This week's Junior Reading Room features books that are both informative and engaging. Cut out the coupon (available only in the newspaper) to enjoy 25% discount, on the featured books, at Kinokuniya Bookstore.
Creative tools
Gadgets for Simple Recipes, Crafts, Games, and Experiment
Author: Pam Abrams
Publisher: Harvard Common Press, 96 pages
ISBN: 978-1558323469
READ this book and you’ll never look at a box grater, vegetable peeler or egg whisk the same way. Pam Abrams shows how you can make the most of everyday kitchen gadgets, turning them into handy, fun and creative tools and toys.
Chock-a-block with easy-to-follow recipes, interesting experiments and cool craft ideas, Gadgetology offers dozens of fresh ideas and can be used at home, in the classroom and at educational centres and camps.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming (Hardcover)
Author: Al Gore
Adapted by: Jane O’Connor
Publisher: Viking Books,192 pages
AL Gore’s recent powerful film about the environment was accompanied by an equally affecting book. This month sees the publication of a version for young readers that should be compulsory reading for all our children. This volume is much briefer than the original, but, skilfully abridged by Jane O’Connor,
Gore’s message remains clear and urgent. Striking visuals, including simple graphs and before-and-after photographs, illustrate key points like climatic changes and rising sea levels. Gore is utterly convincing in his assertion that “what happens locally has worldwide consequences” and that we have to “change the way we live our lives”.
The book suggests what can be done and also refers readers to the film’s official website for more information, inspiration and encouragement. An Inconvenient Truth is essential reading for all.
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Author: Clive Gifford
Publisher: Oxford University Press,64 pages
HOOKED on CSI? Fans of the TV series, no matter their age, will love this book that explores the intriguing world of forensic science. Covering everything from old (but effective) tricks like fingerprinting to innovative methods like DNA analysis, Crimebusters also features real-life case studies to illustrate the various topics presented.
Readers can also get into solving “crimes” for themselves with the experiments listed. Now every home can be a crime scene, ripe for investigation.
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Author: Alan Katz
Illustrator: Jennifer Kalis
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks,112 pages
ALAN Katz is back with more games, puzzles and problems that will either delight you, or gross you out. Burbs and farts, boogers and snot, and worse, are the stars of this disgusting but fun, educational romp.
Who cares how long it takes a train to go from A to B when you can learn how to work out the problem using spit! If only school textbooks were half as inventive, teachers wouldn’t have to worry about restless and bored students!
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Author and Illustrator: Douglas Florian
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books, 56 pages
PLUTO was a planet./ But now it doesn’t pass./ Pluto was a planet./ They say it’s lacking mass./ Pluto was a planet./ Pluto was admired./ Pluto was a planet./ Til one day it got fired.
Douglas Florian is certainly up-to-date in this collection of 20 snappy, quirky and witty poems about astronomy. The sun, planets, comets, constellations and the universe get special Florian treatment, not just in verse form, but also with his beautiful graphics, which include paintings and collages.
The glossary features a paragraph on the topic of each poem, plus lists of relevant books and websites where more information can be found. This is a visually stunning as well as informative book presented in a way that is guaranteed to put smiles on faces.
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Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Publishers, 128 pages
PIRATE enthusiasts as well as those who aren’t familiar with Long John Silver and his kind will find this book interesting. Pirate-o-pedia guides readers through history by pointing out key facts, like just where these criminals of the high seas hung out, what dirty and bloody deeds they indulged in, and what you’d need to cope in the event of an pirate attack.
There is also a fold-out treasure map and a guide to a secret online prize, plus outlines of classic pirate fiction, like Treasure Island and Kidnapped, brought vividly to life by being put in historical context.
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