WILD, Ailsa (text) Aviva Reed (illus.) Dr. Gregory Crocetti (creator) The Squid, the Vibrio & the Moon (Small Friends #1), Scale Free Network, 2014 39pp $19.95 pbk ISBN 9780646915142 SCIS 1671216 The Squid, the Vibrio & the Moon is the first title in the Small Friends series. Developed by Melbourne’s Scale Free Network, the series focuses on the microscopic world and promotes the idea that ‘cooperation is a dominant paradigm of nature’. This first book, rich in illustrative detail, tells the story of the symbiotic relationship between the bacteria Vibrio fischeri and the Hawaiian Bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes). The book opens…
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TELFER, Barbara (text) Peter Bray (illus.) Go for Gold Sports Puzzle Book Scholastic (NZ), 2014 110pp NZ$10.00 pbk ISBN 9781775432227 Personally I am not the greatest fan of worksheets (to the extent that I see children pre-occupied and busy but am less certain that much of use is being learnt) but I also have to be honest and say that there is a place for puzzles! Given the popularity of sports among children and also given that some reluctant readers tend to be hyperactive, sporty types, here might be a very useful text indeed. From word finds, scrambled words, detective…
NOANOA, Julie (text) Norm Heke (illus.) Māori Art for Kids Craig Potton Pub, 2014 80pp NZ$24.99 pbk ISBN 9781927213131 NZ$34.99 hdbk ISBN 9781927213148 SCIS 1688955 This illustrated book is long overdue and indeed, a potential classic. Art, design and associated objects are central tāonga for Māori that embed deep spiritual ideas and connections speaking across generations from the past to the future. This book shares something of that journey and, in offering ideas of how children can use contemporary materials to represent 15 key treasures that the book details, tradition and modernity can come together in respectful ways. Drawing upon…
MARTIN, Helen & Judith Simpson (text) Cheryl Orsini (illus.) The ABC Book of Seasons ABC, 2014 unpaged $19.99 ISBN 9780733331954 SCIS 1648884 This simple picture book about the seasons is the latest title in a series. The book begins and ends with the four seasons depicted in an oval diagram with arrows and illustrations showing the progression from summer to autumn to winter to spring. The contents then devote two pages to each season interspersed with something that happens in any season, such as rain and wind. The illustrations show people and animals doing ordinary everyday activities typical of each…
MANNING, Luise Hold My Hand InHouse Pub, 2014 23pp $14.95 pbk ISBN 9780992397302 SCIS 1690865 Luise Manning, a qualified teacher in Early Childhood and Education, together with Safety Kids Australia, aims to teach parents and children about the importance of road safety through this information book. Dedicated to families affected by Low Speed Vehicle Run Overs, the book explains key elements to preventing driveway accidents through a day in the life of a little girl and her mother as they travel to and from her ballet class. Accompanied with clear, relevant photographs and simple text, each page highlights the possible…
JONES, Peter Eureka!: everything you ever wanted to know about the Ancient Greeks but were afraid to ask Atlantic Books, 2014 383pp $35.00 ISBN 9781782395140 Peter Jones is a Cambridge educated classics scholar who writes a regular column on the ancient and the modern for the Spectator. He is an experienced writer with a deep and reliable knowledge. His book summarises 2000 years of history up to about 27 BC. It is informative, sensibly written, and helpfully breaks up the information and the historical narrative into paragraphs that have headings. It is not daunting at all. He has the good sense…
GILL, Maria (text) Marco Ivancic (illus.) New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame 25 Kiwi Champions, New Holland, 2014 64pp NZ$24.99 pbk ISBN 9781869664220 SCIS 1675297 Young people need inspiration and this book may be part of that pathway. There is no doubt that the idea, let alone the reality, of the hero and being ‘heroic’ appeals (especially to boys). But is heroism simply wishful thinking or is it more about strategic thinking (hope theory and all that)? This issue underpins much of this inspiring book of famous NZ sport heroes. Divided into key different sporting domains (aquatic and water sports,…
BRAKE, Mark How to be a Space Explorer Lonely Planet Kids, 2014 160pp A$24.99 NZ$26.99 ISBN 9781743603901 SCIS 1684767 This dense book on all things space takes its readers on a figurative journey from the planetarium into our galaxy. It transforms the reader into a space adventurer, showing them what it is to be an astronaut and what types of things they will encounter when hurtling through space and visiting planets, and then what happens when they come back down to earth. Each page is a comfortable double-spread devoted to a single topic, complete with photographs, some DIY activities, and…
AGARD, John (text) Neil Packer (illus.) Book Walker, 2014 136pp $16.95 ISBN 9780744544787 SCIS 1685698 Book tells us his life story, accompanied by black and white pictures. He starts with breath, and the stories which were told by the firelight. He finds writing, clay, vellum, paper, scrolls, codex, spines, and the diligent monks, before the Chinese, Korean inventors and the archangel Gutenberg transform him forever. He moves through the years and generously accepts the ebook, although in his heart he knows he will survive forever, for he has ‘no immediate plans to become extinct’. This charming history of the written…
Hatchette/Orchard have released another Rainbow Magic title Luna the Loom Band Fairy Daisy Meadows ($9.99 pbk+e) Allen & Unwin #7 & #8 Diary of a Golf Pro & Diary of a Basketball Hero Shamini Flint/Sally Heinrich ($9.99 pbk); Weirdo #3 Extra Weird! Anh Do (14.99 pbk) Random House Friday Barnes #2 Under Suspicion R. A. Spratt ($15.99 pbk); Silver Shoes #2 Hit the Streets Samantha-Ellen Bound ($14.99 pbk) Scholastic The Impossible Quest #2 Wolves of the Witchwood Kate Forsyth ($14.99 pbk) Scholastic launched a new multi-platform action adventure series TombQuest in February 2015 – Read the book. Play the Game. …