story time books

This book is another in the wonderful DK series that includes Who’s in Charge?  Show Me the Money and Mathmagicians, among others, and it shares many of the aspects that make the others so informative and appealing. This one is by Robert Winston, and the cover tells us that it is about: “How your brain works and why you do what you do.” As with the other books in the series, the information is presented in visually appealing ways, and there are interactive exercises in some places so that the reader can perform experiments which teach more about the wonderful workings of our brains. Nearly all sections cover a two page spread, but the history of what we know about this amazing organ needs twice that.  As with some of the others, a listing of some of the topics is probably as good a way as any to give an idea of the scope of the book. There’s  “Introducing the Brain,” “Brain and Body,” “I Think Therefore I am,” The Feeling Mind” and “Brain Power,” and that’s just the major sections, within which there are anything from six to eleven of the smaller sections. Fascinating for adults as well as children, again, like the other books in the series. This is non-fiction for children that is as good as it gets, and I thoroughly recommend this book along with the others. The reader will learn why some of us are morning people and others like to stay up late, why teenager’s brains make them seem a separate species at times, how memory works, about dreams and humour, emotion, creativity, and much more.

This is a wonderfully fascinating Dorling Kindersley publication, subtitled: The World in Facts, Stats, and Graphics, which should be a part of every school library, and on many home shelves as well. Each double page spread takes a topic and illustrates it with graphs, statistics, maps and other pictorial representations. Major headings are Earth, People, Power, Industry, Connections and Reference, and within those divisions there are things like: Weather, Volcanoes, Mountains, Plate Tectonics; Changing Populations, How Long Have You Got? Gender Gap, Teenage Day, Who’s Happiest?; Human Rights, Crime, Punishment, Making Money; Forests, Farming, Cocoa and Chocolate, Advertising; Internet, Online Crime Media, Our World in the future; and in the Reference section an alphabetical list of countries giving Capital, Currency, GDP, GDP per Capita, Land Area, Population, Life Expectancy and Literacy Rate. Interesting things to look at like the fact that despite a GDP per person only 2/3 that of Australia, we rate ourselves as happier then they do. Are we going to make ourselves less happy by closing that gap?  This is a wonderful reference book with D K’s usual amazingly easy to understand graphics on so many topics. Like the Guinness Book of World Records, this will provoke conversation in the library or the home.

Dinosaurs are always popular, and this book will be too. Another Gecko Press production, by Masayuki Sebe, it’s an activity book with dinosaurs on every page. There are mazes and spot the differences, codes, find the dinosaur, lots of things to find amongst the huge amount of detail. There are answers on the last page for parents who can’t work out the answers themselves. Some of the puzzles are quite challenging, so the book will keep kids happy for a while. Heaps of vigorous colour. Great fun.

From the people at Dorling Kindersley (DK) who brought you Show Me the Money; Can You Feel the Force; Evolution Revolution and others, comes this one about politics by Andrew Marr, a political journalist, broadcaster and writer. It uses a similar format, the brilliant graphics and straight-forward explanations that have made the other books so popular with schools and homes. Some headings give an idea of the scope of the book: Build your own government; What is Democracy? Left or right? Working together; The ideas rainbow; What is a monarchy/theocracy/dictatorship/democracy/anarchy; Getting into politics, and that’s only about a quarter of them. As far as I can see it’s very even-handed, describing systems and beliefs in unemotive ways. As with Show Me the Money, most adults would learn something here, and this one should be in every school library, along with many of the others in the series.

This is a wonderful book. Until now there have been only a few books on fossils for children, and they’ve been written elsewhere, so to have a New Zealand book, especially one as good as this, is great. So congratulations to publishers Random House and authors James Crampton and Marianna Terezow from GNS Science. The book has a very clear introduction to fossils, geological time scales, finding and collection fossils, classification, and how to use the book. Then each chapter covers a site where fossils can be found, with a clear structure within each chapter of: “Where is it?”  “What rocks are there?”  “Where will you find the fossils?” “What fossils will you find?” “How old are the fossils?” and “What did [the site] look like in the [period when the fossils were laid down]?” At the end there are driving instructions for finding each site, map references and a good index. A practical plasticised cover so that the book is protected in the car and backpack is a sensible addition. Beautifully presented, by people who know their subject, and written in a style which is accessible without being dumbed-down, this is an essential addition to the library of fossil hunters, or schools.

The second new Step-by-Step title from Gecko, this one by Michele Mira Pons, illustrated by Marion Puesch, is just as good as the first (see review below), another great combination of easy-to-read text and illustrations which add to the explanation and to the experience. It includes information about where food comes from, food types, likes and dislikes, how taste works, energy balances, history of food, balanced eating and even some recipes. Full of the uncommon sort of common sense, it is an eclectic selection of facts about what we eat. Once again, as good an introduction as I’ve seen of this topic and like The Adventure of Life, should be in every school library.

This is one of two new titles in Gecko Press’s translations of the Step-by-Step series. By Jean-Benoit Durand, with illustrations by Robin Gindre it is an excellent introduction to scientific theories of the origin of the universe and the evolution of life on earth.  Complete with explanatory pictures and graphics, it explains current theories on how life came from simple chemical beginnings to where we are now, and where things might go in the future. By far the best short introduction for children to these subjects I’ve seen, and as with many good children’s books many adults might be enlightened by the chatty explanations of concepts they may have found difficult to grasp.

Turn off the tv, turn off the computer and the playstation, take out this book, a pack or two of cards, a few dice, pens and paper, and have fun together. Old games, new games, games of skill and games of chance, silly and serious, riotous and quiet: they’re all here, charades to hangman, snap to whist, blind man’s buff to knucklebones, thumb wrestling to dictionary games. This book is a veritable treasure trove of ways to be entertained and connected with your family. Two Australian women, Myfanwy Jones and Spiri Tsintziras have collected the games, each of which shows at a glance the number of participants, suitable ages and equipment required. A wonderful resource for any family, and a great present.  Go and play, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Even if you think you know lots of games there will be reminders and new ones here. I’ve taken one home already.

Subtitled Biomimetics: Science Mimicking Nature, this book by Dee Pigneguy is published by Papawai Press in Auckland and printed in New Zealand. Biomimetics is the science of using design ideas from nature to solve technological problems in many fields, including engineering, science and medicine. It is full of fascinating stories like the way in which Japanese engineers studied the kingfisher’s beak to solve the problems of air resistance with high-speed trains, and how some seabirds have built in desalination systems which allow them to extract fresh water from the sea water they live in. That’s just two examples of the many ways in which science is learning from nature how to solve problems. A very interesting book which will appeal to fact-lovers as well as science-minded readers.

This book by Keri Smith, also author of Wreck this Journal, comes with a warning on its back cover: “To whoever has just picked up this book: If you find that you are unable to use your imagination, you should put this book back immediately. It is not for you. In this book you will be repeatedly asked to… suspend your disbelief, complete tasks that make you feel a bit strange, look at the world in ways that make you feel differently, conduct experiments on a regular basis, and see inanimate objects as alive.”  The book uses ideas and quotes “pilfered, borrowed, altered, and stolen from great artists and thinkers,” and is designed to encourage the reader to look anew at the world around them, inside them, and their impact on it, and “create a personal dialogue with [their] environment.” It emphasises that there are no rules and that “there is no ‘correct’ way of understanding anything. (Even though the world wants us to believe this, it’s not true.)” I could choose an example from any page, but here’s one: “Exploration #7: World of Colour: Collect paint chips [we'd probably call this a colour chart; the book is American] from a paint or hardware store. Find colo(u)rs you respond to in the world. Attempt to match them using the paint chips. (You can also match the colours using a portable paint set).” This is a great book for encouraging someone to look closely at their world. I’m certainly going to use it, and it would be a fantastic resource for teachers.