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.

Hardback:  

Review by Brian Clegg