New books
Kingfisher have rereleased their classic Animal Encyclopedia and Nature Encyclopedia, both originally written by David Burnie. I had the fun task of updating the text, facts and figures. You can see them both here.
A couple of years ago, Templar Books and I hatched a plan to produce a First Book of Nature that would celebrate the natural world that children witness around them. We decided to approach the subjects through the medium of story, told with words and glorious illustrations by Jane Newland. The books takes the reader from the micro-tale of bees pollinating flowers and seeds sprouting in the soil to gorillas in jungles, elephants in the savannah and penguins in the Antarctic. And, of course, the bugs, trees, fruits and vegetables you’d find in your garden or park. The book’s been such a great hit, internationally, that a sequel is on the cards. Find out more here.
THE ANIMAL BOOK, from the marvellous Miles Kelly and co-written by the brilliant John Farndon and Steve Parker.
The Ultimate Interactive Guide to the Human Body, from Silver Dolphin Books. See here for more information.
3-D Explorer: Human Body, from Silver Dolphin Books. See here for more information.
Mega Spot the Difference – Rainforest, from Carlton Books. See here for more information.
Beasties of the Backyard from QED Publishing. See here for more information.
Splash! from QED Publishing. See here for more information.
Epic Migrations from Hachette Publishing. See here for more information.
Could a Shark do Gymnastics? from QED Publishing. This is one of a series of eight books. See here for more information.
Pirates – Believe it or Not! from Ripley, part of the popular Twists series. See here for more details.
Would you Rather? from QED Publishing. See here for more information.
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It is wonderful to see publishers begin to experiment more freely with the non-fiction format. Maybe one day that line between fiction and non fiction will blur even more: we all tell stories of one sort or another. You can read about the importance of non-fiction reading here.
It is no wonder that such an approach has met with great success in the publishing world. Here are just a few recent books that use the creativity of illustrated fiction books to explore the real world, and encourage a child’s imagination.
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- By imagining animals in everyday scenarios readers can find out about their size, diet and other features
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- What if a baby penguin came for dinner? Make sure he doesn’t eat everything!
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- I eat fish and can swim very fast. Can you guess who I am?
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- Could a Crocodile Play Basketball? provides a hilarious and informative introduction into the life of a crocodile.
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- by Camilla de la Bedoyere
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- I have black and white fur and eat bamboo. Can you guess who I am?
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- A peck, a smooch, a kiss – all are great to give.
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- I live on chilly ice and have fluffy white fur. Can you guess who I am?
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- ‘Highly recommended’ Amazon review
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- by Camilla de la Bedoyere
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- Could An Octopus Climb A Skyscraper? provides a fun and informative introduction into the life of an Octopus.
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- I have colorful feathers and a sharp beak. Can you guess who I am?
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- I have sharp teeth and can slither fast. Can you guess who I am?
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- Young children will really enjoy the superb photographs in this book – they capture each creature in motion with wonderful close-ups which freeze the water in action, giving a really dynamic feel to the pictures .
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- Hilarious scenes bring tiger facts to life.
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- Have you ever wondered what it’d be like if a chimpanzee joined a band?