Posts Tagged with Nosy Crow

Four original non-fiction books on Ancient Egypt

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The topic of Ancient Egypt is one that intrigues me and IT IS a popular choice in primary schools. For this blog post I wanted to highlight some slightly different book on Ancient Egypt. I have focused my choice on ones that text wise are accessible to year 3 and year 4 students, but they will also appeal to older children. 

Meet the Ancient Egyptians - James Davies

The bright, bold and clearly presented style of this book grabbed my attention. This will both capture children’s attention and keep them reading. What I wasn’t expecting is how jam packed with information this small format paperback book is, but with everything laid out in a really accessible way, giving a comprehensive overview of Ancient Egypt. 

There is a map and timeline (at end) and black banners clearly identify the topic covered on each double paged spread, making it easy to skim through the pages to find a topic of interest.

It begins with an almost narrative like introduction to the Nile. Then goes on to cover daily life, including the clothes people wear, and the strange pets they have. Then it explores Pharaohs , gods and goodness, magic and medicine, pyramids and how they bury their dead and what happens in the afterlife. 

The Egyptians: Hide and Seek History - by Jonny Marx and Chaaya Prabhat

A gorgeous colourful lift the flap book on Ancient Egypt. That covers a range of topics, from the archaeologists who study ancient things, pyramids and mummies, and life on the Nile. I loved how the flaps help the reader explore the layers to a sarcophagus and that when you lift the flap of the boat on the Nile it tells you about ports and trading goods. The approach lets the reader take in the bigger picture and then explore nuggets of interesting information in more detail. 

It covers less topics than James Davie’s books, but would be great as engaging introduction to the topic and for children to enjoy together. With 80 flaps to encourage exploring and interaction. 

King Tutankhamun Tells Al l by Chris Nation and Guilherme Karston

The perspective of this book is clever, it is told by the boy King Tutankhamun himself. 

This gives the book a chatty and sometimes humorous edge. The points on each page are broken into bite sized chunks helping to engage the reader. It breaks up well the different aspects to the Kings story, including how he became a boy king, theories on why he’d died early and how Howard Carter discovered the body in a secret tomb. 

Written from the perspective of the boy King, you get some great fun insights into what they had for spiritual security in the after life and ‘dinning with the dead’. There is lots to explore and enjoy in this book. 

If I have one niggle it is that the font its chosen whilst clear is a little curly, which may make it more of a challenge to read for some less confident readers. However, it’s another book that would be great for kids to read together.

Mummies unwrapped by Tom Froese (British Museum, published by Nosy Crow)

My daughter was fascinated by the mummification process when she studied Ancient Egypt in year 4  so a book devoted to this topic got my attention.  This book takes you the entire process of mummification, including information on the embalmers, how the organs are removed and the rebuilding of of the mummy, topics which often aren’t covered in more general texts.

Colourful illustrations help bring the civilisation of Ancient Egypt and is practice of mummification of its dead to life for the readers. With some useful information boxes. However, please note the text level of this book is more difficult than the other three and in longer chunks in places, making it more suitable for year4/5 when reading alone. 

 

All book are available to order from me at Readers that Care

Original stories with a nature and science connection for young readers

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Introducing two wonderful stories which will appeal to children who like to explore the natural world around them and/or are interested in animals. They are aimed at 6 to 9 year olds, but many older children and adults would love them too.

In the summer of 2014, my daughter who had just turned 7 was transitioning to chapter books, and was finding it difficult to find something she wanted to read. She liked animals and was interested in being a vet. However, we found many of the classical animal stories didn’t have enough human interest and other more readily available animal series my daughter quickly lost interest in as she said: ‘they had little plot, nothing really happened in them”. Both these book are distinctively different from many other books with an animal theme for 6 to 9 year olds. They deserve a place in any primary school library, as for some they may be a ‘game changer’, as the book/series that gets them reading.

Zoe and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows
Author: Asia Citro Illustrator: Marion Lindsay.  p96

This was a great find I stumbled across whilst looking for something else. It  got my attention initially because I have been keeping an eye out for stories for 6 to 9 year olds, with black protagonists that are the kind of story that might appeal to any child. I had no idea when I ordered a copy of this book what a gem of a story and series it was, published by an innovative fairly new publisher called Innovation Press.

It is about a girl called Zoey and her cat called Sassafras who loves exploring the natural environment near her home. One day she makes an amazing discovery that her mum has the ability to see and speak to magical creatures, and that she has inherited this gift too. If an animal needs help a magical doorbell rings in the Barn next to their house. Whilst Zoe’s mum is away at a science conference Zoey and her cat have to help a baby dragon.

A beautiful blend of real and magical with an introduction to scientific questioning and hypotheses, this engaging story has plenty to appeal to a variety of readers. Add to this some great role models, from a dark skinned girl with frizzy hair as the main character, a mum who is a scientist and a stay at home dad, and you have a very original story.

This is the first book in a series of 4, soon to be 5 books. It is probably a good idea to read book 1 first (or at least read aloud enough p1 to p28), but they can then be read in any order.

 

A Kitten Called Holly
Author: Helen Peter Illustrator: Ellie Snowdon.  p132

In case you haven’t guessed from one of my previous posts, my son (who is now 7 years old) is cat crazy, so a story with a cat in is a great start. But, like his sister he is very particular about the books he reads and does prefer stories with a strong narrative and a bit of depth to them, which this story certainly has.

One day Jasmine and her friend Tom find an old shed in the garden to play in, and they accidentally come across a wild cat and her kittens. Jasmine’s mum is a vet, from whom she has learns a lot about how to look after animals. So Jasmine and Tom know not to touch the kittens and wait for their mum to return. When the mother cat returned she took the kittens somewhere else. But, later one of the kitten’s gets left behind and Jasmine and her friend help to feed and look after it. But, will Jasmine have to give the Kitten away at the end? You will have to read it to find out!

My son loved this story being read aloud to him. The strong narrative along with detailed and accurate information about how to look after a kitten really kept his interest. He kept asking for one more chapter.

With great descriptive detail you feel like you are really there, a story which is heartfelt and sometimes funny. This book is sure to appeal to a variety of children, including those that usually prefer non-fiction.

It is part of the Jasmine Green series published by Nosy Crow. This is not the first book in the series, but the characters are introduced well so I think you could read them in any order. I suggest starting with which ever animal your child is most interested in.

Zoe and Sassafras Series:

Jasmine Green Series: