#NNFN2023: Amazing Animal Tales Tiny Tadpole by Anne Rooney and Qu Lan

A children's non fiction book Tiny Tadpole by Anne Rooney and Qu Lan sitting beside a garden pond and a stone frog. — Cover image by Qu Lan, published by Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192780850

National Non Fiction November is a month long celebration of non fiction titles for children. It is an annual initiative organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, and I am delighted to have been asked to contribute a review for #NNFN2023. The theme this year is #WonderfulWater and I have been sent the visually stunning Tiny Tadpole book from the Amazing Animal Tales series published by Oxford University Press.

This vibrant exploration of the frog lifecycle is eye-catching and interactive, with its jungle palette and full page flaps to open for extra information. The front cover is likely to entice any child of 4+ with its glorious colours and the glossy finish on the frog and tadpole illustrations. I love that this book chooses to explore the poison dart frog, demonstrating the adaptations to its rainforest habitat of this tiny but mighty amphibian as it progresses through the stages of metamorphosis. Many young children are quite familiar with the idea of our native frogs laying their spawn in garden or woodland ponds where the tadpoles develop. I am sure that they will be fascinated by learning about the poison dart frog laying her eggs on a leaf and then transporting her tadpoles on her back to a hidden pool of water inside the centre of a flower’s petals.

The clever design of this book means that Anne Rooney’s text reads like a story, perfectly pitched to engage early years children. This narrative is arranged in short blocks of text, printed around Qu Lan’s lavish artwork. The illustrations are more than just beautiful; they capture the sense of the battle for survival to maturity, they almost pulse with the vibrancy of life in the rainforest, whilst also giving the tadpoles and frogs expressive faces! Opening the full page flaps reveals extra factual detail about each stage in the life cycle. Interactive elements include measurements, a challenge to order the stages in the frogs’ development and a hummingbird to spot on every page.

Amazing Animal Tales Tiny Tadpole is a marvellous example of thoughtfully produced children’s non fiction. I know that my own children would have been fascinated with this book when they were young and I would highly recommend this title to schools and homes where I am sure it will provide education and enjoyment. I am grateful to Oxford University Press for providing my review copy, which I will be passing onto one of my youngest relatives.

For reviews of more fantastic children’s non fiction titles on the theme of #WonderfulWater, please checkout the other stops on the #NNFN2023 blog tour arranged by Sue Wilsher and the Federation of Children’s Book Groups.

Review: The Lights That Dance in the Night written and illustrated by Yuval Zommer

Cover image Yuval Zommer, published by OUP Books

A perfect picture book to share with young children, especially this autumn/winter when the Northern Lights have been visible to many in the north of the UK, Yuval Zommer’s latest work is an absolute essential for home and school bookshelves. He consistently produces the most amazing books which capture the awesome spectacle of nature through his distinctive artwork and careful choice of simple text.

Giving a sentient voice to the tiny specks of dust that have travelled through the stormy atmosphere to perform the awe-inspiring light display known as the Northern Lights, Yuval Zommer inspires all readers – adults and children to embrace their potential to spread joy. His wondrously rendered artwork shows the radiance, happiness and pleasure that this natural phenomenon brings to a range of creatures; making whales sing, wolves howl…and my favourite, foxes sashay! Every page sparkles with the mystery of the lights and the marvels of the natural world. The human storytelling inspired by the lights is encompassed as:

People stopped to stand and stare, to feel the magic in the air.
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I think that his description of the Northern Lights as “a miracle of winter” can be applied to this book as well as to the festive season and this will be high on my gift-giving list to young relatives this winter and, I suspect for many years to come. An absolutely perfect picture book which I highly recommend to everyone to share with a young child.

I am most grateful to Liz Scott for organising my gift copy of The Lights That Dance in the Night from Oxford University Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

Other books from Yuval Zommer which you might want to share as Christmas gifts include A Thing Called Snow and The Tree That’s Meant to Be.

Picture Book Review: Into the Wild written by Robert Vescio, illustrated by Mel Armstrong

Illustrated by Mel Armstrong, Published by New Frontier Publishing UK

Into the Wild written by Robert Vescio and illustrated by Mel Armstrong is an absolutely joyful book to share with young children as it follows the adventurous wanderings of a young boy named Roman. It celebrates the wonder of nature and the comfort of finding someone special to share your precious moments with.

The illustrations by Mel Armstrong are beautifully rendered in all the vibrant colours of nature. The expressions on the young protagonist’s face completely capture the absorption displayed by children as they witness the marvels of the natural world.

This book is beautifully designed, with some pages having multiple illustrated panels, encouraging your eyes to naturally follow Roman on his expeditions through the woods, fields and shoreline surrounding his house. The minimal text by Robert Vescio is very simple, often just a few words per double page spread and in my opinion they are in poetic harmony with the pictures, projecting the story whilst leaving plenty of space for discussion between adult and child readers.

As we progress through Roman’s journey of discovery, we glimpse the tantalising fluttering colours of something just to the edge of his vision and when Roman finally discovers the owner of the coloured scarf we share his joy at finding a soulmate with whom he can share nature’s treasures.

This is an utterly beautiful book which I would highly recommend for sharing with any child from the age of 2 to 6. Not only are the text and illustrations completely absorbing, it is one of those picture books which will stimulate hours and hours of conversation and inspiration to get outside and investigate the plants, insects, birds and animals to be found wherever you live. It is so important for younger children to have access to books which will help them build the hinterland of vocabulary and knowledge needed for learning and I strongly encourage you to add Into the Wild to your bookshelf or library collection.

You can find teaching notes and activity sheets linked to Into the Wild here.

I am most grateful to New Frontier Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you wish to explore other books by this author and illustrator you can read my reviews of Under the Same Sky by Robert Vescio here and A Home for Luna illustrated by Mel Armstrong here.

Advent Review: A Thing Called Snow written and illustrated by Yuval Zommer

Cover image by Yuval Zommer, published by OUP Children’s Books

This spellbinding book is absolutely perfect for sharing with young children at this time of year and will give hours of pleasure to both children and adults as they experience the joy of first snowfall through the characters of arctic fox and hare.

These two animals have developed a friendship since their birth in the spring and now as they face their first winter in a frozen landscape they are intrigued by the idea of snow. As they walk through their forest habitat they question the animals they meet, slowly building up a vocabulary to describe snow. Their joy when they finally experience the white, cold, fluffy, sparkly miracle absolutely leaps off the page and reflects that of all children of my acquaintance.

Yuval Zommer’s love of the natural world is present in every one of his books. In this one I love the way that the colour palette changes to reflect the atmospheric conditions, starting with warm oranges and browns which are gradually replaced by cold blues, greys and white. Children will learn so much from observing the details of the plants and animals depicted in the amazing artwork contained within this book. It again demonstrates the immense value in beautifully crafted picture books which can be read or looked at for pure pleasure and which educate by stealth.

An absolute delight, I recommend it to everyone – teachers, librarians and families.

I am most grateful to OUP Children’s Books for sending me a review copy. I have already purchased a second copy to gift to a young relative.

If you love A Thing Called Snow, then I highly recommend The Tree That’s Meant To Be by Yuval Zommer which has been published in paperback this autumn.

Review: Winnie and Wilbur books by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul

Winnie Bug Safari

In The Bug Safari Winnie the Witch and her big black cat Wilbur are enjoying the most magnificent picnic in the garden when fallen scone crumbs cause a rustling in the undergrowth and an organised column of ants arrived to claim their prize. A host of other insects fascinate Winnie, who impetuously decides that in order to get a better look she should shrink herself and Wilbur to insect proportions.

The resulting perilous adventure will entrance young readers and listeners, as Winnie and Wilbur dodge multiple hazards in their quest to return to their normal size! The vibrant illustrations overflow with detail about the insect kingdom, the bugs almost rivalling Winnie in their multi-coloured costumes.

This is a book to be opened flat on the carpet and surrounded by young children who will find almost countless wonders to marvel at – oh for the days before social distancing. I recently used the book as a prompt to going on a garden bug hunt for a videoed Google classroom segment, and there are many other counting and sorting activities which could stem from this beautiful book.

Screenshot 2020-05-19 at 19.54.56

Delightfully, the wonderful folk at OUP Children’s have issued Winnie and Wilbur Stay at Home as a free e-book for anyone to download during lockdown. You can access it from the link here.

This book is an absolute hoot, with Winnie’s attempts at joining in with an online exercise session being my highlight (probably because it’s rather similar to certain attempts in my house)!

Children will recognise all the adjustments to activities that they have had to make, reflected in Winnie and Wilbur’s household. This book shows them how to find the joy in singing songs whilst hand-washing, covering the house in rainbows and simply enjoying stories. Winnie really is an utterly joyous character with her multi-coloured fashion choices and accessories and this book is overflowing with good humour to put a smile on the faces of children and adults staying inside to keep the country safe.

With thanks to OUP Children’s Books for my copy of Winnie and Wilbur: The Bug Safari in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Nature Girls by Aki

I picked up this book as the cover transported me back to one of my favourite childhood series, the Madeline books, with their iconic description of “little girls in two straight lines.” This time the girls are dressed in pith helmets and yellow safari suits and they travel further afield, but the book has exactly the same warmth and feel-good factor.

The Nature Girls tell the tale of their explorations in rhyming sentences, as they leave their school building with rucksacks packed ready for their adventures. Starting on a tropical beach they dive beneath the ocean to meet a pod of dolphins and numerous fish. Onward into the jungle they trek to look at birds, followed by expeditions to the desert, the savannah, the Arctic and finally a great forest.

Every page is illustrated in a bright, bold style, with only two rhyming sentences which are printed with imaginative font effects. The writer and illustrator Aki has included a wealth of detail in the illustrations which will reward repeated viewing. The final pages explain, in simple and straightforward terms, the biomes featured throughout the book.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents and librarians to share with pre-school and Key Stage 1 children. The sixteen Nature Girls will inspire an early interest in the natural world and all of its diversity. I would have loved to read this to my own children had it been available when they were little!