Publisher: Flying Eye Books

Wild Animals of the South

Non-fiction

This is a stunning compendium of different animals living the in the Southern Hemisphere, including sloths, jaguars, macaws and gorillas. The book is organised by continent and each double-page spread covers a different animal and includes a beautiful illustration along with a short paragraph of informative text. This is a highly appealing book that is perfect for finding out about different animals and comparing them with other creatures from different global habitats. You may also like the companion book, Wild Animals of the North.

The Comet

Joe Todd Stanton

Picturebook

From the award-winning Joe Todd-Stanton, comes an exquisite and heartfelt picture book touching on the bewildering experience of moving house. This beautiful story explores how this can affect a child’s sense of belonging, but also how it can open them up to new and wonderful experiences.

When Nyla has to leave her home in the countryside to start life again in the city, all she can think about is everything she misses from before. So when a comet comes crashing through the city streets and starts to glow and grow, Nyla can’t resist a chance to head somewhere that feels closer to what she had before. But what starts as an escape could be just the thing to make her finally feel at home.

Alcatoe and the Turnip Child

Isaac Lenkiewicz

Graphic novel

Join Alcatoe, the one witch of Plum Woods, as she creates mischief and mayhem at the harvest festival!

Alcatoe, the one witch of Plum Woods, is always ready to use her mischief and misguided magic. When the village decides to hold a vegetable growing contest, the children are set to compete against the grumpiest old man in all of Plum Woods. They enlist Alcatoe’s help, and beg for a spell to grow the biggest turnip. But a lot can go wrong even with a perfectly simple turnip-enlarging spell…like growing a few arms and legs.

Hilda and the Mountain King

Luke Pearson

Graphic novel

For the first time in paperback, we rejoin our heroine for her latest adventure just as she awakes to find herself.in the body of a troll! Her mum is worried sick, and now has to deal with the strange creature that seems to have taken Hilda’s place. Now, both of them are in a race to be reunited before Ahlberg and his safety patrol get the chance to use their new secret weapon to lay waste to trolls, and Hilda along with them!

Squid Happens

Isabel Roxas

Graphic novel

When oddballs Agnes, Roberta and Ruby discover a mutual passion for synchronised swimming, the trio form Team Pom. But between snack time, their favourite TV show and raising pigeons, it can be hard to find time to practice.

Tired of their last place, loser status, a crew of self-proclaimed weirdos start their own synchronised swimming club. But on their way to gain the respect and free snacks they deserve, they stumble upon a lonely giant squid in their local pool. Will he be the secret weapon they need to propel them into synchronised swimming super stardom? Or will they end up with ink on their faces? Who are the villainous strangers in bowler hats? And, most importantly, what’s for lunch?

The first in this series and a debut comic book from award-winning Filipino illustrator Isabel Roxas, Squid Happens is a hilarious read that explores friendship, teamwork and what it means to be yourself.

Akissi

Marguerite Abouet & Mathieu Sapin

Graphic novel

The three volumes of the Akissi series by critically acclaimed author Marguerite Abouet are collected in this first English edition.

Poor Akissi! The neighbourhood cats are trying to steal her fish, her little monkey Boubou almost ends up in a frying pan and she’s nothing but a pest to her older brother Fofana… But Akissi is a true adventurer full of silliness and mischief, and nothing will scare her for long!

Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue

William Grill

Non-fiction

This is the true story of Bandoola – an Asian timber elephant of Myanmar, which was for a time a colony of the British Empire. The story focuses on Bandoola’s adult life around the time of World War 2, when elephants were used to help move and haul hardwood teak. The elephants at this time were looked after by ‘Oozies’; men who cared for the elephants, but perhaps in a way that didn’t always show these majestic and intelligent animals the respect that they deserved.

Things changed when James Howard Williams arrived to work for the timber company, and soon saw the true nature of the hard-working elephants. World War 2 eventually arrived in Myanmar, and the people of the country were forced to leave. Bandoola and Williams led 53 elephants and over 200 refugees to safety in Northern India, on an unbelievable and treacherous journey that saw them scale mountains and tested them to the limit. This incredible journey showed an astonishing trust between humans and animals, with a remarkable level of understanding and bravery that saw them reach their destination in one piece.

Having enjoyed William Grill’s compelling retelling of Shackleton’s Journey in his wonderfully sensitive yet engaging style, it was a joy to have the opportunity to read another. Grill has a talent for finding incredible stories; stories with historical importance and that show the best (and sometimes the worst) of humanity.

‘Bandoola’ is visually and literarily compelling, powerful, and thought-provoking, providing a new angle among the range of WW2 book options.

Looking Up: An Illustrated Guide to Telescopes

Jacob Kramer & Stephanie Scholz

Non-fiction

Looking Up from Flying Eye Books is a highly visual non-fiction book exploring the history and science of telescopes. Unique among the myriad of non-fiction titles covering the topic of space, this book has a real STEM focus as it explores the ins and outs of how telescopes have enabled people to learn to magnify objects from a great distance and given insights into human understanding of the universe.

Spanning back through history, Looking Up zooms in on significant people who have contributed to the evolution of telescopes as we know them. Galileo developed ‘a tube with lenses’ that enabled viewers to see the craters of our Moon and the moons of other planets. From there, a series of thinkers and innovators have taken up the baton to develop the technology in incredible ways. International collaboration in scientific discovery is emphasised in the book, as an array of prominent telescopes around the world are celebrated – including the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, the VISTA telescope in Chile, and the James Webb Space Telescope (a collaboration developed by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency).

With a vivid and bold design style, this book is perfect for curious minds, science-lovers and those with an emerging interest in all things STEM.

Fanatical About Frogs

Owen Davey

Non-fiction

Can an information book solely about frogs really be that good? Yes. It can and it is.

Although ‘Fanatical about Frogs’ is not the only book by Owen Davey on one particular type of animal (there are more in his series on sharks, monkeys, cats and beetles), it is the first I have read and it certainly won’t be the last. This fascinating book provides an excellent overview into everything you’d ever want to know about frogs in a child-friendly yet technical way.

Upon opening the book, the beautiful endpapers are striking and confirm the book is not just informative but also very artistic in style. The stylised illustrations throughout encourage the reader to look for the details more than a photograph of a frog might. My eyes were drawn all over the pages and I enjoyed looking for the nuggets of information scattered across the page.

As I made my way through the book I found myself looking up the various frogs and realised what a brilliant book this is in inspiring readers to look deeper. The information included within each section is just enough that the reader builds an understanding, yet not so much that readers won’t be inspired to go and discover more on their own. The book is not overloaded with content; the balance between the information and images is a good one and it is therefore a book that a whole range of reading abilities could access and enjoy equally.

This is a book that any nature-lover would likely enjoy and also a good choice for more reluctant non-fiction readers. The mix of thoughtful design and informative facts could provide young readers with a new way of seeing non-fiction books altogether.

Review by: Nathan Wilcox , Primary School Teacher

Orchestra

Avalon Nuovo & David Doran

Picturebook

This stylish non-fiction book about the orchestra hits all the right notes to inspire and inform children in primary schools.

The compendium of all things musical includes sections on individual instruments of the orchestra, a diversity of notable composers and famous pieces of music and finally a section about musicology including modern music and music technology. The tone of the text conveys clear passion for the subject matter and the author is quick to point out how music is all around us in both nature and culture. David Doran’s stylish artwork makes you almost want to reach in and try out the instruments for yourself and despite our recommendation, we take no responsibility for children pestering parents to organise clarinet or double bass lessons after being exposed to this book (perhaps the cover should come with a warning!).

Through text, illustrations and diagrams, the book contains scores of information about different aspects of music and is a real must-have to support your music curriculum in school as well as to offer as an enjoyable non-fiction read for pleasure.

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