AD: Sponsored Post Looking for a gift for a little STEM learner? Then this collection from MIT Kids Press  and Walker Books  has so many gre...

MIT Kids Press Christmas Gift Bundle

Monday, December 05, 2022 BookBairn 1 Comments

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Looking for a gift for a little STEM learner?

Then this collection from MIT Kids Press and Walker Books has so many great titles to choose from! I’ve picked out three I thought looked fascinating.

Ada and the Galaxies by Alan Lightman, Olga Pastichiv and illustrated by Susanna Chapman is a beautiful intergenerational story about a little girl’s trip to stay with her grandparents. She can’t wait for nightfall to see the dazzling array of stars in the sky which are so much clearer on their little island than on the big city. She waits all day until eventually it gets dark but the fog has rolled in. So instead Ada and her Poobah look at some photographs in his books. Will the fog clear? You’ll have to read it to find out.

This is a lovely narrative nonfiction which is littered with facts throughout the story. But it also blends real photographs from the Hubble telescope into the glorious illustrations. It is magical story telling and a perfect gift for little stargazers.



I’m a Neutrino by 
Dr Eve M Vavagiakis and illustrated by Ilze Lemesis is a dazzling picture book which introduces young readers to the smallest bits of matter known to exist. Despite their small size they matter! (Get it?!) 

This is a brilliant read it’s written in rhyme but feels more like poetry than traditional picture book storytelling (that being said the neutrinos are telling your their story but it’s also very scientific. In an accessible way. In fact, this is an arrestingly clever book as well as being visually beautiful.


Become an App Inventor by 
Karen Lang & Selin Tezel is perfect for the next big budding tech kid! Using free online programming tools, this is The guide to how to design, build and share apps. No experience necessary. Just bring your passion and this book provides a guide to everything else. From how to create a maze game, a translation app, and even a personalised chat app, it’s a stepping stone to designing bigger and brilliant things. Chock-full of colourful graphics and easy-to-follow instructions, readers will also learn about young inventors who have created apps of their own!

Perfect for the stockings of STEM minded kids!



Happy gift giving and book devouring this festive season!

Kim and the bairns x


Many thanks to Walker Books for sending us these books as part of a bundle of STEM related titles!



Disclaimer: If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link.  This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.


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AD: Sponsored Post The Wee Page Turner could not have been more excited for this book! Jon Agee books are ones that we read over and over. A...

My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee

Friday, October 28, 2022 BookBairn 1 Comments


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The Wee Page Turner could not have been more excited for this book! Jon Agee books are ones that we read over and over.


And this new title is no exception, My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee was immediately read several times and then packed to go on holiday with us (as well as three other Jon Agee books). An instant hit!

But why does he love them so much? Well, because he adores the humour in them; the way the words (i.e. the adult reading them) are saying one thing but the illustrations (i.e. the child reading those) are implying something totally different. It’s like the author lets only the children in on the secret whilst the adults are in the dark. And why wouldn’t a kid love that feeling? A feeling of being more knowledgeable than the grown ups!


This newest release is the story of a main character who decides to get a rhinoceros for a pet. But he’s left feeling a little disappointed when it won’t chase a ball or a stick or a frisbee. In fact, according to the experts, a rhino only does two things: pop balloons and poke holes in kites. But the boy’s rhinoceros doesn’t even seem interested in doing that. What good is a rhino for a pet? Well, I won’t spoil it for you (although the big reveal is in the images below!) But it’s pretty darn cool!


Again this book tickles my bairns’ funnybones. Where again the adults in the story are left looking sheepish and silly when the child reveals the truth about his rhinoceros.

If you haven’t read any Jon Agee books I urge, no compel you to seek them out. The Wall in the Middle of the Book is a perfect one for teachers and could be read to classes of all ages. And his others (Life on Mars is one of my favourites!) will have you sniggering with each read - I've linked some of my previous posts below. The joke and the reveal never seem to lose their appeal! One for kids and adults alike and the stories you won’t tire of reading!



 

Happy reading and giggling!

Kim and the bairns x


Many thanks to Scallywag Press for sending us this new book as well as other Jon Agee books over the years. They’ve made for many happy story times!

Disclaimer: If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link.  This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.

1 comments:

AD: Sponsored Post Time to share a very random fact about me: I carry a rock around in my coat pocket. I’ve had it for two years and origina...

The Perfect Rock by Sarah Noble

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 BookBairn 1 Comments


AD: Sponsored Post

Time to share a very random fact about me: I carry a rock around in my coat pocket. I’ve had it for two years and originally picked it up for skimming stones but as I ran my thumb over it’s smooth surface I knew I’d never skim it. So now it’s a little (although somewhat heavy) treasure I keep in my pocket!

1 comments:

  This is a hard post to write because this book is so close to the reality for many and a growing number of people as we go deeper into the...

The Invisible by Tom Percival

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 BookBairn 1 Comments


 This is a hard post to write because this book is so close to the reality for many and a growing number of people as we go deeper into the financial crisis. With families facing food and fuel poverty this winter, I wanted to share this incredibly important story - The Invisible by Tom Percival - about remembering to look and really see those around us.

1 comments:

📚 judge the reader 📚 Hello to all the newbies who have joined recently- go ahead and judge me by my books! And to all you “oldies” (hehe!)...

Judge the Reader

Monday, September 12, 2022 BookBairn 1 Comments

📚 judge the reader 📚

Hello to all the newbies who have joined recently- go ahead and judge me by my books! And to all you “oldies” (hehe!) you should know well enough by now, but go ahead, judge - do your worst!

I grabbed these off my kitchen bookshelves, popped them in a washing basket and casually plopped them on the blanket on the kitchen floor (aside I may have found a better light spot for flatlays - hooray!)

And yes it took even longer to put them all away again!

Love,
Kim

okay so here's how this tag works:
✨assemble a random assortment of books (no curating an aesthetic - only cheated slightly by putting them on a blanket!)
✨let people make assumptions about you in the comments based on your bookish taste

1 comments:

AD: Sponsored Post It’s survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom. So how do the tiniest creatures tough it out?

It's Tough to Be Tiny by Kim Ryall Woolcock & Stacey Thomas

Wednesday, August 31, 2022 BookBairn 1 Comments

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It’s survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom. So how do the tiniest creatures tough it out?

1 comments:

AD: Sponsored Post Two years ago I discovered a lyrical picture book - Leap Hare Leap - that we adore which beautifully combines nature, poe...

Grow Tree Grow by Dom Conlon & Anastasia Izlesou (Wild Wanderers Series)

Wednesday, August 03, 2022 BookBairn 2 Comments

AD: Sponsored Post

Two years ago I discovered a lyrical picture book - Leap Hare Leap - that we adore which beautifully combines nature, poetry and artwork! 

2 comments:

  Our puppy has moved in! For all those asking he’s a nearly six-month old cockapoo called Bertie and we are smitten!

I am Dog by Peter Bentley & Chris Chatterton

Monday, June 20, 2022 BookBairn 2 Comments

 

Our puppy has moved in! For all those asking he’s a nearly six-month old cockapoo called Bertie and we are smitten!

2 comments:

AD: Sponsored Post Which books made you a reader?

The Dawn Seal by Holly Webb & David Dean (Holly Webb's Summer series)

Thursday, June 16, 2022 BookBairn 2 Comments

AD: Sponsored Post

Which books made you a reader?

2 comments:

  AD: Sponsored Post Have you ever thought about how much is going on in a toddler’s mind as they not only learn the sounds of language but ...

Ready for Spaghetti by Michael Rosen & Polly Dunbar

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 BookBairn 2 Comments

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Have you ever thought about how much is going on in a toddler’s mind as they not only learn the sounds of language but also that when put together those sounds make words and those words have meaning? And at the same time their brains are learning how lots of things work? 

As Michael Rosen points out in the introduction to his latest poetry collection Ready for Spaghetti, it’s utterly mind-boggling!


2 comments:

  There are eight billion of us humans on the planet. All breathing, eating, sleeping, fidgeting, and thinking deep thoughts. An unimaginabl...

The Biggest Footprint by Rob & Tom Sears

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 BookBairn 2 Comments

 


There are eight billion of us humans on the planet. All breathing, eating, sleeping, fidgeting, and thinking deep thoughts. An unimaginably large number.


So in steps The Biggest Footprint by Rob & Tom Sears and its ‘smooshing machine’ to bring all humankind together, quite literally, into one spectacular giant human to represent all eight billion of us.

And then the smooshing machine starts sucking in animal species to show just how we compare to them - the use of scale images in this book is just genius but I’ll come back to that. And suddenly the mega human looks even more huge. Throw in the animal species we breed for food production and a little history comparison and you start to realise just how out of proportion things have become.
 

Taking into account not just our effect on other animal species but also earth’s resources and our massive amount of waste, this book is a startling read. But it’s also sprinkled with hope showing that a mega human can cause a lot of destruction but it also (collectively) has great power to plant new trees, clear plastic from the ocean, build wind turbines, clean up and give back to the places were have plundered providing habitats for our fellow earth-dwellers.


This book really is ingenious. I just love it. It reads like a fable but is packed full of facts and statistics. It’s bleak but packed full of humour and ends with a message of hope. The illustrations really make the statistics come to life in a way that I could not have visualised without them. And it empowers us to realise that we, as a collective, have damaged the planet but also that we, as a collective are a powerful force that can fix it.

I implore you to buy a copy of this. It’s so important.
Kim x


Disclaimer: If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link.  This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.


2 comments: