Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

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Poems Aloud by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett

Vibrant, colourful and a wonderful book of poems for reading aloud!

Tackle tongue twisters, confound your classmates with riddles, make your friends laugh and transform into a bowl of slime as you perform these poems. Build your confidence from the award-winning poet Joseph Coelho. This is the perfect book for confident children and shy readers alike. This brings the real fun of poetry to life for everybody.

The illustrations are brilliant, warm stylish and just make the words come alive.

One of my favourite poems in Poems Aloud is This Bear which is set over a double page and the bear is shown gazing into the pink sunset. He is an older bear and wandering quietly along.

This poem sounds best when read slowly take your time pause and breathe to add emphasis

‘This lumbering bear is old.

 This lumbering, bumbling bear has shuffled over rugged imagined mountains.

Urged his bulk slow and strong.

 Slow as geography.

Strong as tree growth

Through the forests of his mind.’

Joseph Coelho is an award-winning poet and performer from London. He has been long listed for the Carnegie children’s award. He won the 2015 CLPE CLiPPA poetry award with his debut poetry collection Werewolf Club Rules.

Watch this link from Edinburgh International Book Festival

Daniel Grey Barnett is an Australian illustrator and author living in Tasmania. He has illustrated for the New York Times, Sydney Opera House, The New Yorker. He brings a huge dimension of fun and engagement for this collection of poems for children.

The publishers are Wide Eyed, and they have a stunning portfolio of books for children.

Whether this book is for you at home or to use at school or nursery it is definitely one to buy. It will support reading and writing, and you will hear the words being remembered again and again.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories Across the World

Poetry – Books of poems February 2020

Poetry is one of the best ways to have fun with words, explore feelings and use rhyme and patterns together.

This month, February 2020, we have three new books of poems which we love and are great to open the book anywhere and delve straight in!

‘There’s a Crocodile in the House’, from Paul Cookson, has an enormously wide collection of poems with fun, danger, surprise and wonder. Some poems you need to SHOUT!! And some you need to whisper…

Watch out for the lurking crocodile on the armchair, whatever you don’t sit down!! Great illustrations from Liz Million.

‘The Magic of Mums’ is written by Justin Coe and illustrated by Steve Wells. Different Mums in all guises are celebrated here, sometimes comic, sometimes witty or tender and all will find a child with a Mum ‘just like that’!

Otter-Barry Books are the publishers for both There’s a Crocodile in the House’ and The Magic of Mums’. As publishers, making a difference in the landscape of good children’s’ books,  these books are a wonderful addition to their growing poetry genre.

Poems Aloud is our third poetry book this month. This is an anthology of poems from Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett. This book shouts out to you from the engaging cover to all the poems inside. There are poems for reading aloud or for being quiet, poems which are good for performance playing and poems which are good for sharing at home time.

Joseph Coelho is an award-winning poet and performer from London with a huge collection of books to his name, along with being BBC’s Teach Poetry presenter (Oct 2018).

 

Daniel Gray-Barnett lives in Tasmania and is an award-winning illustrator, including Grandma Z. His illustrations have been commissioned  by Sydney Opera House, The Boston Globe and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Australia.

Wide Eyed Editions published  and presented this book in their inimitable style making it a work of art itself and a wonderful book to have.

PS My favourite poem is below , because I love bears, shush, it’s a secret!

Sue Martin

 

 

Everybody Counts  by Kristin Roskifte

An amazingly illustrated book, packed with illustrations to find your way into and beyond, through the story and the numbers. There are hosts of visual stories and things to spot on every page. Counting games from 0-7.5 billion! It celebrates difference throughout the book and it says it all in the title, Everybody Counts! It is the winner of the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize 2019.

In the book, there are an amazing 2768 people! It has been sold already to 26 countries, a great success and crosses the barriers of language. It is also perfect for prompting stories and curiosity, with lots of questions to encourage interaction and thoughtfulness . Celebrating  differences is a keen theme in the book, where the illustrations show everyone is different and every one counts.

It is the winner of the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize 2019 and Martin Salisbury, Professor of Illustration at Cambridge School of Art says, “ Everybody Counts is an extraordinary book for our times, which I’m sure will go on to win many more awards.”

Wide Eyed Editions are delighted to be publishing Everybody Counts in 2020 and release date is 4th February.

Kristin Roskifte is a Norwegian illustrator and author who studied illustration at Cambridge School of Art and Kingston University and she is inspired by differences and similarities between people.

Everybody Counts is a fantastic book to have in your home, at school and in libraries, it will be read, looked through, explored and much more.

Sue Martin

D-Day by Michael Noble and illustrated by Alexander Mostov

D-Day . book cover, image

D-Day – buy this book here

On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, this incredible book brings you the experience of one of the turning points of  the Second World War.

Brought to life by 20 eye-witness accounts, D-Day is shown through people actively involved in planning, operations and in support  roles.

Every page is like a mood board, a personal testimony of photographs, illustrations and maps.

The information is amazing with details of the operational plan, including new innovations , such as the ‘hedgehog’ German defence systems, and ‘bobbins’, ways of using tanks to ride over each other. The photos of individuals and their thoughts are staggering. It brings D-Day to life as the war progressed onto the beaches of Northern France.

Book icon - image and web linkBuy this book here

Without giving too much away three of the people included in the book are;

 Martha Gelhorn, a journalist with the Allied Forces, who had to stow away on a hospital ship and waded on to the beach to report back. Her husband, Ernest Hemingway, had been selected to go, but never made it out of the ship.

Erwin Rommell, General Field Marshall, who devised the Atlantic Wall, to stop any invaders.

Stanley Hollis, who received the Victoria Cross for bravery as he advanced alone towards the bunkers under full fire.

And many more…

The front page gives a summary of the D-Day and its place in the Second World War, which lasted from 1939-1945 and was the largest conflict the world had ever seen. It identifies the pages of individual stories as “Stories of bravery, sacrifice and innovation.”

 

Michael Noble, is the author, he leads The Centre for Hidden Histories, he has an amazing knowledge of the legacy of war and people’s involvement, engaging with remembrance and commemoration today.

Alexander Mostov, is the illustrator who has created accessible designs with ‘mood board’ like illustrations, perfect for bite size pieces of information.

Wide Eyed Editions, part of Quarto Publishers. D-Day is an outstanding book in their exceptional collections of Information Picture Books (I am thinking this must be a new genre and needs a new name!)

We thoroughly recommend D-Day for ages 7-15 and beyond. It is an amazingly good book, for schools and libraries and for homes too, am sure it will be read time and time again. Mine is definitely staying close by!

This is probably the best book I have read this year!

Sue Martin

 

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Atlas of Adventurers: Wonders of the World

Wonders of the World - cover image and web link

Buy this book with free delivery here…

A journey of discovery, travel around the world in this huge and wonderful book, packed with amazing illustrations and bite size facts. It is part of the Atlas of Adventures series illustrated by Lucy Letherland and written by Ben Handicott.

Travel around the world to scale the Eiffel Tower, trek the Great Wall of China and raft through the Yosemite Valley.

This awe-inspiring atlas showcases the globe’s most impressive landscaped, iconic buildings and evocative antiquities from the ancient and modern world, this is the most wonderful Atlas adventure yet!

Buy this book with free delivery here

Wonders of the World is the fifth in the series, which is a ground breaking and best-selling non fiction atlas and source of facts.

Lucy Letherland ‘s illustrations fill the enormous pages with action and detail like the page on Ularu.

Ben Handicott is an inspirational writer of travel and exploration. After studying linguistics and education he went to study Vietnamese and Mandarin.

Wide Eyed, one of our favourite publishers, is part of the Quarto Group.

A great read and a good buy for schools and home .

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Art Masterclass with Van Gogh and Wassily Kandinsky

Van H+ogh - cover picture and web link

Buy this book…

Master art with these two new activity books that will teach you how to make art like Van Gogh, the post impressionist painter, and with Kandinsky, a very  famous twentieth century artist.

In each book, you will have 12 masterclasses, an introduction to the artist, a time line, over 50 stickers and a pull-out double-sided poster, which will enable you to create your own Van Gogh or Kandinsky masterpiece.

These are beautiful books to have at home, in the school and the library. The style and layout make them a joy to hold, to read and to look at the pictures from these two great artists.

Van Gogh Cover image and web link

…with free delivery!

In MasterClass Van Gogh, you will do drawing, colouring and collaging activities that show how Van Gogh created the art that has inspired so many.

Kandinsky - cover image and web link

Discover Kandinsky here…

In MasterClass Kandinsky you’ll learn how to draw from your imagination, listen to music for inspiration and use the shapes and stickers to make your own pictures.

Buy this book - button image and web link

…with free delivery!

 

Hanna Konola, from Finland is the illustrator and designer of these beautiful books, and Wide Eyed Editions are the publishers who produce amazing books which inform and inspire.

A beautiful book for the holidays, for art work  and for finding out about art…. take a MasterClass!

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Plantopedia, A Celebration of Nature’s Greatest Show-offs by Adrienne Barman

Plantopedia

Buy this book…

Welcome to the greatest show on earth, featuring the most tremendous trees and tiniest seeds, flowers masquerading as twinkling stars and very confused fruit and vegetables!

This is an incredible, non-edible, fun-loving and intellectually desirable book about plants! Plants from all over the world, chosen for their unique traits and characteristics, their abilities in disguise, and captivation, who is the cleverest, the plants or the insects?

Discover the ‘evergreens’, the ‘edibles’, the ‘elderly’ plants that have outlived the dinosaurs.

The budding naturalists among the students will be absorbed totally by the quirky text, wealth of fascinating information and stylish illustrations.  Watch out for the section on poisonous plants, which is led by an illustration of a skeleton in clothes; it includes plants such as Feverfew, Henbane and Strychnine tree.

It is a book that I keep picking up and reading from, remembering the bite sized pieces of information.

Adrienne Barman is the author and illustrator and produces very colourful and stylish work. She lives in Geneva having illustrated many books.

WideEyed is part of the QuartoKnows publishing group and has an amazingly interesting list of children’s books.

We thoroughly recommend this book for schools and libraries and especially for the families kitchen table, a book to have and to dip into, it will be a joy to have.

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

 

 

Atlas of Animal Adventures from Wide Eyed Publishers

Atlas of Animal Adventures by Wide Eyed Publishers

Review or buy on Amazon.co.uk

New Release for 1st September is the Atlas of Animal Adventures by Wide Eyed Editions part of  Quarto Publishing group.  Illustrated by Lucy Letherland, written by Rachel Williams and Emily Hawkins

From the creators of the bestselling Atlas of Adventures .

A terrific book! A collection of nature’s most unmissable events, epic migrations and extraordinary behaviours.

It’s a large hardback book which feels and looks wonderful. Each page is packed with information in a beautiful style of illustration. Alongside a main section of text there are smaller bite size sentences amongst the images, great style and a great way to explore and find out.

Each continent has several pages with different countries. It is easy and very clear how to find the countries and their continents. In Europe, for instance, there are Polar Bears in Greenland, Puffins in Iceland, Honey bees in the British Isles and, my favourite Barn Owls in France. The owls are gorgeous and we have owlets with nightcaps on in the tree and a protective parent owl overseeing the lavender field at dusk, a beautiful image.

Further afield we have Narwhals in Canada, Black Bears in the USA, Hummingbirds in Costa Rica, Hippos in Botswana and Birds of Paradise in Papua New Guinea.

We recommend the Atlas of Animal Adventures for everyone really and I am about to buy this book for presents for the family!! And for children… well, we go for ages, 6 and above and all ages too!!

Sue Martin                                            Books Go Walkabout


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Let’s Talk about Art
at The Royal College of Art

Sch of ArtOn a wet and windy autumnal evening I walked into the Royal College of Art for the making and creating of the book, The School of Art, published by Wide Eyed Editions.

Hosted by Ibby and Books for Keeps, this was a wonderful way to spend the evening.

Professor Teal Triggs and RCA graduate, Daniel Frost were sitting on the floor of the podium in front of the poster,I was early, and it was a good chance to take a photo and have a pre chat before the event.Image 2

With a glass of wine in my hand more people started to join the group and the lecture started.

Both Teal and Danny had a strong sense of enjoyment in developing the book, and the magic of the book was shown in their love of portrayals of the professors of different aspects; Professor of Ideas, Professor of Senses, Professor of Making and Professor of the Planets.

The design for the Professor of Ideas in a cloud with her ideas around her in the very comfy chair,was inspired by Daniel.

Teal said that the characters led the narrative and the concept for Professor of Ideas, for instance, was of an Edwardian woman ‘who knew her own mind but was not afraid to wear a string of pearls.’

Publishers Wide Eyed Editions have another success in this book, for the inspiration for the idea and the creating of such a beautiful book, with especial praise for Jenny Broom, editor.

Recommended for children, 7-9, 9-12 years by

Sue Martin Dolphin Booksellers and Books Go Walkabout

City Atlas by Martin Haake and Georgia Cherry

City Atlas30 Best Loved cities around the word are brought to life in this wonderful fact finding atlas, the layout, illustrations and text are really engaging.

It is so much more than an atlas, the text is full of bite size pieces of information about the city and the images are unique. It’s a really large book too and is very tactile cover. Take a look at…

Istanbul‘s page- look out for lamps at the Grand Bazaar, make a wish at the Basilica Cistern.

Mexico City – Rent roller skates in Mexico Park, put a trip to the ancient city Teotihuacan at the top of your list.

There are also things to find on each page, which will get you and the children searching through the illustrations.

City Atlas, from one of our favourite publishers, Wide Eyed Editions and written by Georgia Cherry and illustrated by Martin Haake

We recommend this book for 7- 9 years.

Can be bought on the book link for £16.99

Sue Martin Dolphin Booksellers and Books Go Walkabout

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