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Format: Non-fiction

Non-fiction

Turning the traditional idea of an alphabet book on its head, P is for Pterodactyl is perfect for anyone who has ever been stumped by silent letters or confused by absurd homophones. This whimsical, unique book takes silent letter entries like ‘K is for Knight’ a step further with ‘The noble knight’s knife nicked the knave’s knee.’ Lively illustrations provide context clues, and alliterative words help readers navigate text like ‘a bright white gnat is gnawing on my gnocchi’ with ease. Everyone from early learners to grown-up grammarians will love this wacky book where ‘A is for Aisle’ but ‘Y is definitely not for Why.’

Non-fiction

Go “outside,” “elsewhere,” and down the “rabbit hole” with this hilarious introduction to compound words. Young readers will fall in love with the English language as they watch star cartoonist Ivan Brunetti put his sly spin on vocabulary. The lesson here? Even “homework” is fun when you let yourself play with the words.

Non-fiction

If you’ve ever wanted to know what a panda does all day long, how your heart manages to shift all that blood around your body or what makes a rainbow shine, you’ve come to the right book.

A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You features the answers to all of these questions and many more, all told in a super-fun comic book format in three awesome sections: Human Body, Animal Kingdom and Earth and Science. A Day in the Life… is packed with facts, laughs and amazing illustrations you can dive into all day long.

Meet your grumpy liver that has to do practically EVERYTHING; your trusty hands that are very, well, handy; the spiky porcupines ready to charge; lonely Mars rovers abandoned on the Red Planet; raging tornadoes ready to rip through the pages of the book and bubbly volcanoes ready to blow.

All entries are told in the fun, friendly and informative style of Mike Barfield, and are brought to life by the colour-explosion of Jess Bradley’s awesome illustrations.

Non-fiction

Filled with quizzes, stats and little known facts, plus illustrated and told with all the fun of a Tom Gates novel, the Football Superstars series is perfect for young readers five and up.

Is Marcus Rashford your ultimate football hero? His rise to the top has already seen him win The FA Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League for Manchester United as well as become a semi-finalist at the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

Discover how the local kid got into Manchester United’s famous academy and worked hard to become part of its star-studded first team as well as an England international, plus the amazing way he called on the UK government to end child poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Football Superstars series is aimed at building a love of reading from a young age, with fun cartoons, inspirational stories, a simple narrative style and a cast of characters chipping in with quotes, jokes and comments.

Chapter bookNon-fiction

Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program.

Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as ‘Human Computers’, calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Segregated from their white counterparts, these ‘colored computers’ used pencil and paper to write the equations that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Moving from World War II through NASA’s golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the women’s rights movement, Hidden Figures interweaves a rich history of mankind’s greatest adventure with the intimate stories of five courageous women whose work forever changed the world.

Non-fiction

Are you ready to begin your journey through space? Then all you have to do is look up into the night sky. What can you see?

Marvel at the twinkling stars, and the constellations that they make. Learn about what different cultures call each shape and what the patterns means to them. Then get ready to venture farther – out into the solar system and past what the naked eye can see.

Hop from planet to planet and discover what makes Earth different, or similar, to its celestial neighbours. Marvel at the ways that humans have explored our solar system, and beyond, with space shuttles, rockets and probes. There is a whole wide universe out there, with secrets and mysteries to solve. Grab your telescope and get ready for the intergalactic journey of a lifetime!

Non-fiction

An exciting, laugh-a-minute guide to every Olympic and Paralympic sport

From boxing to boccia, find out just what it takes to become an Olympic and Paralympic star in this hilariously informative guide to the games. For each sport you’ll discover why it’s great, why it’s not so great, what skills and equipment you’ll need to start practising and even how to sound like a pro! You’ll learn about some of the greatest Olympians in history, events that might appear in the future and there’s a helpful guide to your chances of becoming a champion.

With bold, energetic illustrations and a text packed with weird, wonderful and wildly hilarious facts written by former sports journalist Scott Allen, this gift book is the funniest guide you’ll find to the next Olympics!

Non-fiction

Pandemics, war, terror, natural disasters – the world seems to be full of bad news and it can all feel, well, a little bit scary. But this is just part of the story. There are in fact tons of great things happening, from robots improving health care and trees healing the planet, to everyday people helping their community with acts of kindness and the businesses fighting for good in the world.

In Good News, children will learn to become fake news detectives, sussing out what’s real and what isn’t. They’ll discover the good news – the amazing anecdotes, case studies and figures around the globe that are making a difference. And they’ll learn that if we all continue to work together, things can only keep getting better and better.

Empowering, reassuring and confidence-boosting, this book is a positive antidote for testing times.

Non-fiction

A colourful celebration of costumes and cultures from around the world.

Celebrate world dress with this beautifully illustrated compendium of clothing. From colourful kimonos to dazzling flamenco dresses, this book takes you on a journey through the continents to discover the incredible variety of traditional dress.

With vibrant artwork by Chaaya Prabhat, this is a colourful celebration of clothing and cultures around the world.

Non-fiction

Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature is a beautiful gift book, illustrated in full colour by Barry Falls, and divided into five sections: looking out of the window, venturing out into the garden, walking in the woods, investigating heathland and wandering on the river bank.

Dara pauses to tell you about each habitat and provides fantastic facts about the native birds, animals and plants you will find there – including wrens, blackbirds, butterflies, tadpoles, bluebells, bees, hen harriers, otters, dandelions, oak trees and many more.

Each section contains a discovery section where you will have a closer look at natural phenomenon such as metamorphoses and migration, learn about categorization in the animal kingdom or become an expert on the collective nouns for birds.

Each section finishes with an activity to do when you get home: plant wild flowers, make a bird feeder, try pond dipping, make a journey stick and build a terrarium.

Dara ends the book with advice for young conservationists.

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