Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

Category: Featured children’s book Page 7 of 27

It’s Her Story – Amelia Earhart a Graphic Novel, by Kim Moldofsky and illustrated by Alan Brown

Follow your dreams…

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She piloted many record-breaking flights became an author, advised engineers, taught college students, and defended women’s rights. On her attempted flight solo around the world, she disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

This is such a great story and the graphic novel design is a perfect fit for Amelia’s story, which brings dreams for all children but especially girls, into reality. It demonstrates how Amelia, who was born in 1897, started work helping immigrant families, but at the same time flying whenever she had the chance. She gained a pilot’s license in 1921,after the First World War. She was enthralled with flying after she visited a Winter Air Tournament in Long Beach.

Amelia loved flying…

To find out more you need to read the book. I am really intrigued because I would have loved to learn to fly, and trials in 2 seater planes and microlights left me buzzing, but I never made it to be a pilot!!

Ah well, it still makes this book a wonderful book to read, which through the graphics, the story of Amelia Earhart is available to everyone, whatever level of reading.

Kim Moldofsky is the author and  it is beautifully illustrated by Alan Brown.

It’s Her Story is a series featuring amazing, inspirational women in graphic novel format, published by sunbird books, part of Phoenix International Publications. More titles available later this year.

Definitely worth purchasing and a really good book for children keen to follow their own dreams and to learn about others.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

It’s Her Story  – Shirley Chisholm by Patrice Aggs and illustrated by Markia Jenai

‘if they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm, was the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress and campaigned for the rights of children and women in the USA.

She worked to improve the lives of children in need and was an outspoken champion of women’s rights. In 1972, she was the first Black person ever to seek the nomination of President of the United States from a major party. This is her story.

This graphic novel is a powerful and exceptionally interesting book, which packs a real punch in the story and the graphics which show just how hard it was for Shirley to find her way through all the rules and regulations. She made real changes which have improved the lives of many people.

Graphic novel series It’s her Story

The series is published by sunbird books, an imprint of Phoenix International Publications. The series covers a brilliant range of women, including Dolly Parton and Marie Curie.

Patrice Aggs is the author, she is an American illustrator and writer now living in the UK.

Markia Jenai  the illustrator is from Michigan and she is passionate about spread the beauty of diversity and culture.

In my work with literacy and the power of reading in schools this the series is a brilliant way into books for children. In Shirley Chisholm they have a way into history too and an understanding of how different lives can have such an effect on us all. They help us tell our own stories too.

Sue Martin

Stories Across the World

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

Iceberg by Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft

Born in Spring and living a whole year…

“This world is not empty, nor ever still. Far from places we know, it feels everything we do.” Claire Saxby

Iceberg both inspires and creates deep thinking for children of all ages including older primary years.

This picture book is quite simply a visual and literary masterpiece. Its opening spread features spectacular spikes of colour, dramatic expanses and subtle details, including the shadow of an orca, the peek of a seal, and the track of penguins.

Turn the pages and the colours lighten slowly to reveal more of the iceberg until the sun fully reveals itself and the wildlife on and around the iceberg. The tone of the language playfully reflects this change. And soon we are below the water’s surface with a magnificent gatefold opening out to reveal the extraordinary panorama of activity under the sea.

 Antarctica is remote, forbidding, hostile and uninhabited by humans, yet this frozen continent is key to understanding how our world works, and our corresponding impact on Earth’s climate and ocean systems.

The author, Claire Saxby’s lyrical narrative combined with Jess Racklyeft’s detailed illustrations are sure to spark curiosity for Antarctica and its flora and fauna. As well as being an important natural laboratory, Antarctica provides the opportunity to educate children on the importance of protecting this fragile continent and its ecosystems.

Source: Tye Cattanach Education Consultant, Blogger and former children’s bookseller

Allen and Unwin are Australian publishers with global impact, Iceberg is available across the world.

There are a comprehensive set of Teacher Notes from Tye Cattanach, both enabling and inspirational. They have been formulated with Year 3 Australian Curriculum in mind, but the activities and resources shared here could easily be adapted to suit younger and older students alike in the National Curriculum in the UK or other global education systems.

Sue Martin – Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

Spin to Survive Frozen Mountain by Emily Hawkins and R. Fresson

Decide your destiny with a Pop out Fortune Spinner…

Find out your fate as you face peril after peril in a wild, rugged landscape. This game in a book takes you across mountains, through rivers and across snowy landscapes. A brilliant book in this new and unique Spin to Survive series.

You become lost in the mountains after an emergency landing. Among the snowy peaks, you are at risk from dangers including falling victim to hypothermia, being buried by an avalanche, or stumbling into a deep crevasse. In your backpack, you have a sleeping bag, a thermal roll-mat, a bottle of water, a bag of nuts, waterproof matches, a pair of binoculars, a camera, a first aid kit and an old survival journal belonging to your grandfather.

As you confront each life-threatening challenge in this adventure-filled game book, place the Survival Spinner found inside the cover of the book on one of the circles on your current page, and spin. The place where the spinner points when it stops tells you if you have survived, are still living but injured or that you have perished, with a corresponding page number to turn to for each fate.

Throughout, you will learn about real-life survival techniques, including how to:

  • Make a snow shelter
  • Build a fire
  • Survive a bear attack
  • Treat a wound
  • Use the sun and moon to navigate
  • Cross a frozen lake
Real Life Survivors…

Harrowing tales of real-life wilderness survivors provide glimmers of hope as you deal with the consequences of your choices. One bad decision could lead to disaster…

Frozen Mountain is the debut book in the exhilarating Spin to Survive series from Wide Eyed Publishers, part of Quarto Knows. Discover real-life survival tips and stories as you navigate your own perilous journey through the wilderness guided by your decisions and the removable Survival Spinner.

The author is Emily Hawkins and illustrator is R. Fresson. Each page is an experience and looks as if you have drawn the pages yourself in a travel journal. This will make a fantastic and inspiring book for Christmas for children around 9-11 years, whether ardent readers or adventure makers.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Welcome to the Future by Kathryn Hulick

Robot Friends, Fusion Energy and more…

Technology has escaped ! In this brand-new look on how we could live our lives in the future. Kathryn has evocatively set the scene for a world where we can stay in control but technology will be the main part in our lives. Drones, robots, smart systems, teleportation and synthetic biology are just the start of a whole new era in world development and moving into other planets in other galaxies.

In this book, you’ll explore 10 ways technology could alter our way of life. The challenge for you is to decide which changes you want for yourself and the world.

In the future, will we teleport from place to place, keep dinosaurs as pets or 3D-print our dinner? Will we live on Mars or upload our brains to computers? Could we solve climate change by making all our energy from mini stars we build here on earth?

This fascinating thought-provoking book from science writer Kathryn Hulick explores the possible futures humanity will face, and how we will live as the world around us changes beyond our recognition.

From genetic engineering and building floating colonies in space to developing telepathic technology and bionic body alterations, this engagingly illustrated book looks into the possible future technologies which will shape how we live and how we adapt to the challenges of the future.

How about moving your location to a different planet?

You’ll meet the scientists working to bring science fiction to life and learn how soon we might have amazing new technology. You’ll also delve deep into questions about right and wrong. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. How can we build the best possible future for everyone on Earth?

Kathryn Hulick is a freelance writer, editor and former Peace Corps volunteer. She writes regularly for Science News for Students and Muse magazine. She has also published numerous nonfiction books on topics such as video games, artificial intelligence, energy technology and dinosaurs. Hulick’s favourite part of writing about science is getting to speak with researchers in many different fields.

Marcin Wolski is a graphic designer and illustrator from Sopot, Poland, whose clients include The Economist, Nature, The Guardian and Finance Asia.

Publishers are Lincoln Children’s Books from Quarto Knows and Welcome to the Future  is a beautiful large hardback book, and has just the sense that you need to read the next part to find out just how amazing the world will or could be in the future.

Definitely recommend for children 9 years and upwards, plus adults of course and a great book for schools and libraries.

Sue Martin – Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Soldier, Summoner, Saint…

Alina Starkov is a soldier in this dystopian novel of a land full of intrigue, with a magical, military elite and an overpowering sense of unnatural darkness and doom. Across the land like a dagger, lies The Shadow Fold or the Unsea, It is into this blackness that Alina knows she must travel to. She has a very special gift and the notorious leader, the Darkling, can only destroy the Shadow Fold using Alina’s gift. As she enters into a lavish world of intrigue, royalty and wealth, she comes under his spell. Escaping once she reunites with her friend from the past, but is this enough to keep them safe from the power of the Darkling.

Shadow and Bone is the first book in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, now a Netflix Original Series. Two of the following books are Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising. Alina Starkov is the character and protagonist of the trilogy. These amazing books continue…. Find out more at Leigh Bardugo website.

A wonderful book and page turner and brilliant for young people who just want to read and read great books of different worlds and characters. They are brought to light and dark as each page turns and the plot of the story moves the reader from hope to despair in this journey with Alina.

Leigh Bardugo is the best selling award winning author, she lives in Los Angeles and is an avid writer of fantasy novels.

Thoroughly recommend Shadow and Bone for anyone interested in adventure, different worlds and good against evil. Having bought the first book I can’t wait to read the next in the series, Siege and Storm.

Sue Martin  Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller…

An excellent  book to take on holiday this year, impossible to stop reading! Adventure and intrigue from beginning to end.

It’s all about…

A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of fantasy, Garth Nix.

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.

Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

Author is well known Australian Garth Nix and publishers are The Orion Publishing Group. Recommend for any age above 7 years and for those who love adventure and pacy books.

My advice is, buy this book now and find a space somewhere to read until the end. The Old World of London is dangerous and exciting, so just watch out the next time you are walking alone in Bayswater!

Sue Martin

Stories across the world…

Shackleton’s Endurance by Joanna Grochowicz

An Antarctic Survival Story

Ernest Shackleton’s remarkable story is a terrifying adventure with the happiest of endings – another brilliant narrative non-fiction Antarctic adventure from Joanna Grochowicz, featuring an explorer who was a true polar hero.

Shackleton’s Endurance is newly published by Allen and Unwin in UK on September 2nd, 2021, and was published in Australia and New Zealand in May 2021.

Adrift on the Antarctic pack ice with no means of escape and no hope of rescue, Ernest Shackleton and his men are surely doomed.

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his men set sail for Antarctica, where they plan to cross the last uncharted continent on foot. In January 1915, his ship, the Endurance, becomes locked in pack ice. Later, it sinks without a trace.

To survive, Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men must undertake a trial even more extreme than their planned crossing of the frozen continent. Their aim is to make it home against tremendous odds, with only lifeboats to cross the heavy seas of the South Atlantic – and the life-saving power of Shackleton’s extraordinary leadership skills.

‘An incredible true story brought to life in a highly readable style.’- Michael Smith, author of Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer.

Joanna Grochowicz’s  third amazing book in her series of Polar Explorers in the early 1900’s,  written for young people from 10 years and above. A daunting tale of heroism, courage, tenacity and teamwork, the book provides so much more than the bare facts of this well-known polar explorer. Joanna has an incredible gift of searching out the hidden stories behind her detailed research.

Joanna on the ice…

Shackleton’s Endurance is a perfect book for Yr5/6 in their studies on Arctic regions. It embraces many areas of the curriculum especially  history, geography. English and a huge input into the PSE curriculum. There is a comprehensive set of teacher notes provided by the publishers, Allen and Unwin, based in Australia.

Books Go Walkabout are so pleased to be working again with Joanna on her next visit to the UK in September 2021. This is mainly a research visit, but Joanna can do a few of her  highly engaging and informative talk to schools during this visit, time and other things permitting.

 More info in the next blog or send an email for immediate info. suemartin@bookagowalkabout.com

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Consultant

Stories across the world…

The Great British Staycation Activity Book by Claire Saunders and illustrated by Livi Gosling

Facts, puzzles and much more…

If you are about to set out on holiday with children, in the car  heading across the UK to somewhere  in the country, by the sea or any one of our amazing towns and cities, you are about to set out on an adventure.

This is  just the book to have for enquiring minds, for those questions that are hard to answer. It is packed full of puzzles, activities, from word searches to quizzes, from seaside sudokus to sandcastle counts, there are some great fun things to do.

Fossil hunters extraordinaire…

The format of the book is excellent, with appealing images and activities based on our enriching history, try the page with Wonderful Words if you are heading anywhere near Stratford on Avon for instance. Designing your very own Staycation Hotel will bring some awesome designs and far away from the standard hotel design. Maybe you could change it to an Air B & B or creative glamping design.

The Great British Staycation is written by Claire Saunders,based on the book Maps of the United Kingdom by Rachel Dixon, illustrated by Livi Goslings.

Published by Wide Eyed Editions, part of the Quarto Knows, this is a great book to have to take away with you, or even work on at home, a real treat!

Sue Martin

Stories across the world…

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