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Matt Ralphs Books

Dive down if you dare and discover the world’s strangest, scariest and most magnificent sea creatures in this breathtaking gift book from the University of Cambridge and Nosy Crow!

“Ralphs’ exciting prose style, combined with great facts and images that really glow, makes for a view of the ocean that you’ll be glad you can’t see from a sun lounger this holiday” – The Guardian.

Did you know there is a place on Earth that’s hardly been explored at all? A place with near-freezing temperatures, crushing water pressure and total darkness?

Discover a magnificent menagerie of monsters that lurk deep down in our oceans – from sharks that can live for 500 years, to fish with teeth so long they can’t close their mouths.

Find out about anglerfish, giant squid, goblin sharks, coffinfish, barreleyes and many, many more amazing creatures in this stunningly illustrated gift book that will delight, surprise and inspire on every page.

With awe-inspiring artwork from Kaley McKean and atmospheric, engaging text by Matt Ralphs, created in consultation with marine biologist Dr Helen Scales alongside Dr Roz Wade from the Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge.

Special neon inks throughout
High-quality, sustainable paper
Multi-embossed cover
The perfect gift for any child aged 7+ with an interest in marine biology and zoology

This is an all-encompassing review of aviation history with beautiful illustrations, making it attractive to all ages in primary (and beyond!).

It can be read as a whole, but each double-page spread also stands independently, making it easy to apply the book to various related topics, particularly World War 2. The writing style is detailed but accessible, with a glossary for the more challenging technical vocabulary.

This book is essential for an aviation topic and a brilliant addition to the school library. There’s enough detail to satisfy those who are already interested in the topics covered and the broad range will spark new interests across topics in science, engineering and history. The book includes some references to air disasters, including the Hindenburg and Concorde, and discusses the deaths in crashes of several aviation pioneers, making it more suitable for older KS2 readers.

The balance between science and history is handled particularly well, placing exciting aviation developments in context. This would be ideal for an upper KS2 class and many sections are also accessible to younger readers due to plentiful illustrations and concise explanations.

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