Book Monitor - books from across the world

Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

Category: Quarto KNows Page 1 of 2

The World’s Most Atrocious Animals by Philip Bunting

By

On July 13, 2023

In Happy Yak, Featured children's book, Quarto KNows

This witty, quirky, colourfully illustrated and fact-filled book features some of the most terrifying and shocking animals on the planet! 
The third title in the series from the hilarious Philip Bunting is filled with facts about some of the scariest creatures in the natural world.

Meet the enormous murder hornets of east and southeast Asia, the poisonous blue-ringed octopus, Africa’s hungry but deadly hippos and some truly shocking electric eels, among many more truly scary creatures!

The antagonist voice (speaking though cheeky annotations) points out the most frightening aspects of each creature’s characteristics, while the narrator’s voice describes engaging, factual information about each animal’s seemingly scary characteristics. Are they really as scary as they seem?

With hilarious text throughout and bright, contemporary illustrations, this guide to terrifying animals contains funny labelled diagrams and fabulous facts. It will help teach kids about the animals we fear and whether their gruesome reputation is deserved!

Philip Bunting’s books have been translated into multiple languages, and published in over 25 countries around the world. Since his first title was published in 2017, Philip has received multiple accolades, including Honours from the Children’s Book Council of Australia. His titles include Mopoke and How Did I Get Here? Philip’s work deliberately encourages playful interaction between the reader and child, allowing his books to create a platform for genuine intergenerational engagement, and fun. Philip lives in Queensland, Australia.

Happy Yak are the publishers, an imprint of Quarto Knows with an amazing portfolio of intriguing books for children.

Quirky Creatures is a series dedicated to seeking out the weird and wonderful denizens of the natural world and explaining why they are so strange, from the ridiculous to the truly terrifying. Also available in this series is The World’s Most Ridiculous Animals and The World’s Most Pointless Animals.

Sue Martin – Children’s Literacy Specialist

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…


 

Super Powers of Nature & Super Heroes of Nature by Georges Feterman – QED Publishers

By

On September 21, 2022

In The Book Monitor, 7+ years, Books go Walkabout, New titles, Non Fiction, Quarto KNows

Superpowers of Nature is a fascinating, quirky photographic book featuring the amazing superpowers in the animal kingdom.

Wild Wonders of the World


With incredible photos and fascinating text, this book is a celebration of biodiversity and nature. From the platypus to the peregrine falcon, find out all about these amazing animals and the extraordinary abilities that make them the superheroes of our planet. Did you know…

  • An octopus’s brain is distributed all over its body
  • The tropical frog causes potential predators to wretch violently
  • The plumed basilisk can run for its life on water!
Fearsome creatures…

For each animal discover their superpower, super stats and super facts about them, as well as information about how they used their super skills in the wild. With an important message about protecting the rich biodiversity of our planet, Superpowers of Nature is a stunning photographic book for kids fascinated by the animal kingdom and the weird wonders it has to offer.

Super Heroes of Nature has some incredible facts and photographs of creatures with superhero powers from the Leaf Cutter Ants to the Musk Ox.

Incredible Skills to Survive and Thrive…

Borneo ants to the flying dragon, find out all about these amazing animals and the extraordinary abilities that make them the superheroes of our planet. For example:

  • A hammerhead shark can see 180 degrees
  • The webbed gecko can glide across the desert sand
  • The springbok is super fast!
It can view 180 degrees…

These books published on 6th September are from the Animal Powers series, which celebrates the weird, extraordinary, and truly amazing powers of some of nature’s most incredible animals, while celebrating biodiversity and encouraging young readers to value the natural world around them.

Georges Feterman , the author is an associate professor of natural sciences. He is also the president of the association “A.R.B.R.E.S. “(Remarkable Trees, Assessment, Research, Studies and Safeguarding) campaigning for in-depth research on remarkable trees. For twenty years, he has been recording and photographing the most remarkable subjects of the French natural heritage because of their proportions, stories or rarity.

QED publishers are part of Quarto Knows and produce some of the best factual info books with appeal and a huge difference. At £7.99 these books in a Flexi Binding are incredibly good value and will provide hours of interest for children of all ages.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

Lore of the Land: Folklore and Wisdom from the Wild Earth

By

On September 16, 2022

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

Folklore and Wisdom from the Wild Earth

Unearth the secrets of our natural world with The Lore of the Land, a richly illustrated compendium of folklore and wisdom from the land, skies and seas written by Claire Cock-Starkey and illustrated by Samantha Dolan

From thundering rivers to shady groves, flickering marshes to lightless caves, and from snow-capped mountains to the depths of the ocean, discover the folklore of Earth’s wildest places. Stories and spirits abound in these land- and seascapes, where traditional wisdom and mysterious magics have intertwined over centuries.

Each of the six chapters covers a different natural landscape, revealing the worldwide folklore surrounding Woodlands, Seas & Oceans, Wetlands, Mountains, Rivers & Streams and Hills & Caves. Beginning with tales from cultures spanning the globe, each chapter then dives into the legends of how these places were formed, their place in the human imagination and their natural and otherworldly denizens.

Forests hold secrets that only the wild can show…

Learn how the forests hold up the sky in Māori tradition; how in Ireland, seaweed was once thought to predict the weather; and that the ancient Greeks believed Mount Etna housed the fiery forge of the gods. All this and more is accompanied by beautiful artwork based on real folklore, uncovering the secrets of our natural world as never before.

A treasury of fascinating tales and ancient wisdom, The Lore of the Land is sure to fire the imaginations of young nature-lovers, and delight anyone who has ever wondered whether there is more to our natural world than meets the eye.

Publishers are Wide Eyed, part of the Quarto Group.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories Across the World

The Sea Below My Toes by Charlotte Guillain and illustrated by Jo Empson

By

On July 7, 2022

In Books go Walkabout,, Featured children's book, Quarto KNows

What’s going on in the sea below your toes?

What a stunning book! A kaleidoscope of blue,  and a  book which extends to over 3 metres! From the Look Closer series, this richly illustrated concertina book takes you on a journey through the deep dark waters, all the way down to the seabed, before floating back up to the surface.

A follow-up to The Street Beneath My Feet, The Skies Above My Eyes and The World Around Me, this visually stunning book ventures to the very bottom of the sea on a journey of discovery.

Through the waves and into the deep, you’ll spot all kinds of weird and wonderful marine creatures, explore the seabed and discover the impact humans have had on the underwater world. 

As you dive below the surface, past sea otters playing in fields of giant kelp, you will see sea lions and shoals of mackerel playing in the shallows, before passing orcas hunting in pods in the deeper water.

As well as animals, discover the technology which is used under the sea, from scuba breathing apparatus to oil pipelines and deep sea submarines.

As you reach the very bottom of the sea, the ‘twilight zone’ where very little light can filter through, you will meet the mysterious creatures of the deep such as Lanternfish and the luminous swell shark.

This book is part of the Look Closer series, from QED Books, part of Quarto Knows a set of concertina books which help teach us about the mysteries which can be found in the world around us.

The Twilight Zone starts here…

Charlotte Guillan, the author creates books of non fiction which are really exciting to dive into or to just take a glance, either way you will find out facts you never knew.

Jo Empson, the illustrator has a real gift for using the natural world and creating wonderful illustrations which are part of the text on each page.

  I really love this book and once I have read a few times I will donate to my local school so it can be used time and again.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Stories across the world…

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

By

On July 23, 2021

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

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…

I Am Not a Label by Cerrie Burnell and Lauren Mark Baldo

By

On May 17, 2021

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

34 disabled artists, thinkers, athletes and activists from past & present

An outstanding book about people first and how they have carved out their lives and thoughts against a number of odds and issues which could so easily have prevented them from living their lives. Society does like to label! This is a book which clearly shows that we just should not do that!!


In this stylishly illustrated biography anthology, meet 30 artists, thinkers, athletes, and activists with disabilities, from past and present. From Frida Kahlo to Stephen Hawking, find out how these iconic figures have overcome obstacles, owned their differences, and paved the way for others by making their bodies and minds work for them.

These short biographies tell the stories of people who have faced unique challenges that have not stopped them from becoming trailblazers, innovators, advocates, and makers. Each person is a leading figure in their field, be it sports, science, math, art, breakdancing, or the world of pop.

Read about Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Kirchoff, Henri Matisse, Eliza Suggs, Helen Keller, Frida Kahlo, John Nash, Stephen Hawking, Temple Grandin, Stevie Wonder, Nabil Shaban, Terry Fox, Jonas Jacobsson, Trischa Zorn, Ade Adepitan, and many others.

Cerrie Burnell is an actress, singer, playwright, author, and former television presenter for CBeebies (2009–2017). She was born with half a right arm and has sought to increase visibility of disabled people through her career in presenting, writing, and acting.

Shooter, swimmer and basketball player

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.

Publishers are Wide Eyed Editions, part of Quarto Knows. An amazing gift for excellent books which highlight research, people and subjects in a format which is modern and attractive. Just a great way to read and extend your knowledge.

Sue Martin

Stories Across the World

When We Became Humans by Michael Bright

By

On August 18, 2019

In words and pictures, 6+ Years, 7+ years, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators, New titles, Non Fiction, Quarto KNows, Dolphinbooksellers

A story of evolution, how we as humans developed into the upright, intelligent form that we are today, from  our recent cousins the Neanderthals to ourselves, Homo Sapiens. A large format highly illustrated book which follows in the success of When the Whales Walked.

 

 

  • One stop guide to discovering your origins
  • Exquisite illustration which brings the subject to life
  • Engagingly explores this key topic for Key Stage 2 pupils

The sections of the book are easy to follow from ‘How do we know who our ancestors were? to ‘Just Like Us’, which explores how the Neanderthals also liked to use jewellery and clothes.

At the back of the book there is a section on the human family tree and a world map showing how humans have always travelled on and and sea.

Michael Bright is an executive producer with the BBC Natural History Unit and has written over 60 books on aspects of natural history and conservation and the environment.

Hannah Bailey is an illustrator and designer inspired by the natural world and specialises in natural history and non-fiction for children.

Words and Pictures are part of the Quarto Group and aim to produce books that inspire and enable children to think and use their imaginations.

Recommended for ages 6-10, a great book to have for schools and at home.

Sue Martin

The Dictionary of Difficult Words

By

On July 29, 2019

In 9 to 10 years, All Ages, Quarto KNows

What is a funambulist? Or a bumbleshoot? 

The Dictionary of Difficult Words has over 400 words which will amaze, intrigue and inspire budding writers and linguaphiles.

All of the words in this book are difficult to spell, hard to say and their meaning is obscure to most children and to adults.

Turning each page is a a delight and you can find many words that sound fantastic and will be just right to confuse the teacher! Many of them confuse MsWord spellcheck too!!

A non-patronising reference book aimed at young wordsmiths, who are looking to fill their writing with new and inspirational words. Ideal for fans of The Lost Words and P is for Pteradactyl.

Each word has a pronunciation guide and a delightful illustration entwined with the text. As a family dictionary  it will be brilliant for trivia games, scrabble and others, an absolute guide to the question, “Are you sure that is a real word?”

A Dictionary of Difficult Words is written by Jane Solomon, who is a lexicographer, based in California, working with Dictionary.com and a member of the Unicode Emoji subcommittee!

Louise Lockhart is the illustrator, living in England, and working on fascinating projects for Liberty London and The Independent plus others.

Recommend for ages 9-13, but for everyone who loves words.

Sue Martin

 

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