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What on earth: Wind - cover image and web purchase link
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An exciting new series of books which explore natural elements about the earth and how that impacts on our lives. They are full of questions and answers, experiments and results and children can form conclusions on aspects of our world which affect them every day.Written and illustrated by Isabel Thomas and  Pau Morgan and published by QED.

I really love the way the books are laid out, with a contents page and glossary, templates and reference points. The illustrations are very appealing and with a pastel range palette of colours and images.

The books are produced in a most attractive way being half way between hard back and paper back. They have a real open the book feel about them!

What on Earth? Wind
   This book is packed with information and the titles and text is laid out in a way which is engaging and interesting. On the page called Ships Ahoy there is a world map with info about the trade winds and how the winds influenced the methods of sailing around the world. On the page, inside a storm, the formation of tornadoes is demonstrated and then an experiment to create a tornado in a bottle,  great stuff!

What on Earth? Water

What on Earth: Water - cover image and web purchase link
Buy this book from The Dolphin

Water cycles, our watery world and water and our planets are some of the sections, which then have a double page for a subject, such as racing to the sea… erosion, make a water wheel and water on other worlds.

Racing to the sea has colourful blocks of text which explain aspects of water from river to sea on a background of mountains, hills and shoreline.

QED have a wealth of expertise in producing fiction titles in a format which is very appealing and stylish and make great books to start a journey into exploration.

Isabel Thomas is a Science writer and children’s author, shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2016, with 130 titles published.

Pau Morgan     is an illustrator based in Chile with an amazing porftolio of work.

   We really recommend these titles for children any age or  especially for 6- 9 years.

Sue Martin

 

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


The Night Gardener cover image
The Night Gardener by The Fan Brothers

An amazing book! Captivating from beginning to end. 

I started to read The Night Gardener and flip through the pages, but that was impossible. I had to read every page, I had to look at every illustration.

It is a stunning debut novel from Eric and Terry Fan and published by Frances Lincoln Childrens' Publishers, who always have an eye for a new book and creative qualities. The illustrator uses a mix of ink and graphite mixed with digital techniques and the effects are a mix of traditional sketches and a misty haze of magic.

The story is based on William in the village of Grimloch, as he gazes out of the window with his 1940's cap on his head, to see a commotion outside. There is a tree which has been sculpted into the shape of a wise owl. In the following days, more topiaries appear and soon William's town is full of colour and life and is changed forever.

One night William followed the night gardener to the park and helped him until he fell fast asleep under a tree, he was given a very special present  of a pair of shears!

Eventually the autumn came and the leaves fell off the trees and all the shapes were gone.

" But the people of the small town were never the same."

We thoroughly recommend this book and The Fan Brothers are authors and illustrators to follow.

Suggestion is to buy it now ! Use the link above or order from your library. There is so much in this book that you will come back to it forever.

Sue Martin
Dolphin Books


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Happy New Year!

2017 is going to be a great year for children's books and for Dolphin Booksellers. Thank you for all the comments about the blog which reaches places across the world; schools, children, teachers, parents....  and people who just like good children's books.

Our blogs start this year with titles  published in the last year and are simply amazing.

Illuminature by Rachel Williams and Carnovosky
View, review or purchase this title from Amazon.co.uk here...

Our first title is Illuminature!

You may already  know that there are hidden secrets in different places. When you walk into a garden, you don't always see the spider in the hedgerow or the worm just inder the surface of the ground.

Illuminature is a remarkable book,  it explores the hidden secrets of the world's most diverse environments. A three colour lens illuminates each page in a kaleidoscope of colour.

On each double page spread there are flora and fauna that co exist in each habitat. Use the species guide to identify and find out more.

As you travel through a jungle, a reef, a mountain, grasslands, woods and rivers you'll uncover a world that never sleeps - with the graphics of Carnovsky and Williams, the innovative Milan based design duo.

Rachel Williams is the award winning author of Atlas of Animal Adventures and she lives and works in London. Her titles can also be found through Good Reads.

Milan based duo, Carnovsky, was started by Silvia Quintanilla and Fransesco Rugi in 2007. They are published around the world in magazines and famous for their wallpaper designs.

Wide Eyed Editions is an imprint of Quarto Publishing and publishes beautiful and informative books.

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Zeki can SwimSwimming is so important and babies make the best swimmers. So Zeki Can Swim is a delightful book to read, to encourage and share with a young child all about swimming, from the water to adding the lotions!

Zeki Loves the water and bathtime is a taster for tomorrow’s adventure. He and Dad join their friends for swimming. First they learn to swim and hen the fun begins and off they go!

The book and series has great reviews, including the first book 'Zeki Loves Baby Club' being Book of the Year in 2014 with Books for Keeps.

The publisher, Alanna Books is a tiny independent publisher, celebrating its 10th birthday and being most well-known for its Lulu series. It publishes inclusive books with inclusive pictures!

The author, Anna McQuinn has written over 20 books, including the Lulu series, which features Zeki’s older sister.

The illustrator Ruth Hearson works as a freelance illustrator and worked with Little Tiger, OUP and Heinemann. Since returning to illustrating she has been involved in many community arts projects.

Sue Martin           Dolphin Booksellers

 

 

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


A Visit to City Farm
Review or purchase this book from Amazon.co.uk

There is a great story behind A Visit to City Farm, published by  Firetree Books.

The book is the result of close collaboration between the children of Chalkhill Primary School in Wembley and Firetree books.

Chalkhill Primary School are the proud co-publishers and the children's names are included in the book.

Firetree Publishers have received Arts Council funding for the project, a real achievement in the production of such a wonderful book, and a splendid idea.

The story is set in London and we follow the children on their journey from school, 'Coats zipped, rucksacks light, hands free for holding tight'. The class sets off through the noisy traffic and reaches the underground, where the train comes roaring through a deep dark, tunnel.

A Visit to City Farm

At the farm they meet the animals, help to feed some and then enjoy their packed lunches.

'That was the best day ever, said Rainbow class.'

Written by Verna Wilkins, who is a great supporter of diversity in books, which is clearly shown through the children and teachers at Chalkhill Primary, Wembley.

Karin Littlewood is a terrific illustrator and the images are full of character and fun between the children and the animals. Karin also illustrated The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman.

We recommend A Visit to City Farm for ages 5-7 years, an excellent book  and a very interesting dimension on how to work with children in writing and creative projects.

Sue Martin

dolphinlogo2012imageright3.jpg


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


one-cheetah-one-cherry
Review or buy this book from Amazon.co.uk here...

One Cheetah, One Cherry is stunning in design, colour and  use of numbers for counting to ten. It combines maths and art with ease in glorious technicolour! 

Always a joy to have a book by Jackie Morris in your hands. One Cheetah, One Cherry is no exception.

A real winner for Otter Barry Books.

 

Gold, blue and purple are combined to give  excellent illustrations and works of art, they have wonderful creatures on every page in eclectic settings.

Six bright tigers for instance, playing pat a cake, has six wonderful tigers on their hind legs each with a different friendly smile on their face.

Seven giant pandas with pretty painted parasols, has the seven pandas out of their normal habitat and enjoying each others company.

An otter in a hat! Well fancy that!

A beautiful book to have and to share with others. It is a vividly descriptive book on numbers and will  really support visual memory and understanding. And for the colour and energy of the animals alone this is definitely a book to buy.

Hope you  enjoy the book. Review or buy a copy here.

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers

dolphinlogo2012imageright3.jpg


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


50 Things you should know about Wild Weather
Review or buy this book from Amamzon.co.uk

50 Things you should Know about Wild Weather is written by Anna Claybourne and published by QED Publishing.

It's part of the 50 Things You Should Know About series, which makes facts come alive. It gives intriguing information with diagrams, photos and text which jump out of the page creating a great platform for all readers.

50 Things You Should Know About Wild Weather has a double page as a complete section, eg. hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones. This explains how hurricanes work, the eye of a hurricane and some examples of storm damage from 2012. It shows that as our seas warm up, more hurricanes are likely to happen as the trigger temperature is reached more frequently, a scary but true aspect of climate warming.

50 things you should know about space Cover Image
Review or buy this book from Amazon.co.uk

50 Things You Should know about Space is the same excellent format and is written by Professor Raman Prinja, only just published in June 2016.

Learn about the wonders of the universe, from planets, comets and asteroids to galaxies and black holes.

Discover how stars are born and take a tour of the Solar System and future space travel.

Packed with facts, illustrations and infographics and photos with a full glossary and index.

You can find out exactly what goes on at the International Space Station, why the earth spins, how big is our galaxy, supernova explosions, the surface of the sun and much more.

Professor Raman Prinja is currently Professor of Astrophysics at Univesity College London and is very keen to bring astronomy to a wider audience.

50 Things You Should Know About series are excellent books to have in schools and at home and in libraries. You can buy them direct priced at £8.99.

Thoroughly recommend them for ages 8 +

 

Sue Martin      Dolphin Booksellers

dolphinlogo2014imageright


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Adder, Bluebell, Lobster - book cover image
Review or buy from Amazon.co.uk here...

There is more to this Wild Book of Poems from Otter-Barry Books than meets the eye!

From Adder to Wren, forty fantastic poems celebrate forty amazing animals, birds and plants and their beautiful names - names which you can help poet Chrissie Gittins save from EXTINCTION!

They are all words which have been left out of the latest Oxford Junior Dictionary. Join authors such as Michael Morpurgo and Margaret Atwood who along with 28 other authors protested against Oxford Junior Dictionary's replacement of natural words with 21st century terms.

The poems are brilliant, each page has a poem from Chrissie and illustration from Paul Bommer such as. Harry the Hamster...

'Harry the hamster, in his ball

rolled round the bedroom,

rolled round the hall.

He rolled to the bathroom,

he rolled to the stairs

where a huge teddy bear

took him clean unawares'.

We recommend for ages 6+ and for all ages. Follow the picture link to buy.

Sue Martin

dolphinlogo2014imageright


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


My Little Book about Me
Review or purchase this book from Amazon.co.uk...

This is a really good series of books from QED and My Little Book about Me written by Angela Royston is an excellent addition to this series.

It brings together pictures and information about the body which is easily accessible for young children in Reception and Key Stage 1, at school, and into Key Stage 2. It's also a really useful book for the bookshelves at home.

Each page is a separate section, such as The world and me... which explains how we use our senses and bodies to see, taste, smell,speak and listen. The page on Inside my head describes the brain like a super computer with over 100 billion tiny nerve cells and only takes to 2% of the body weight and 20% of the body energy! An amazing fact!

There are lots of other books in the series, weather, ocean life, space, sharks, emergency vehicles. trains, volcanoes, rocks, minerals and gems. In fact, they cover about everything you might need to know if you are aged about 6 yrs old!

And in school, a library or at home they will be really interesting to have for children from the ages of about 4 - 8 years old.

At a retail price of around £7.99 they are a good buy in this hardback edition.

Sue Martin      Dolphin Booksellers

My little book of rocks, cover image

My little book of sharks - cover image


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


My Little book about tractors cover image
Review or purchase this book from Amazon.co.uk here...

A book about tractors packed with facts and photographs.

Always a great read and this new book published by QED and written by Rod Green is a book which will be a favourite for all those young children who are just fascinated by tractors.

The photographs are clear and pages are clearly laid out with sentences close to the pictures, which are just right for remembering about all sorts of tractors across the world.

Rod describes tractors from two wheel vehicles in Thailand in rice fields to multi-wheel tractors for large fields of wheat production. There is a page on combine harvesters which will be fascinating in this period of harvesting in the countryside in the UK.

Definitely going to be a well read book. We recommend for children aged about 4- 7/8 years.

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.