Category Archives: Age 6 to 9

See Inside Inventions – Alex Frith *****

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I absolutely loved the interactivity of this ‘lift the flaps’ book. It features double page thick board page spreads, on subjects like ‘Engine Power’, ‘Electricity and light’ and ‘Boom’ (explosions). Each spread has about half a dozen items with a short intro paragraph, some interesting side information, perhaps a useful illustration and the main illustration which covers a lift-up flap revealing more about the subject.

Under the flap you will find detailed drawings of how things work inside or some other fun revelation. This is such a good idea for a generation that is brought up on clicking things and making things happen, and with over 60 flaps it is going to take a while to get bored with it. What’s more it is not just a parade of facts – we find out about people and the history behind the inventions, essential context to make the science interesting.

My only two slight gripes: first ‘lift the flap’ as a concept might be usually associated with very young children, so the target audience of the quite sophisticated text might feel it’s a bit childish. It’s not – I enjoyed it! – but in terms of appearing cool a flappy board book might seem rather passé. When the facts strayed into science there were a few so-so features too. We got the dreaded planetary model of the atom, and apparently rockets work using a ‘huge explosive force’ which is a bit worrying for astronauts. But overall these are small things, and I had an excellent time as I’m sure young readers will.

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Review by Brian Clegg

Usborne Look Inside Science – Minna Lacey ****

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Science books get easier to write as your audience gets older. This book is aimed at Key Stage 1 – the first years at primary school – which makes it a tough ask to explain what science is all about. The introductory page showing us what science is and what scientists do is by far the weakest. But once we get into topics like materials, plants, lights and forces, the whole thing brightens up and gets more interesting.

The main selling point of the book is the large numbers of flaps and other action points on the page. As it says on the front ‘with over 110 flaps to lift’. I think these would be most fun first time round, as most of them are sealed down so there’s a satisfying experience of breaking the seal as you go. Although a lot are simple reveals, there is some effort to vary the interaction – so you will get flaps below flaps, objects to drag and so on.

The science itself is fine, though the audience means the text is very limited, being a series of staccato statements like ‘Roots grow deep drown into the ground.’ I would have liked to have seen a bit more flow to the text. Mostly the science is okay, though it was very sparse on the likes of light and sound. And sometimes the simplification required rather loses the plot. So we are told of gravity ‘Gravity is a force that pulls things down to the ground.’ Sounds more Aristotle than Newton (let alone Einstein).

Despite not necessarily working brilliantly as a popular science book, it is a good way to get across the basics of the science curriculum (with some guidance) to these young readers and as such is a sound investment.

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Review by Brian Clegg

Henry’s House: Space – Philip Ardagh ****

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It’s nice to see a non-fiction series aimed at a younger audience. The Henry’s House books take us into very predictable but nonetheless welcome non-fiction topics (dinosaurs, Romans, the body, Egyptians etc.) via a reliable and fun format. A comic strip storyline with Henry, his dog Mothball and assorted characters whose job is to explain things (some regulars like Hank the Handyman, others specific to the story like Jim the Astronaut) takes up about 1/2 of the book, sometimes stripped across the top of the page, sometimes taking the whole spread. This is accompanied by more standard young people’s non-fiction fare in highly illustrated pages (all drawn by Mike Gordon) with little blocks of text.

On the whole this works well. Although the ‘story’ part doesn’t really have a plot, it keeps things moving from location to location and gives us linking characters to ask about what’s going on. I particularly like the way Pluto appears in a model of the solar system in the kitchen – not with the other planets, but stuck on the fridge as a magnet.

The content is generally spot on. It’s perhaps unfortunate that a double page spread is dedicated to the space shuttle when it’s about to be scrapped, but Philip Ardagh resisted the urge to put in too much about human space travel and gives the right balance to astronomy. The only real disappointment was that there was no attempt to explain the phases of the moon, we’re just told the sun lights up different parts of it at different times. There’s a lot to be got out moon phases, if it had been done right. Oh, and when constellations are mentioned, it would have been nice to say that the stars in the constellations are nowhere near each other, but that the recognizable shapes help us spot stars in an otherwise confusing sky. They’re just stuck in for no obvious reason.

Overall, then a good non-fiction package for the younger audience. The sturdy plasticized cover suggests it is intended to stand up to some wear and tear. There is plenty of content – the characters don’t get in the way of getting a lot across. If anything, it’s a bit too serious and fact-packed – a few more (context providing) stories would not have gone amiss, as the only historical references really are to space flight. Even so, a good solid addition to a field that is surprisingly sparse.

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Review by Jo Reed

Life in Space – Helen Orme ***

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We were generally impressed by another title in this series, Extreme Science, so how did Life in Space do? Originally designed for slightly older readers who needed help with their reading, these books have now been reposition as year 3/4 books (typical 7 to 8-year-olds), a move that is probably very sensible.

The first part of the book is non-fiction, with short, punching, heavily illustrated factiods in a typical school book format. These mostly work well, showing the conditions for life, how it might have started, how we can communicate with alien life and more. It seemed a little lightweight in comparison Extreme Science – I think this is partly because the subject itself, while having obvious attractions for the reader, doesn’t really have too much science in it. Part of the approach of these books is to give the reader the chance to think through some challenges – some might be a bit concerned that one of the challenges here is putting intelligent design alongside scientific theories. Although the text does stress many scientists don’t like ID, it seems a little confusing putting what is in essence a religious concept (certainly originating in scientific methods) alongside straightforward scientific theories.

The back part of the book is a short story. This is in text form on the left hand pages, while the each right hand page is a full page illustration with captions that mean it can pretty well be read as a cartoon (think Rupert cartoons without the wince-making rhymes). As I mentioned with the other book, this is very hard to get right. It’s usually the weakest part of the Horrible Science/Murderous Maths series. And here the story really doesn’t work.

Part of the problem is the simplistic language, which limits the interest level of the book – I think even 7-year-olds might find it a bit dull. The other problem is the storyline, which is very thin and painfully obvious. We really don’t care about the characters (probably because there aren’t any) – it’s a story with a purpose, and it ploddingly makes its way to the inevitable conclusion.

This remains a good format, with some really thought provoking ideas and striking colourful illustration, but certainly not the best example of its kind.

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Review by Brian Clegg

The Adventures of Adam the Atom – Casey Waid ****

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A frequent disappointment in science books for younger children is the way that they tend to cover boring Victorian science. In fact, done right, everything from quantum physics to relativity can be presented to the younger audience and made approachable. In this slim, well illustrated picture book, Casey Waid takes on the basics of atomic structure and bonding.

Our hero, Adam, is a hydrogen atom. A big bully of a nitrogen atom wants to take his electron, so he can become noble – but on the advice of the wise Ben Zine, Adam teams up with another hydrogen atom and an oxygen to go for something much more impressive.

The pictures are good, and the concept is excellent. My one worry about this book is that it falls a little bit between two stools. As a children’s story it’s a bit short of excitement, while as an explanation of atomic bonding, the personalization of the atoms gets a little bit in the way of an understanding of what’s going on.

Nevertheless, it’s a charming little book and makes a good stab at what it’s trying to do. A pleasant bonus is that the book comes with a free downloadable audio book version.

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Review by Brian Clegg

The Dinosaur Magnet Activity Book – Jill Sawyer ***

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I really don’t want to sound like I’m moaning, because I liked some aspects of this book, but it sometimes seems that, in doing children’s reviews, I’m covering less and less books and more and more gimmicks. It’s as if the wonder of science, well presented in words and pictures, isn’t enough – and I don’t believe that. This is a board book with four (yes, just four) two page spreads and a final two-pager of dinosaur information boxes, a bit like a set of dinosaur top trumps cards but on a page.

The gimmick here is the magnets. In the front of the book there are 11 dinosaur magnets (‘chunky dinosaur magnets’ it calls them in the PR) that can be positioned on the different scenes to complete them, with hints as to which dinosaurs you can place where and answers at the back. It’s harmless enough, and would make a reasonable gift, and I’ve nothing against the use of magnets per se – I can imagine some really exciting science books including these – but there just wasn’t enough in this book, certainly not in a book that costs around £10, even for the 5 to 7 age group it has been targeted at.

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Review by Brian Clegg

Oxford First Book of Space – Andrew Langley ***

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Space, let’s face it, is big, and like it’s companion books in the “first book of” series, the Oxford First Book of Space is large format – about 12 inches (30 centimetres) in height.

The target age group is tightly specified on the back of the book, and we are also told that it “supports national curriculum project work and homework”, reflecting the way it has been written to fit with the UK national curriculum, though it isn’t limited to a UK audience because of this.

The book is cleanly designed and illustrated, in a classic Dorling Kindersley-like pattern of pairs of facing pages being dedicated to a single topic. It covers the solar system well, but (perhaps reflecting the limitations of the curriculum) says much less about the rest of the universe, so it’s space, but not as the Starship Enterprise knew it (Jim).

It’s difficult to say how well this particular book matches the age group. The text is certainly too sophisticated for a six-year-old to read alone – it’s clearly designed to be read with a young person, rather than by them. Even with that proviso, there’s perhaps a little too much text and not quite enough illustration and interaction for the age group in question. Even so, it’s not a bad book, and does a better job than the equivalent science title.

The 3 star score reflects the fact that this isn’t really a popular science/maths title, being too concerned with getting the basic education across – but don’t take that as a criticism, because it’s an excellent book for the target age group and highly recommended. Please note the Amazon.com entry has the right ISBN and picture, but seems to be labelled as the wrong book.

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Review by Jo Reed

Oxford First Book of Science – Nina Morgan ***

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Like it’s companion First Book of Maths, this is a big book (about 12 inches/30 centimetres high). It’s aimed at the first few years in school, but starts a year later than the maths book, presumably because science isn’t explicitly introduced so early. Handily, the book is supportive of project work and homework for the UK’s national curriculum – but you don’t have to be in the UK education system to appreciate its combination of visual style and straightforward guidance.

The books is divided, Dorling Kindersley style, into two page spreads, each covering a basic topic, but the look and feel is very different from the maths equivalent. It’s much more wordy – there’s a lot more text and smaller print – and the illustrations are more old fashioned than the maths book, relying much more on paintings, some in a 1980s realistic style, others a more modern, sparser look which don’t particularly fit together. There are photos, but are mostly incidental illustrations rather than an integral part of the text like the paintings.

About half the sections have “try this” experiments – it would be nice if there had been rather more. The main themes are life science, materials, electricity and light/electromagnetism – not a bad set and reflecting the curriculum requirements, though (for example) space was noticeably absent (perhaps because there’s a separate First Book of Space), and clearly missed from the way space illustrations were used for several topics that really weren’t about space. Personally I think there’s rather too much on materials and there could be more on Newtonian/Galilean motion and relativity – but that’s a fairly small detail.

What’s very clear when the age group is set against the writing style is that this book isn’t aimed directly at the target audience. Certainly at the younger end, this is a book for parents or teachers to use with a child, rather than for a child to read themselves – but that is no bad thing.

With the maths book, we awarded it 3 stars because it wasn’t in the popular science/maths genre. This is much more of that kind, at least in having more words and context, but doesn’t involve any history of science so still doesn’t quite make it. However, even for what it is, this book really only makes a 3 star rating because of the old fashioned feel, relatively poor visual style and mixed content.

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Review by Jo Reed

Oxford First Book of Maths – Rose Griffiths ***

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It’s a big task, setting an introduction to maths, hence maybe the fact that it’s a big book (about 12 inches/30 centimetres high). Aimed at the first few years in school, this book is handily supportive of project work and homework for the UK’s national curriculum – but you don’t have to be in the UK education system to appreciate its combination of visual style and straightforward guidance.

The books is divided, Dorling Kindersley style, into two page spreads, each covering a basic topic. Across the pages parades a mix of information and exercises (“match up the shapes”, “can you count backwards?”…) illustrated in colourful and chunky fashion with a combination of photographs (mostly objects cut from their surroundings) and bright, simple drawings.

The menu on offer starts with numbers and counting, then takes the reader through basic arithmetic, times tables (2s and 10s), fractions, shapes and symmetry, measuring and money.

If there’s any criticism of the book it’s the way it reflects fashion in teaching – which is pretty inevitable if it is to fit with the curriculum. There’s too much obsession with shapes (frankly, who cares what a cuboid is – how useful is that ever going to be, either in life or as a mathematician?) – and that hoary old useless article the Venn diagram (arguably misnamed as Venn merely adapted an existing diagram) rears its ugly head. But you have to set against that the very solid work in basic arithmetic and the extremely practical aspects of weights, measures and money. (I ought to add time and the calendar, which are also covered, but that’s borderline as maths, guys.)

What’s very clear when the age group is set against the writing style is that this book isn’t aimed directly at the target audience. Certainly at the younger end, this is a book for parents or teachers to use with a child, rather than for a child to read themselves – but that is no bad thing.

The 3 star score reflects the fact that this isn’t really a popular science/maths title, being too concerned with getting the basic education across – but don’t take that as a criticism, because it’s an excellent book for the target age group and highly recommended.

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Review by Jo Reed