Supposing you are in that lull in your school year and you need some fun books to get back into the swing of things… I have a couple of truly lovely fact filled books for you. There is something for kids of all ages, and these books will definitely add some bounce to your read-a-loud time.
Black Artists Shaping the World
This is my non-fiction book of the year so far. Fourteen Black artists from all over the world, their stories, their art and their creativity.
Every spread of this book is a fantastic celebration of art and wonder. There are short blocks of writing on each spread, sharing the story of the artist, and the back story behind the art presented.
The story of the artwork creates a certain curiosity: details are highlighted, choices are examined and techniques are explored.
From sculptures to photography, from paintings to fabric art, this book packs a powerful punch, enriching our discovery of great and contemporary artists.
Love this book and the diversity of art it presents… about contemporary artists, creating art in a dynamic and exciting way.
Spill the Beans
A lovely lovely book filled with quirky sayings. If you ever wondered where odd expressions come from then look no further. Each page has it’s own uniqued saying, where the saying originated from and how to use it in everyday language.
- Easy peasy lemon squeezy: Originated in a British advert for a lemon scented washing up liquid… and now we say it whenever something is extremely easy.
- To Get Someone’s Goat: If someone is very annoyed… In the old days, in the United states’ horse racing stables they used to keep racing goats as well, and those were supposed to have a calming effect on the horses. Needless to say, if someone stole your goats then the horses would be unsettled and wouldn’t race well.
And so it goes, one hundred fun sayings to learn about and a quick and easy “page a day” read to add to your reading pile.
The Bedtime Book of Even More Impossible Questions
Forget about bedtime, this is an anytime book and it is absolutely packed with amazing facts and questions for the questioning mind on every spread. Weird and wonderful questions like: Can you smell sounds? Where do thoughts go when they are forgotten? Why do we have two nostrils? So many questions that a young person might ask while you are trying to cook dinner… but I found myself intrigued by the answers. This book has a lovely vintage feel to it, with bright and gorgeous colourful illustrations and lovely readable chunks of information. This book is fantastic for curious kids and equally intriguing for their associated adults.
The Questioneers Series
These are easy reading chapter books, for youngsters who are interested in careers in STEM and also a little bit of history added in. They great reads either for reading aloud at bedtime or a chapter a day or for a beginner reader who loves picking up interesting facts as they read. Chapters are short and punchy, there are excellent illustrations on every page, that make the reader feel like they are looking at a scientist, or engineer’s notebook.
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: Rosie Revere loves inventing things, all sorts of things: from a Snakeaway, a Cheese-copter… read on, read on.
Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants: Loads of science in this one, imagine a pair of Helium pants that float up into the air.
These are fun reads that will encourage a young reader to read more in STEM and could quite possibly make them think that they too could one day be an engineer or an architect, and activist or an astronaut. There is a great website for the Questioneers as well, with lots of printables in the teacher’s section and loads to look at.
These books were given to us for review purposes by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.