Oooh, I’ve just bought this brilliant Kew Gardens book as a birthday gift for one of my son’s friends and it’s so lovely that I’m not sure I can part with it! It contains all the info young gardeners need to grow, cook and eat their own food, even if they only have space for…
What is it with kids and gross stuff?! My son takes great delight in reading out loud some of the most revolting facts he can find in this book, gleefully shouting “eeewww, mum, listen to this one…” and then laughing his head off when I start to turn a bit green round the gills… While…
My daughter has been studying both the Arctic and Antarctica at school recently, and I came across this brilliant book to help consolidate learning at home. It’s well-researched, beautifully illustrated and packed full of interesting info. It’s yet another superb book published by Quarto and to be honest, worth buying for the map endpapers alone!…
As part of my mammoth ‘kids have gone back to school’ clean-up, I spent yesterday afternoon sorting out our reading corner, which I was still in the process of doing when the children came home. Hugo, our 7-year-old, spotted this brilliant hardback on the floor while I was re-arranging our non-fiction shelves. He swiftly snatched…
I couldn’t put this down yesterday: a fascinating and compelling read for all British children (and adults) regardless of skin colour and heritage – synopsis below. I struggle to understand why our national curriculum (rightly) ensures that the major faiths of British communities are taught, yet doesn’t replicate this inclusive approach when it comes to…
I bought this after seeing it recommended by @mssburns (my factual book, home-schooling go-to on Insta). I thought my daughter – who loves art – might like it. It’s quite a substantial tome – a good inch thick – and it’s really beautifully done. When it says it’s a history of art, it truly is:…
In The Sky is a fascinating book that I spotted on Instagram recently. It’s all about how nature has inspired human designs and inventions over the years, from transportation to architecture, communication to energy creation. It’s one of those books that sucks you in: you intend to quickly dip in to it and then, suddenly,…
With the ongoing election in the USA, the impact that COVID is having on the UK economy, BREXIT and the fact my kids seem to think we have an invisible money forest growing in our postage stamp of a garden, there have been lots of questions about politics, the economy and money recently. These books…
My 7-year-old son increasingly declines a traditional bedtime story, but still enjoys 1-on-1 time before bed. I try and keep books involved in the process, though, so we often dive into non fiction as he loves finding out new facts and then talking about them. A lot of time recently has been spent researching gemstones…
While we are obviously not seeing that many flying around now, bees fascinate my children and so this fabulous hardback book is often in use. It’s BIG – a whopping 28 by 37 cms – which makes the bold, distinctive and quirky illustrations really stand out (unfortunately its size makes it difficult for me to…