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Millions of people use the underground in London every day, but how many of them know the secrets and facts revealed in this fascinating book? Did you know, for example, that you could walk for fifteen minutes through the corridors at Bank station without going over the same steps? Or that there are 49 – 49! – abandoned and disused stations? Or that you can walk between some stations faster than the train? It concludes with various tube challenges, including the ultimate: visit all 270 stations in one day. The record for that is fifteen hours, forty-five minutes and thirty-eight seconds apparently ... All this plus underground history and peeks into the future. A quirky and unputdownable guide to the lines beneath our feet.
There’s an infectious enthusiasm about this book that will inspire every reader to look around their local train station with new eyes, or to take train trips specially to explore other lines and destinations. Author Vicki Pipe, ably assisted by Geoff Marshall (look out for Geoff’s Fun Facts text boxes – they’re irresistible), identifies fifty fascinating things to see and discover across the railways of England, Scotland and Wales and they range from tunnels, viaducts and lists of the smallest stations, to trees, railway pets and the people who keep the whole system moving. You get a great sense of the history of train travel in the UK and exciting glimpses into the future. A fact-filled information book compiled by people with a passion to match their knowledge.
All young children will be aware that plastic is causing major problems in the world, so this bright, attractive and informative book is very welcome. It poses all the questions readers will have about plastic including how is it made, why is there so much of it, why is it such a problem, and can we live without it. The answers are revealed by lifting flaps – 60 of them in total – and the information presented is clear and comprehensive, while also showing children that they have the ability to change things. It’s an excellent example of a well-thought out, smartly designed and carefully presented information book, perfectly pitched for its young readership, though I guarantee adult readers will learn something new too.
February 2020 Book of the Month | Nothing is higher profile or more topical currently than concern for the planet, making this subject an excellent choice for the next topic to get the highly successful Kate Pankhurst treatment. Continuing her quest to pay tribute to the often-overlooked female pioneers in any field of human endeavour with her mission to provide accessible and engaging non- fiction, Fantastically Great Women Who Saved the Planet does all that and more. Once again, I was struck by the fascinating and diverse choices of the featured women and girls. Some are relatively well-known: such as Anita Roddick who founded the Body Shop and Jane Goodall and her pioneering research and protection work with chimpanzees. But I had never heard of Edith Farkas who discovered the ozone hole in the Antarctic or Mária Telkes and her pioneering work on solar power. Even more inspiring is the evidence that everyone, however humble, can make a difference. Such as Isatou Geesay in the Gambia and her fight against plastic pollution or the Chipko movement in India, village women literally hugging trees to prevent the deforestation of their land and the floods and landslides which would follow. Each double-page spread has accessible paragraphs of text and lively cartoon illustrations and speech bubbles to tell the story concisely and clearly. This visual style is very engaging to young readers and has great shelf appeal. A useful glossary of terms and a page of inspiring calls to action complete the book. Another triumph of information presentation. Highly recommended.
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | Discover some of the baby animals that begin their life in an egg. There are turtles, alligators and even a platypus. Stunning art by renowned artist Alexandra Milton combined with her informative text make this a very special and surprising picture book.
A Story of Plastic in Our Oceans | A brilliantly topical and delightfully funny picture book from internationally bestselling author M.G. Leonard, which shows children what happens to their plastic toothbrushes after they're thrown away.
February 2020 Book of the Month | Small person in the family with a fondness for vehicles? They will love this book! Though there’s no real story as such, it’s action-packed, every page crammed with brightly coloured vehicles going about their business on equally bright backgrounds, a friendly animal character at the wheel. ‘Which bus would you catch?’ asks the first spread, which presents us with ten different buses to admire; ‘which truck would you drive?’ comes a bit further on. Trains, trucks, tractors, bicycles, boats, diggers, rockets, cars and emergency vehicles all get their moment in the spotlight, with questions and challenges on each page as well as speech bubbles, jokes and descriptions to read out. Bright, busy and so much fun, this will keep littles ones absorbed for hours. Fans of this will also enjoy William Bee’s equally bright and distinctive Wonderful World of series.
Greta Thunberg is the inspiration for this heartfelt and moving allegory. A little girl lives happily in a beautiful forest until the actions of neighbouring giants start to threaten her home and the wild animals who share it. The fictional Greta, like her real-life counterpart, begins a strike and is gradually joined by more and more people until the giants take notice. In this story they change their ways and everyone lives happily. Simply but powerfully the story explains the impact of human activity on the climate and our world, but reassures children that there’s something they can do: within notes about Greta Thunberg at the end is her quote, “No one is too small to make a difference.”
This is the fourth title by the duo of past Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen and writer Annemarie Young in this ground-breaking series which sets out to offer students a balanced view of the big topics and challenges the modern world faces. Having previously tackled meaty topics like Humanism, What is Right and Wrong and a similarly must-have purchase on Refugees and Migrants, this latest title could not be more perfectly timed for elucidating the forthcoming election campaign. Once again, the topic is broken down layer by layer. It looks at the whole spectrum of political views at international examples and examines what politics means in different contexts and situations, with each stage offering additional things to think about and consider and inviting the reader to reflect on their own experiences and feelings. Featuring personal statements from the authors and from four people involved in politics in different ways- Nimko Ali, Michelle Dorrell, James Graham and Sir Stephen O’Brien the overall message conveyed by the book is the very opposite of didactic. The content reflects the view that politics is about the use of power in all situations: in personal relationships, in business and the media and by the state. There is a particularly good section on how language can be used (and misused) and another on why politics causes such division and disagreement. The ground rules in the latter section should be studied by all prospective MPs! With the excellent index and glossary and further information sources this invaluable resource clearly articulates why everyone should care about politics. Highly recommended.
Amazing True-Life Tales; Astounding Wildlife Facts | A mix of inspiring true stories and fascinating facts and information, all presented across bright, colourful pages with striking, atmospheric illustrations, this is a terrific book for anyone who loves animals. Amongst the animal heroes whose stories we hear are Balto, a sledge dog who helped deliver live-saving medicine in the Alaska winter; Wojtek, the bear who became a favourite with Polish soldiers in World War 2; and Machli, a tiger who fought with an enormous crocodile to save her cubs. There are lots more too, animals who were never given names but whose actions demonstrate incredible intelligence and resilience. As Jess French says in her introduction, there’s always something new to learn about animals, and this book proves that time and time again.
Justin Anderson is a film maker who has been involved in high quality film production for the likes of Planet Earth II in his 18-year career of filming wildlife for the BBC. This book is born from his passion to share his fascination with the snow leopard – one of the creatures on the Red List of endangered species – the snow leopard is listed as ‘vulnerable’. This is a very simply told tale of how Anderson went looking for snow leopards and what he saw, but the strength of the book lies in the “footnotes” and the glorious illustrations by Patrick Benson. Benson is a multi-award-winning illustrator, known for the realism of his illustration – the almost photographic detail, rendered in such a simple palette with detail that makes you think you might actually be able to stroke the leopards (If you dare!). The “footnotes” are details about the leopards, in a different font on the relevant page of the book, so that the reader has good quality information to support the simple story – telling us more about the mysterious creature. For instance, I had no idea snow leopards sang in the moonlight – did you? The final spread of the book is devoted to a page of information about snow leopards, where you find more information about them and that ever important short index making the book useful and accessible for information retrieval. A useful and beautiful book.
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | Long-listed for the School Library Association Information Book Award. | Through Katie Brosnan's personable illustrations, we follow the digestive process from the moment the food enters our mouths to the moment the waste leaves our bodies. Along the way we are introduced to a variety of microbes - good and bad - and gain an insight into the vast ecosystem that exists inside us.
