The children and I are incredibly fortunate that we get to review lots of fantastic children’s books together. To date though the majority of these are fiction books so I was particularly interested when TickTock (the children’s imprint of Octopus Books) asked us to review some of their new non-fiction titles. The Wonderful World of Simon Abbott series is designed to put the fun back into children’s non-fiction by creating a bright and colourful witty presentation of all the information they could ever want to know about their favourite subjects, aimed at 5-7 year olds.
The two latest titles in the series, Planes, Trains and Cars, and Animals Everywhere! certainly show off children’s non-fiction at it’s quirky best. Each double page spread is rammed full of illustrations which not only are amusing to look at, but also help to explain the fun facts that accompany them.
What I particularly liked about these books is that they contain facts to please everyone. As well as basic information for younger children, they also have historical information (especially in the case of the Planes, Trains and Cars book) and loads and loads of fascinating fun facts. Did you know for instance that a school bus fitted with a jet engine is six times faster than a normal bus for instance? I certainly didn’t.
The amount of information contained in these books is vast and as it’s all contained in small little snippets it’s perfect for holding a child’s attention and they’re bound to pick up more facts each time they read it.
Most of my non-fiction children’s book experience comes from all the old Ladybird books which I collect or remember from my childhood and whilst I love them for their vintage appeal these Wonderful World of Simon Abbott books are also fantastic. The two styles have to be a million miles apart in terms of design and layout, but both hold their place for teaching children exciting facts. In an age when so many children already just head to the internet to look things up I’m all for encouraging them to curl up with a non-fiction book and learn from that instead.
It’s also the case that for some reluctant readers (and I’m told boys in particular) a good non-fiction book can be exactly what they need to encourage them to read more and I’m sure that a book packed with exciting (and sometimes weird) facts like these ones will be a huge hit. Little Miss C has enjoyed sitting down with me to go through them and in particular to learn about all the different animals. Master C (who is already turning into a transport addict) also loves looking at the pictures in the Planes, Trains and Cars book. I can’t yet tell how many of the facts he’s actually taking in, but seeing as he’s only 17 months old we’ve got plenty of time for that!
Win a copy of Animals Everywhere! and Planes, Trains and Cars
The lovely people at Ticktock have provided one copy each of Animals Everywhere! and Planes, Trains Cars to give away to one lucky Being Mrs C reader. All you need to do is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter giveaway below.
Only one entry per household and the giveaway is open to UK residents only. There is no cash alternative. The prize will be sent out by Ticktock (Octopus Books) directly. Being Mrs C’s decision is final – no quibbling please. Winners will be contacted by email. If any winner does not respond to our request for a postal address within 5 days, a redraw will take place. The competition closes on 11 March 2014 at 12.00am.
Disclaimer: We were sent copies of Planes, Trains and Cars and Animals Everywhere by Ticktock for the purposes of this review. Ticktock are also providing one copy of each as a giveaway prize.
That’s a difficult one but I’d probably say Anne Frank’s diary from studying it at school x
I remember my very first cross stitch book and still have it in the loft! It was Jo Verso’s World of Cross Stitch. I still love my cross stitch now and have her to thank as I used so many of her designs, particularly in the first few years!
My Origami book
Ann Frank’s Diary because my daughter had to do it at school too
Guiness world record book
lemony snickets a series of unfortunate events
Little Rabbit Foo Foo!
A book on the romans!
Famous Five books
A world atlas – I used to love seeing where all of the different countries are.
I liked the Usbourne guides such as the vampire one.
my football reference books
A book about world flags – was such a geek!
I liked the usbourne guides x
My Mum has that book – its fantastic!
I remember loving Richard Scarry’s books and My First French book!
Guinness World Records
I had lots of ladybird fact books- on airports and cars and I think I had one about a loom!?!
i used to love the Richard Scarry books, i would read them all the time, i think because they had fun pictures along with words i learnt alot!
Ah yes! Fantastic late night read with a torch under the bed covers!
I missed Richard Scarry when I was a child, but loving him now with LMC.
(can’t remember the title) – it was a book about under the sea creatures/ sea life
I think there is one about weaving – possibly the history of it. I will have to consult my Ladybird Tuesday notes!
My Brother had a massive hard back book about all different wild animals, I can’t remember the title but I think there’s where my love of animals stems from! x
I spy books
I had a book called ‘A Day with a Nurse’ which included photos and simple descriptions of the day-to-day job of a young nurse in a hospital. It used to enthrall me when I was about 6 or 7 🙂
The Guiness Book of Records
Has to be Guinness Book of Records – my elder sister was a big fan so I used to temporarily steal her book and hide it so I could read it! Oops!
ones about 2 monkeys called bangers and mash.
When I was 4 in the early 50s my Dad bought me The Pictorial Encyclopaedia and the Pictorial Book of History. They were very well worn by the end of my childhood but I still have them. Fascinating to see how the world has changed in my lifetime 🙂
I used to get a Guiness Book of Records every christmas. I still have some of them.