absorbing picture book, discovering lots in the process about elephants’ way of life and the threats they face from mankind. ‘I’ll tell you our history – hear every word’, says the little elephant, and we learn how the herds are led by the grandmothers, passing down information and knowledge to the younger members, until their ability to cross the savannah as they have for centuries is interrupted by man with roads and fences. Charlotte Guillain’s rhyming text and Sam Usher’s rich watercolour illustrations give a vivid sense of the elephants’ way of life and our young narrator himself feels very alive. The final pages contain more information about elephants as well as the work that is being done to protect them, and explains how young people can get involved with conservation either in Africa or closer to home. A well thought out information book, beautifully presented.
Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised has been developed in collaboration with Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School. It comprises classroom resources to support the SSP programme and a range of phonic readers that together provide a consistent and highly effective approach to teaching phonics. A girl tries to find a job for her dog but discovers he's just best at being a dog! Pages 14 and 15 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Reading notes within the book provide practical support for reading with children, including a list of all the sounds and words that the book will cover.
Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised has been developed in collaboration with Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School. It comprises classroom resources to support the SSP programme and a range of phonic readers that together provide a consistent and highly effective approach to teaching phonics. When Chimp carelessly tosses the skin of his eaten mangoes on the ground, he sets off a chain of events that ripples through the whole jungle! Pages 22 and 23 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Reading notes within the book provide practical support for reading with children, including a list of all the sounds and words that the book will cover.
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