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Topic: Literacy

I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree: A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year

Poetry

I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree: A Nature Poem For Every Day Of The Year, named after the first line of Judith Nicholls’ poem ‘Windsong’, is a beautifully illustrated gift book treasury of 366 animal poems – one for every day of the year, including leap years. Filled with familiar favourites and new discoveries, written by a wide variety of poets, including John Agard, William Blake, Emily Bronte, Charles Causley, Walter de la Mare, Emily Dickinson, Carol Ann Duffy, Eleanor Farjeon, Robert Frost, Thomas Hardy, Roger McGough, Christina Rossetti, William Shakespeare, John Updike, William Wordsworth and many more, this collection of daily poems is the perfect poetry anthology for children (and grown-ups!). Whether you are 8 or 88, you’ll find poems to share at the beginning of the day, or at bedtime, or just to dip into whenever you might like.

The Accidental Rock Star

Chapter book

It should never have happened, but somehow-with the aid of a recorder, keyboard, and very disturbed cat-Hector and Ollie have made a hit single. And now everybody wants a piece of them. They may have always dreamed of fame, but is life on tour all it’s cracked up to be? Follow a rollercoaster of rock star antics in this hilarious new story from Tom McLaughlin.

gamer book

Virtual Kombat: Gamer

Chapter book

Street kid Scott jumps at the chance to be a Virtual Kombat gamer. If he can battle his way up the ranks, the ultimate prize will be his. But then his friend Kate goes missing in the battle arena, and Scott’s dream turns into a nightmare. A sleek new edition of the first book in Bodyguard author Chris Bradford’s action-packed dystopian trilogy. Particularly formatted for dyslexic readers in KS2.

Do You Love Bugs?

Non-fiction

Crawly! Hairy! Maybe a bit scary? Snails slime upside down. Eeek! Worms can somersault and butterflies smell like cake. YUM. Wait, don’t eat them… Because bugs are truly BRILLIANT! Matt Robertson’s quirky text and sweet yet hilarious illustrations show exactly why minibeasts can be truly awesome in their own unique way. The book includes 14 hilarious globally inclusive, bug-tastic spreads, featuring worms, bees, beetles, dragonflies, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, spiders, ants, snails and stick insects. Find out how honey bees make their honey, why moths always fly around lamps and how bombardier beetles protect themselves from hungry predators. There’s something new to learn about each bug. Did you know that stick insects can dance? Or that butterflies can smell like cake? And guess what? A grasshopper will spit on you if it gets angry!

So always be good to grasshoppers, give spiders a smile not a screech and never get angry at ants! There are so many more fun facts to uncover about our tiny furry and slimy friends.

Scientists

Non-fiction

The biggest scientific breakthroughs in history have something in common: super smart people who kept looking for the answers to some of the world’s most interesting questions! The pages of this science book are filled with the stories of famous scientists such as physicists Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Stephen Hawking, biologist Marie Curie, palaeontologist Mary Anning and lesser-known trailblazers such as Chika Kuroda, who became Japan’s first female Bachelor of Science.

Filled with great detail and following a storytelling format, this is a thrilling book that will capture the imagination of young children and encourage them to explore the world of science. Beautiful descriptions of the scientists’ lives are brought to life through stunning watercolour illustrations and fantastic photography highlights the detail of their discoveries.

The Big Book of Blooms

Non-fiction, Picturebook

What does a venus fly trap eat?
How strong is a giant water lily?
Does a cactus flower?
The newest addition to Yuval Zommer’s bestselling series answers these questions and more as it introduces young children to all kinds of colourful, carnivorous, weird and wonderful flowering plants from around the world. It opens with introductory spreads on how to be a botanist; how to recognise different types of flowers; the life-cycle of a plant; flower anatomy; and the seven types of animal pollinators including bats, birds and beetles. Subsequent spreads, illustrated within various habitats, are dedicated to specific varieties of plants, including the carnivorous venus flytrap, the giant water lily and the weird and wonderful corpse flower. Readers will enjoy learning about different edible flowers and why flowers are fragrant or colourful, not to mention grisly details about carnivorous and poisonous flowers.

Manfish

Picturebook

Once upon a time in France, a baby was born under the summer sun. His parents named him Jacques. As he grew, Jacques fell in love with the sea. He dreamed of breathing beneath the waves and swimming as gracefully as a fish. In fact, he longed to become a manfish. Jacques Cousteau grew up to become a champion of the seas and one of the best-known oceanographers in the world. In this lovely biography, now in paperback, poetic text and gorgeous paintings come together to create a portrait of Cousteau that is as magical as it is inspiring.

Marvellous Machines

Non-fiction

In this eye-catching book, readers can explore the hidden inner workings of machines and inventions, from mundane objects such as toasters and bicycles to cutting edge technologies such as pill-sized medical robots and super-fast maglev trains. Readers use the see-through magic lens to reveal how things work and the elements hidden within machines – everything from wires and pipes to the magnetic and gravitational forces machines rely on to function.

Accompanying text explains how these machines function, how they affect our daily lives, and the physical and chemical phenomena that enable them to work.

Animal Babies

Non-fiction, Picturebook

A colourful and gentle introduction to the concept of animal babies for young children.

All animals have babies, but not all babies are the same! From big babies to little babies, babies that look like their parents to ones that don’t, this beautiful picture book is a perfect introduction to different kinds of animal babies, from the award-winning author Martin Jenkins and illustrated by up-and-coming talent Jane McGuinness.

Leaf

Picturebook

When a polar bear arrives unexpectedly in the woods, the other animals fear and avoid him, suspecting him to be dangerous – and his odd habit of collecting leaves only adds to their distrust. Then one day, they watch as he attempts to fly over the water with wings made of colourful leaves… trying to get back home. Perhaps he isn’t so different after all?

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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