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Being an experienced children’s book editor and science graduate, author Jenny Jacoby is perfectly-placed to write STEM-related books that kids will truly engage with. Continuing the engaging clarity of the author’s successful STEM Starters for Kids series, The Encyclopedia of STEM Words is a piece of non-fiction excellence, with 100 key concepts clearly explained, and Vicky Barker’s splendid artwork adding illustrative sparkle. Covering everything from adaptation, AI and algorithms, through to photosynthesis, quantum physics, and zoology, the writing is lively, lucid, and infused with an infectious love of science and technology. With handsome infographics adding to its “pick-me-up” appeal and engagement factor, STEM fans couldn’t ask for a better book to enhance their knowledge and passion. Moreover, The Encyclopedia of STEM Words might just be the book to encourage science-shirkers to discover the magic of STEM, making it a must-have for home and school libraries.
Everything You Need to Know About Numbers | The troupe of mammoths that first appeared in Mammoth Science reappears here along with some elephant shrew buddies. This time they are explaining how Mathematics works. Bestselling illustrator David Macaulay, whose iconic How Machines Work won the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize in 2016 is renowned for his ability to explain complex ideas with simple genius. Speaking as somebody who is entirely maths averse and numerically challenged at the best of times, I found the added whimsicality of using the animals to illustrate the fundamental concepts really helped keep me interested by demonstrating key mathematical principles in unusual and amusing ways. The clarity of the graphical explanations is superb, with over 60 topics covered in total, including numbers, geometry, measurement and operations. The visual reference section at the end with tables and diagrams and charts, units of measurement, signs and symbols is incredibly useful and hopefully will be reproduced as a classroom poster! There is an excellent glossary too. This is aimed at children from 8+ but will be invaluable for reluctant maths learners of all ages for whom the standard textbook is a real turn off. Find more great STEM books here!
May 2022 Book of the Month | This attractively illustrated and cleverly designed book is targeted at children from ages 4-8 and successfully employs key strategies to absolutely ensure their engagement. A pleasingly diverse and relatable cast of characters, Lilli, Bea and Leo, are inquisitive friends who love adventure and solving problems. They discover that when they need help with a difficult problem, if they just hold hands and think hard, they are transported to the magical kingdom of Questland where they are transformed into, ever popular, Superheroes. There it is up to them to complete a series of challenges using key STEM skills, cooperation, and teamwork. I am sure parents will find the explanatory glossary outlining the STEM skills involved in each book very useful! For the reader these books develop key essential learning skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. One can easily imagine a group of children, or a child and parent or carer, talking together to solve the entertaining puzzles. The very sturdily produced book comes complete with reusable stickers and rewards to collect and the questfriendz.com website provides free activity sheets and supporting classroom materials, lesson plan guides and extra downloadable stickers. By ensuring that children are attracted by the imaginative story and characters, engaged in fun activities and rewarded for their success, this will be a sure fire hit at home or at school and a brilliant example of learning through play!
Prize winning illustrator Mini Grey has used her many talents to create this wonderful tour of the development of our planet and all its inhabitants. Our guide in this amazing show is Rod the Roach and he and his insect pals all put on the most amazing stage show illustrating each of the developmental stages of the world. Where the stages’ wings would be there are side panels packed with information, small illustrations, and useful guides to how life might have been. The orchestra pit is where we can see the tape measure which gives us a timeline with lots of annotations, tiny illustrations and notice of when all the ice ages or warm ages happened. This is a visual delight that will have children poring over it as they look at the amazing planet that we live on. Each double page spread has so much to read and marvel at on it, that children will find it engrossing and informative in equal measures. I can see this being a classroom favourite for many years to come. This reader certainly gained a lot more knowledge about microbes than she had ever thought possible - and in such an entertaining way. The last double page spread is a full glossary of all the unusual and difficult terms that readers may not have come across before. This makes it into so much more than just an illustrated book but into a vital information resource for young readers.
Research shows, sadly, that boys and men are just as concerned about their appearance as girls and women with all the problems and misery that can entail. That makes this book particularly important. It talks to young men clearly and openly about the issues surrounding body image and is full of advice on how they can protect their health and learn to understand and be happy with their bodies. There are tips from experts throughout but even more importantly, quotes from boys themselves and a question-and-answer format makes it very clear and accessible. Covering everything from developments during puberty to coping with social media and healthy eating, it’s comprehensive and engaging, big on reassurance backed up by evidence and lived experience. A must have for schools, GPs and parents of boys.
Which tunes could save a life, and which should come with a health warning? How do talking drums tell the history of Africa? What happens in your brain when you listen to music? Find the answers to these questions and more in 100 Things to Know about Music - an exciting book exploring all corners of the diverse world of music.
Sadly, racism is too prevalent and the more we talk to our children about the issue, the better. If they can spot racist behaviour, and understand how unfair it is, the less likely they are to be racist themselves, and the better they’ll be at sticking up for others. This hugely effective book works by posing serious questions for children. These are printed on flaps and illustrated with bright illustrations, appealing to look at and very engaging. After they’ve thought about the questions and discussed them, the flaps can be lifted to reveal answers, which are clear, expressed in ways that children will understand, but often thought-provoking and likely to lead to more discussion themselves. The questions are grouped under themes from ‘What is racism?’ to ‘Why are people racist?’ and finally, ‘How can we stop racism?’ Throughout, children are encouraged to think for themselves and, while it’s clear how damaging and hurtful racism is, there’s a positive message that says through understanding, being aware and changing our behaviour, together we can stop racism forever.
Each book has 24 varied texts including classic fiction and poetry, to new more modern writing styles, dialogue, and newspaper articles. It is a fantastic selection of texts for each year group, including well known writers such as Edward Leer, Roald Dahl, and Michael Morpurgo to the classics of Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk, rewritten by Andrew Jennings and Adam Bushnell. There are so many comprehension books on the market, many with interesting and varied texts. The texts often vary in difficulty to suit the readers ability. What I like about these books is that the related activities provide a differentiated activity for all abilities. It is unusual to find such a variety of comprehension activities to accompany a text. Each of these texts is accompanied by about 7 activities helping with a child’s understanding of the story, but varying in length and ability level, from simple labelling, using a word bank, to multiple choice questions and more challenging traditional questions and answers. Thus, giving confidence and a sense of achievement. There are also activities for the reluctant writer, such as circling key words, marking true or false and drawing and labelling. Each activity is so well thought out, providing something for everyone. The pages are clear with well laid out with illustrated texts and clear activity pages. The photocopiable pages really focus the readers on what is important in tackling comprehensions – such activities as finding key words, the importance or re reading, and sequencing, help the children to really understand how to tackle a text within an achievable and rewarding task. As it says on the cover, these books are designed to ‘master comprehension’. The introductions are detailed and clear and there is even an answer grid at the end! The books are so well put together, providing strategies for teaching reading skills in an interesting and unique way. A great classroom resource.
Each book has 24 varied texts including classic fiction and poetry, to new more modern writing styles, dialogue, and newspaper articles. It is a fantastic selection of texts for each year group, including well known writers such as Edward Leer, Roald Dahl, and Michael Morpurgo to the classics of Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk, rewritten by Andrew Jennings and Adam Bushnell. There are so many comprehension books on the market, many with interesting and varied texts. The texts often vary in difficulty to suit the readers ability. What I like about these books is that the related activities provide a differentiated activity for all abilities. It is unusual to find such a variety of comprehension activities to accompany a text. Each of these texts is accompanied by about 7 activities helping with a child’s understanding of the story, but varying in length and ability level, from simple labelling, using a word bank, to multiple choice questions and more challenging traditional questions and answers. Thus, giving confidence and a sense of achievement. There are also activities for the reluctant writer, such as circling key words, marking true or false and drawing and labelling. Each activity is so well thought out, providing something for everyone. The pages are clear with well laid out with illustrated texts and clear activity pages. The photocopiable pages really focus the readers on what is important in tackling comprehensions – such activities as finding key words, the importance or re reading, and sequencing, help the children to really understand how to tackle a text within an achievable and rewarding task. As it says on the cover, these books are designed to ‘master comprehension’. The introductions are detailed and clear and there is even an answer grid at the end! The books are so well put together, providing strategies for teaching reading skills in an interesting and unique way. A great classroom resource.
Each book has 24 varied texts including classic fiction and poetry, to new more modern writing styles, dialogue, and newspaper articles. It is a fantastic selection of texts for each year group, including well known writers such as Edward Leer, Roald Dahl, and Michael Morpurgo to the classics of Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk, rewritten by Andrew Jennings and Adam Bushnell. There are so many comprehension books on the market, many with interesting and varied texts. The texts often vary in difficulty to suit the readers ability. What I like about these books is that the related activities provide a differentiated activity for all abilities. It is unusual to find such a variety of comprehension activities to accompany a text. Each of these texts is accompanied by about 7 activities helping with a child’s understanding of the story, but varying in length and ability level, from simple labelling, using a word bank, to multiple choice questions and more challenging traditional questions and answers. Thus, giving confidence and a sense of achievement. There are also activities for the reluctant writer, such as circling key words, marking true or false and drawing and labelling. Each activity is so well thought out, providing something for everyone. The pages are clear with well laid out with illustrated texts and clear activity pages. The photocopiable pages really focus the readers on what is important in tackling comprehensions – such activities as finding key words, the importance or re reading, and sequencing, help the children to really understand how to tackle a text within an achievable and rewarding task. As it says on the cover, these books are designed to ‘master comprehension’. The introductions are detailed and clear and there is even an answer grid at the end! The books are so well put together, providing strategies for teaching reading skills in an interesting and unique way. A great classroom resource.
Each book has 24 varied texts including classic fiction and poetry, to new more modern writing styles, dialogue, and newspaper articles. It is a fantastic selection of texts for each year group, including well known writers such as Edward Leer, Roald Dahl, and Michael Morpurgo to the classics of Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk, rewritten by Andrew Jennings and Adam Bushnell. There are so many comprehension books on the market, many with interesting and varied texts. The texts often vary in difficulty to suit the readers ability. What I like about these books is that the related activities provide a differentiated activity for all abilities. It is unusual to find such a variety of comprehension activities to accompany a text. Each of these texts is accompanied by about 7 activities helping with a child’s understanding of the story, but varying in length and ability level, from simple labelling, using a word bank, to multiple choice questions and more challenging traditional questions and answers. Thus, giving confidence and a sense of achievement. There are also activities for the reluctant writer, such as circling key words, marking true or false and drawing and labelling. Each activity is so well thought out, providing something for everyone. The pages are clear with well laid out with illustrated texts and clear activity pages. The photocopiable pages really focus the readers on what is important in tackling comprehensions – such activities as finding key words, the importance or re reading, and sequencing, help the children to really understand how to tackle a text within an achievable and rewarding task. As it says on the cover, these books are designed to ‘master comprehension’. The introductions are detailed and clear and there is even an answer grid at the end! The books are so well put together, providing strategies for teaching reading skills in an interesting and unique way. A great classroom resource.
Each book has 24 varied texts including classic fiction and poetry, to new more modern writing styles, dialogue, and newspaper articles. It is a fantastic selection of texts for each year group, including well known writers such as Edward Leer, Roald Dahl, and Michael Morpurgo to the classics of Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk, rewritten by Andrew Jennings and Adam Bushnell. There are so many comprehension books on the market, many with interesting and varied texts. The texts often vary in difficulty to suit the readers ability. What I like about these books is that the related activities provide a differentiated activity for all abilities. It is unusual to find such a variety of comprehension activities to accompany a text. Each of these texts is accompanied by about 7 activities helping with a child’s understanding of the story, but varying in length and ability level, from simple labelling, using a word bank, to multiple choice questions and more challenging traditional questions and answers. Thus, giving confidence and a sense of achievement. There are also activities for the reluctant writer, such as circling key words, marking true or false and drawing and labelling. Each activity is so well thought out, providing something for everyone. The pages are clear with well laid out with illustrated texts and clear activity pages. The photocopiable pages really focus the readers on what is important in tackling comprehensions – such activities as finding key words, the importance or re reading, and sequencing, help the children to really understand how to tackle a text within an achievable and rewarding task. As it says on the cover, these books are designed to ‘master comprehension’. The introductions are detailed and clear and there is even an answer grid at the end! The books are so well put together, providing strategies for teaching reading skills in an interesting and unique way. A great classroom resource.
If you want to know how your dog’s brain works, this is the book for you. Author Dr John Bradshaw is a biologist and anthrozoologist and an absolute expert on how dogs understand the world. With the help of Rusty, a terrier, he explains how dogs use their noses to ‘see’ things, how they communicate with each other (and us) and just how much they love their owners! It’s fascinating whether you have a dog or not, but if your best friend has four legs, then it’s a must have. After you’ve read the book, you’ll know so much about the best ways to keep your dog happy and why they behave the way they do. It’s a really accessible read and black and white illustrations by Clare Elsom make it even more appealing.
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