Book Monitor - books from across the world

Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

Month: October 2022

AFRICANA

By

On October 20, 2022

In Children's books, Featured children's book, Quarto KNows, WideEyed Editions

Welcome to Africa

An incredibly beautiful book  packed with fascinating nuggets of information about the largest continent in the world.

Wide Eyed Editions an imprint of Quarto Knows, publish stunning books and Africana is one of the best examples of a book expertly produced which makes a wonderful gift in a school library or home coffee table. Aimed at children, the book will be well read by parents too.

Discover the incredible history and diversity of the African continent in all its splendour with this beautifully illustrated and fact-filled encyclopaedia.

This fascinating and beautiful book is divided into broad geographical sections which celebrate and showcase the peoples, landscapes and wildlife from different regions of this great continent, and bright and bold illustrations bring these facts to life.

Learn about the astonishing history of the continent, as the birthplace of the very first human beings, through rich historical civilisations such as the ancient Egyptians, the Benin Empire and the Kingdom of Kush, up to the development of the dynamic cities of the modern day.

Africana explores:

  • The beautiful visual cultures and artwork from across Africa, including the the printed cottons of Guinea and the mud cloth of Mali
  • Famous figures from African history and modern-day change makers
  • The incredible landscapes and wildlife of the continent, ranging from the deserts of the north, the rainforests of the central regions and the savannahs of the south
Human life probably began in Africa…


Featuring a stunning copper foil–detailed cover, this large-format book is packed with maps, timelines and much, much more to open your eyes to the beauty and brilliance of this diverse continent.

Kim Chakanetsa is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and producer from Zimbabwe. She joined the BBC in 2013 after working for CNN International and Associated Press. She has also worked on a number of documentaries for the World Service. When not in the studio, Kim likes attempting complex recipes.

Lagos-based multidisciplinary illustrator, Mayowa Alabi’s work is inspired by his childhood obsessions—African folklore and Afrofuturism. A graphic designer and photographer with over seven years of professional design experience, Mayowa previously worked as the Creative Lead at Co-Creation Hub Nigeria before taking on his current role as a visual artist for the BBC.

This amazing book has taught me so much about the vastness of Africa and its wide diversity and incredible history and topography.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories Across the World…

An Atlas of Lost Kingdoms illustrated by Lauren Baldo and written by Emily Hawkins

By

On October 18, 2022

In Featured children's book, Quarto KNows, WideEyed Editions

Mythical Lands, Lost Cities and Vanished Islands…

This is my kind of book! Packed with fascinating information and illustrations about intriguing lost worlds. At the start of each section in the world there are illustrated maps which help to place and define the lost kingdoms across the planet.

On this quest around the world, you will discover lost kingdoms, phantom islands and even legendary continents once sought by explorers but now believed to be mythical.

From a favourite publishing imprint Wide Eyed Books part of the Quarto Knows group, the hardback non fiction book makes a wonderful present and also a long lasting favourite for any school or library.

The Sword in the Stone…

For centuries, people have dreamed of finding the lost worlds of Atlantis, El Dorado and the Seven Cities of Gold. As well as shedding light on these famously elusive places, this atlas contains maps and captivating illustrations to illuminate lesser-known destinations, from the lost island of Hy-Brasil to the desert city of Zerzura. You will learn about rich mythologies from different cultures, from the Aztecs to the ancient Britons, from the Greek legends to Japanese folklore.
 
Most of the places in this book have never been found, but within these pages you will succeed where the adventurers of the past were thwarted. Learn about ancient maps, age-old manuscripts and cryptic carvings that reveal clues to the whereabouts of these lost kingdoms. The journey will transport you to thoroughly other-worldly places.

Once a children’s book editor, Emily Hawkins is now a full-time author. Her work has been featured on the New York Times bestseller list (Oceanology, 2009) as well as winning the Children’s Travel Book of the Year Award (Atlas of Animal Adventures, 2016). Emily has a strong interest in myth, folklore and storytelling and holds a first-class English degree from Nottingham University, living in Winchester, UK.

Lauren Baldo is an illustrator based in the Philippines. He has worked as a storyboard artist, comic artist, graphic designer, and children’s book illustrator.

In south Western Nigeria…

An Atlas of Lost Kingdoms is my book on the sofa for the next few nights. It will give me inspiration and ideas about areas which may have been lost, may be myth and in many cases simply true but forgotten.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories Across the World…


 

It’s Her Story: Rosalind Franklin by Karen de Seve & illustrations by Samantha Chow

By

On October 10, 2022

In Sunbird Books, Featured children's book

A series of books about inspirational women from Sunbird Books

A remarkable story about a woman who led in many scientific discoveries and yet never received any acknowledgments in her lifetime.

Part of a series of books which feature inspirational women in a graphic novel format.

Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist during the 1940’s and 1950’a, when fee women worked in sciences. During WW2 she expanded our knowledge of the physics of coal and carbon, and later she studied viruses.

Her ‘photo 51’ was central to the double helix structure of DNA, ground-breaking work for which she never received any credit.

The true structure of DNA…

Written by Karen de Seve, based in the US and Illustrated by Samantha Feriolla Chow from Indonesia this book brings a wealth of interest, information and intrigue to young readers.

Published by Sunbird Books It’s Her Story: Rosalind Franklin is part of a series featuring inspirational women in a graphic novel format. This works very well for children who are keen to explore the subject, and the pictures give added information about the setting that words would take longer to express.

Its Her Story Josephine Baker by Lauren Gamble & illustrated by Markia Jenai

Left a segregated America in 1925…became the most famous entertainer in Paris

A graphic novel for children ages 7 to 10. Josephine Baker left a segregated America in 1925 and became the most famous entertainer in Paris, France. She went on to be the first Black woman to star in a movie, a volunteer spy during World War II, and the mother of twelve adopted children from around the world. Then, she returned to the States to dance for American audiences and bring her voice to the Civil Rights Movement.

This is her story and a fascinating glimpse of a world where as a black woman she had to force her way for the rights of so many.

I would thoroughly recommend these graphic novels from Sunbird Books for children from 7-10 years and beyond. Graphic novels which are fact based provide a huge resource bank for children, schools and libraries.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

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