Description: Follow Buzzwing the honeybee on a beautifully illustrated journey through the world of bees filled with amazing science and intriguing folklore. Welcome to my honey hive home. It’s where I live with my family. I’m small and fuzzy and striped black and gold. I’m Buzzwing the hardworking honeybee! Did you know that bees love to dance? Or that they have an amazing sense of smell to help them find the best flowers? In The Secret Life of Bees, Buzzwing shares with you all the details of her life as a bee, in and out of the hive, starting with the day she was born. Learn the secrets of this worker bee’s tiny world, including: The bee life cycleBee anatomyHow bees collect nectar and make honeyWhat happens inside the hiveThe different types of beesWhy bees are so important to humansHow bees can thrive in the cityBee folk tales from around the world With things to search for and find throughout, tips for making your own environment welcoming to bees, and even a poetry-writing exercise, The Secret Life of Bees is brimming with reasons to admire and respect the hardworking honeybee. Sumptuous and detailed illustrations have pride of place in this magical guide to bees that mixes natural history with a splash of fantasy—a book to be pored over time and again. My thoughts:
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this book is that the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. The colours are so bright and vivid that you do feel as if you've been magically transported to a spring meadow full of flowers. But the book isn't just beautiful. It is also very informative, covering a variety of topics related to these hardworking animals: their anatomy, the structure of a hive, different types of bees, the way bees use dance for communication, honey-making, beekeeping, and many others. All of this is combined with tales from all over the world to engage children and show how universal our interest in bees is across different cultures. This book would make a great teaching resource for elementary school or homeschooling. Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the review copy provided in exchange foran honest opinion. The Description: Maths + history + jokes - boring bits = A Quick History of Maths. This book begins around 43,000 years ago with a notched baboon leg, the Lebombo bone (the very first mathematical object in the world) and rushes us past Hindu numerals and the invention of zero, via Pythagoras, Pascal and probability, right up to the present day, with big data and the maths that rules our digital lives. Geometri-cool! You will discover: How to count on your fingers (there are more ways than you might think!) Why we have 60 seconds in a minute (hint: it’s to do with the ancient Babylonians) How to count like an Egyptian (using hieroglyphs) Why it’s hip to be square using square numbers A Pythagorean party trick The naked truth of Archimedes’ bath time mathematics How to do matha-magic with magic squares …and much more. In chronological order from pre-history to present day, this is the story of maths itself. It’s 43,000 years of human mathematical endeavor squeezed into one book for your reading pleasure. Illustrated with funny cartoons and packed with fascinating facts, you’ll be laughing and learning how to be a better mathematician. My thoughts:
My little one is absolutely obsessed with numberblocks at the moment. He wakes up and falls asleep dreaming of maths. This is why whenever I see a book dedicated to children who enjoy this noble subject and want to know as much as possible about it, I am happy as a parent and an educator. The book gives an overview of how the humanity discovered the basic concepts we use every day. From counting systems ( I've always been fascinated by the ancient Inca quipus) and the importance of zero to geometry, Pi and irrational numbers, this entertaining history of maths explores different time periods and different civilizations. I really appreciated the clear layout and fun illustrations. Sometimes children's non-fiction books appear too busy and sadly lose their young readers by cramming too many facts in one page. The book would make a fantastic addtion to an elementary (or even middle grade) school library or any home with an inquisitive child who loves a good joke. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion. Description When his mother goes missing, Max Daybreaker’s world is turned upside down. Luckily, a crew of Spice Pirates, led by the mysterious Captain Cinn, help Max on his dangerous mission across the three seas. Along the way, an unlikely alliance aids in his search—a teenage warrior queen, a three-eyed seer, and an assassin spy. Their journey takes them through treacherous lands while facing shapeshifting bears, an ancient witch, harpies, and the nightmarish Djinn, who will stop at nothing to enslave the world. With every new challenge, Max unlocks the secrets of his unsettling past. Powers awaken within, forcing him to question everything he knows. Is Max who he thinks he is? Only time and destiny will tell… My thoughts:
Max and the Spice Thieves is an extremely imaginative book, full of unique characters, adventures, twists and turns, magic, friendship and love. MaxDaybreaker is just a regular twelve (almost thirteen) year old boy. He does have a medical condition- he can't stand cold which makes his skin break out in a bad rash. When his father goes missing in the sea, Max keeps hoping sooner or later his father will be back. Max's mother Bettina tells him they are going on a journey on a pirate ship, but then on the day when they were supposed to leave, Bettina disappears. The captain of the pirate ship saves Max from criminals and takes him aboard. He promises to do everything possible to help Max find his kidnapped mother. And here begin Max's adventures that will take him across this original world. On his mission to save his family Max makes friends, shows his courage, loyalty and honesty, and learns that he might not be just a regular boy after all. What I liked the most about this book: adventures! Max never has a quiet moment in this action-packed fascinating journey. Just the sheer variety of places Max and his friends have to visit in order to glean some information about Max's family! The world Max lives in is incredibly diverse and so are the magical beings that inhabit it. Max is still quite young and has a lot to learn, but he is aided by other fascinating characters, including my favourite Captain Cinn. I'm not sure the love triangle was entirely necessary. It might become more important in the following books. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion. ![]() Breathing Underwater
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play ![]()
GIVEAWAY!
This is one of the best books I have read this year, and, although I did keep in mind my twelve-thirteen year-old students when I read it, it can and it should be read by people of any age. The way Sarah Allen captured what it's like to live and love a family member suffering from depression is so poignant and authentic. She also managed to do so much more and that is to show what it's like to grow into yourself and begin to own your own feelings, realise that the different ways in which we see the world create it's beauty.
Thirteen year old Olivia, who is passionate about photography, and her older sister Ruth are going on a road trip with their parents' friends in an RV. Olivia would like this trip to become a Treasure Hunt that would recreate the hunt she and Ruth did in the past and remind them of happier times. Olivia tries so hard to be upbeat and keep her complex feelings under control not to upset Ruth or worry their mum. She is trying to understand her own limits (influence over other people's choices, responsibility, anger, frustration, creativity ) and this mysterious thing called sisterly love. It is difficult to imagine a better setting for a coming of age/self-discovery story than a road trip. Olivia is a talented photographer and she has a good eye for anything unusual: an angle that suddenly makes her see an ordinary object in a different light, a special detail that helps you understand the meaning of a place at a deeper level, a connection which isn't obvious unless you've had a similar experience yourself. Ruth is musical - on their treasure hunts she used to come up with perfect playlists- and Olivia comes up with a heartwarming idea- she adds song title captions to her snaps, captions that bring together the sisters' unique ways of seeing the world and creates a perfect fusion that is so meaningful for both of them. The book is written from Olivia's point of view and Sarah Allen manages to keep the first person narrative exactly that. Olivia has to rely heavily on her powers of observation to see the signs of Ruth having a downturn, because she is trying to do everything possible to make her sister feel better. Even a hint of smile on Ruth's face can make Olivia happy. There isn't a hint of omniscience that so often creeps into first person narratives. No, Olivia has to work out things on her own. She really doesn't know what her sister or her mum thinks, she has to rely on their words or their body language, or take a guess, and this is one of the things that make this book so authentic. It doesn't limit your ability to relate to the other characters in the book, though. I wish I could interview Sarah Allen just to get a glimpse into her creative process and how she came up with this perfect ending. I felt I became Olivia for a brief moment- my heart was full of emotions I couldn't express with words, but I had a picture in my mind that I will treasure. Thank you to Giselle from Xpresso Book Tours, NetGaleey and the publisher for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion. |
Archives
February 2024
Categories |