Chatterbooks Activity Pack Wonderful Non-Fiction!

Reading and activity ideas for your Chatterbooks group

Wonderful Non-Fiction! This Chatterbooks activity pack gives you a treasure chest of wonderful non-fiction titles from our Children’s Reading Partners publisher partners, plus lots of ideas for activities and discussion with your Chatterbooks groups. Enjoy these bright and vibrant books, full of fascinating information – and celebrate this year’s National Non-Fiction November!

This pack is brought to you by The Reading Agency and their publisher partnership Children’s Reading Partners.

Chatterbooks is a reading group programme for children aged 4 to 14 years. It is coordinated by The Reading Agency and its patron is author Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Chatterbooks groups run in libraries and schools, supporting and inspiring children’s literacy development by encouraging them to have a really good time reading and talking about books.

The Reading Agency is an independent charity working to inspire more people to read more through programmes for adults, young people and Children – including the Summer Reading Challenge, and Chatterbooks. See www.readingagency.org.uk

Children’s Reading Partners is a national partnership of children’s publishers and libraries working together to bring reading promotions and author events to as many children and young people as possible.

Contents

3 Wonderful Non-Fiction! Ideas for discussion and activities – Warm up 5 Things to talk about 6 Longer activity: Be a presenter! 7 Dewey Decimal Code 8 Wonderful Non-Fiction! The books – with activities linked to these books 21 More reading suggestions

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Wonderful Non-Fiction! Ideas for discussion and activities Get together a collection of favourite non-fiction titles - a mix of subjects and formats. And have sheets of flip-chart paper for collecting people’s ideas and answers in discussions.

Warm ups Wonderful Non-Fiction! Wordsearch Here are some non-fiction topics – look for them in the squares: across, down, up, and from right to left. Then talk together about them – what sort of information would you find in each topic? Which do you most like reading about?

SPORT NATURE SCIENCE HISTORY GEOGRAPHY ANIMALS BIOGRAPHY DINOSAURS COMPUTERS HUMAN BODY TREES ENCYCLOPAEDIA

T R E E S Z X S R E T U P M O C Y P V X V N Q B C X A S F Z V Q E C N E I C S Q W P B Z J X K H B M A B X Y Q X J X Z V G W X I S F T D W C F Z P F Q J F B G S W X U X K L X P F V Z X V X J T P J R Q W O J F P G Q F J K P O X F E Q X P Z P J E W Z V F M R S X P K J A X B I O G R A P H Y P Q S V F E G X J G P X J B G X O W L V X D Z V Q R X U F Z K Q R V A Z D I N O S A U R S G J W T P M V X A J Z Q P X P Q X G Z J E I K Q Z F J G H S Z W J V P Z Q N W F X Q P J Y X P J Q Z F X F A Q X Z J Y D O B N A M U H

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Wonderful Non-Fiction! Amazing Facts! Have fun with these fascinating facts! Which are true and which are false? Divide your group into two teams. Read aloud these ‘facts’ and with each fact ask people to call out whether they think it is true or false. Keep note of each team’s answers. At the end read out which is true or false – the winning team is the one which has identified the most facts correctly as true or false. Talk some more about the amazingly true ones! Variations  Give each team a printed sheet with the list of facts and ask them to discuss and decide about each fact, marking it T or F. Then go through the answers together to find the winning team.  Get teams to create their own Amazing Facts list with a mix of true and invented facts – and then challenge each other!

FACT TRUE or FALSE? 1. The Great Fire of London was started by a Christmas pudding 2. Maggots breathe through their bottoms 3. William Shakespeare invented over 1700 new words 4. The Romans invented underfloor central heating 5. A banana kick is a goal scored by a player in yellow boots 6. A megabyte is the name for a triple-decker sandwich 7. Owls have three eye-lids 8. A footballer earning £1 million a week makes 1.6p a second 9. Your ears will keep on growing right through your life 10. Sound travels fastest through air 11. Of all the people in the world 9% have brown hair 12. Snakes have slimy, scaly skin 13. There are 53 Lego bricks made for each person on earth 14. The longest an average adult human can last without eating is 25 days 15. Bats have powerful eye-sight and can see things a mile away 16. Dwarf elephants, about a metre high, once roamed islands in the Mediterranean 17. The average person walks the equivalent of all the way round the world in a lifetime 18. You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world 19. If a crab’s leg gets broken off, it can grow a new one. 20. The average 4 year old child asks over 400 questions a day!

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Things to talk about What is non-fiction? Talk about non-fiction – facts, information etc - and the difference between fiction and non-fiction.

How do you like to get your information? Have a look at a collection of different kinds of non-fiction books – there are many formats to choose from! Talk about which books people like best when reading about their favourite topics, or when finding out facts and information for homework. Formats include  Picture books  Lots of text  Lots of pictures  Photos and/or illustrations  Cartoons and comic strips  Books with a 2-page spread for each aspect of the book’s subject  Lots of information snippets, highlighted or framed in boxes  Devices such as: ‘Did you know?’ ‘True or False’ ‘Fascinating Facts’  Quizzes  Charts and diagrams  Information told through stories  What else?!

Writing and publishing a non-fiction book If you were writing a non-fiction book, what are all the things you need to think about to make a really good book? Talk about and list all the things needed to get a book written and published. Who does each of these things? – e.g author, illustrator, publisher Here are some starters for your list:  Getting a good idea for a subject which people will want to read about  Who will be the readers/audience for the book?  Researching and finding out all about the subject  Deciding how to present the information about this subject – e.g. lots of text; snappy text; any pictures; what kind of pictures  Writing the text!  Making sure the text and pictures are accurate – and will suit your audience Have a look at ‘How a picture book is made’ – an enjoyable film (5 mins) which gives good pointers for what happens in the making of a book.

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Longer activity

Be a presenter! Imagine you are asked to give a TV presentation about a book which has been written about your favourite subject!

Ask each person in your group to choose a subject they are especially interested in and find a book about their subject. Then each prepare a short presentation, saying something about their subject and then talk about the book, saying why it is a good one (or not!) about the subject.

It would be great to film or record everyone’s presentations and then have a special show, or share with other Chatterbooks groups!

Here’s a suggested outline people could use for planning their presentation:

PRESENTATION PLAN  Opening – something interesting about your subject to get people listening

 Up to 3 things about your subject

 Why you like your subject!

 Show the book you have chosen and briefly say what’s in it and how it gets information across

 Why you think it’s a good book (or, why you don’t recommend it!)

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Dewey Decimal Code Many libraries use a special code to help you find the exact non-fiction book you want on the library shelves – it’s called the Dewey Decimal System, after Melvil Dewey who invented it in 1876.

Here are 3 non-fiction books about the Romans:

They are written by Terry Deary, Marcia Williams & Caroline Lawrence If we arranged non-fiction books in alphabetical order, according to the authors’ surnames, you would have to look for these books on three different places – under D (Deary), W(Williams) and L(Lawrence).

So that you can find all the books about the Romans in the same place, Melvil Dewey created a code, giving a number to each non-fiction topic, so that all the books on the same topic, can be found in one place under their topic number. The number for the topic Romans is 937 – if you go to this number on the library shelves you’ll find all the books there on Romans. Libraries which use the Dewey Decimal System have a chart up on the wall, telling you the number for each topic – e.g. for Ghosts it’s 133 and for Cars it’s 629 and for Pets it’s 636. And of course if you ask the library staff they will be able to tell you where to look for any topic and help you find what you want.

Here is a simple presentation showing how the Dewey Decimal Code works (With thanks to the OCLC – Online Computer Library Center).

For more activity ideas have a look too at these Chatterbooks activity packs:

Info Challenge! Chatterbooks activity pack

Inventions and discoveries Chatterbooks activity pack

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Wonderful Non-Fiction! – The books

Enjoy this great selection of information books on all kinds of subjects – arranged in Dewey Decimal Code order! See if you can find more books in your school or public library with the same numbers!

001 General Knowledge: reference books and encyclopaedias

Browse these books together and choose favourite amazing facts with which to wow your friends!

A World of Information Richard Platt & James Brown Walker 978-1406370843 This is a bright and attractive book full of incredible facts and figures, covering more than 30 topics. Do you know how many bones there are in the human body or how clouds form? Or about different types of knots or how Morse code works? Richard Platt is the author of Castle Diary, Egyptian Diary and Pirate Diary, which won the Blue Peter Best Book with Facts Award.

My Encyclopaedia of Very Important Things DK 978-0241224939 Full of fun facts, colourful illustrations, and games that will feed a child’s imagination, this book is perfect for 4 to 7 year olds. It is split into four sections, All About Me, Animals, People, and My Planet.

Knowledge Encyclopaedia: Animal! John Woodward DK 978-0241228418 From the wings of the albatross to the deadly facts of the great white shark, this book takes you into the exciting world of the animal kingdom. Exploring everything from habitats and ecosystems to senses and respiration, it is easy to follow and full of fun facts, with amazing 3D images. For children aged 9+.

See also these further titles in the Knowledge Encyclopaedia series: Dinosaur! 978-1409354673 Space! 978-0241196304

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005 Computer programming

Three books to get you going on creating your own games, blogs, vlogs and podcasts! In each of them you’ll find lots of practical tips and activities. Enjoy!

A Beginner’s Guide to Coding Marc Scott Bloomsbury 978-1472928641 A Beginner’s Guide to Coding is an easy-to-follow guide to the basics of coding, using the free programming languages of Scratch and Python. These step-by-step projects will have you talking to your own chatbot or making your own computer games in no time. Engaging and fun, eye-catching illustrations and projects introduce you to the world of coding. Marc Scott is a former Computer Science and Systems & Control teacher. He now works as Head of Curriculum Development for the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

20 Games to Create with Scratch Max Wainewright QED Publishing 978-1784936648 Learn how to code your very own computer games using Scratch software. With easy-to-follow, illustrated step-by-step instructions, create all types of popular games from ‘Snake’ and ‘Brick Bouncer’ to driving and action games. Each chapter progresses in difficulty, introducing key coding concepts through simple and practical tasks from drawing shapes and giving instructions in code to building games and much more! Max Wainewright writes educational software titles for children. His programs and websites have won BETT, ERA and Practical Pre-School Gold Awards. He lives in London.

Super Skills: How to Be a Blogger and Vlogger Shane Birley QED/Walter Foster 978-1633221055 In this addition to the Super Skills series, children can master a new digital talent--creating blogs, vlogs, and podcasts--in 10 easy lessons! Each stage is fully illustrated with step-by-step illustrations and photographs, so children can learn 10 key skills to develop and promote an exciting new online blog or vlog. Along with professional tips and practical techniques, this book will help young readers become expert bloggers in no time - from planning what to share with the world to learning how to stay safe online. Shane Birley is a seasoned blogger with a technical background and a degree in Literature. He has co-authored several editions of Blogging for Dummies He lives in Vancouver, Canada.

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400 Words!

Enjoy these beautiful words – say them out loud; choose your favourites and use them in your writing and chatting. Look out for more – or make up your own!

Other Wordly Yee-Lum Max & Kelsey Garrity-Riley Chronicle Books 978-1452125343 tsundoku: (noun, Japanese) buying books and not reading them; letting books pile up unread on shelves or nightstands tartle: (verb, Scots) to hesitate while introducing or meeting someone because you have forgotten their name hoppipolla: (verb, Icelandic) jumping into puddles! Discover these and many other words to surprise and delight! You’ll find words for the particular grace of mended things, for the urge to peer into other people’s windows, for the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees! A lovely book for lovers of words – and for those lost for words! Yee-Lum Mak began this book in high school. She lives in Los Angeles. Kelsey Garrity-Riley is an illustrator living in Brooklyn.

See also The Silly Book of Weird and Wacky Words Andy Seed & Scott Garrett Bloomsbury 978-1408853382

530 Gravity

Gravity Jason Chin Andersen 978-1783441976 What keeps objects from floating out of your hand? What if your feet drifted away from the ground? What stops everything from rising up into space? Gravity. This is a picture book which introduces young readers to this fundamental force, taking a complex subject and making it understandable. Jason Chin is an author and illustrator. His books include Redwoods and Coral Reefs. He studied illustration at Syracuse University and lives in New York.

Talk about what could happen if there were no gravity. Look at the section at the end which gives you more information. Think about feathers and leaves, birds and insects and aeroplanes – what keeps them from falling straight to the ground?

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560 Prehistoric creatures

Animasaurus: Incredible Animals that Roamed the Earth Tracey Turner & Harriet Russell Bloomsbury 978-1408884850 Did you know that: A shark as long as a bus roamed the oceans? Hamsters with horns once burrowed the Earth? Giant armadillos grew to the size of a family car? Find out about the fascinating prehistoric beasts that once walked, swam and hunted across the Earth. Compare these with their closest modern relatives, or other living animals with amazing features. Pictures and facts, essential stats and scale diagrams, this is a great guide to prehistoric beasts! Tracey Turner’s books include 101 Things You Need to Know, the Comic Strip series, and the World’s Worst Jobs. She lives in Bath. Harriet Russell studied illustration at Glasgow School of Art and Central Saint Martins in London. She has written and illustrated several of her own books.

Discovering Dinosaurs Simon Chapman Bloomsbury 978-1408194614 Imagine you discovered the dinosaurs! Battle blizzards with swarms of vipers in the Gobi Desert with explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, join the race across the Wild West of America with bone-hunters Cope and Marsh as they unearth a time when monsters really did rule the world. Get to know about Triceratops, Pterodactyls, Iguanodon, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus and many more. This book is full of stats, pictures, journals, flaps and even the insides of dinosaurs. Simon Chapman, author and explorer, has canoed the Armu River in Siberia looking for tigers, and crossed the Bolivian Lowlands by horse, canoe, and on foot. Each choose a prehistoric creature and find out as much as you can about it – how big? How long ago did it live? Where? What was the climate and vegetation like? What did it eat? Is it gentle? Or roaring, like our Chatterbooks lion? Imagine you have time-travelled back to prehistoric times and come face to face with your creature. Create a picture of it, with you standing beside it, and write a journal entry about how you found it – and what happened next!

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580 Trees

I Love This Tree Anna Claybourne Franklin Watts 978-1445152653 This book looks at an old living deciduous tree and through it explores the amazing life of a tree and the creatures that inhabit it. Through a mixture of photos and artwork and information, we see how the tree has changed and how it acts as a habitat for other life. For children aged 8+. It was shortlisted for the 2016 SLA information book award in the 7-12 category and the 2016 English 4-11 picture book awards. Anna Claybourne has also written the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopaedia of Planet Earth, Cheetah: Natural World Series, and the Survival Skills Handbook. She lives in Edinburgh.

‘Close to my house, there’s a beautiful, huge, spreading tree. I see it every day. We walk past it on the way to school, and hear the wind rustling through it at night. How long has that tree been standing there?’ Find a tree near your house, your library or your school. Find out what sort it is, draw it, and make notes about what you see, including any creatures settling on it. Visit it once a week or month and record any changes. Your group could do this together, choosing a tree which you can all get to see – it would make a great subject for a group blog, with pictures and podcasts by the children.

595 Insects The Big Book of Bugs Yuval Zommer Thames & Hudson 978-0500650677 Introductory spreads explain that bugs live nearly everywhere on Earth and give tips on how to become a young bug spotter. The book is then divided into key groups of bugs, including beetles, moths, butterflies, bees, snails, crickets, grasshoppers, worms and spiders, all illustrated with scenic compositions. Some spreads approach the world of bugs thematically, such as bugs that come out at night, baby creepy-crawlies and life cycles, how bugs hide and show off and how some bugs love to live in your home. The text is chatty, funny and full of amazing facts. Yuval Zommer is the author/illustrator of children’s books. He lives in Notting Hill and his favourite places include The Natural History Museum and the Zoo.

There is so much to explore, find and learn about in these fact-packed pictures! This could give you new ideas for making a Fact File, presenting your facts using drawings and diagrams.

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Collection of Curiosities: Bugs Vicky Egan QED Publishing 978-1784933869 Discover the weird and wonderful world of bugs, in this illustrated activity book. Entertaining and educational it is packed with fabulous facts, animal puzzles, stunning stickers and a pull-out poster to test your brain on bugs.

Vicky Egan has a keen eye for text detail and a delight in finding spectacular imagery to fit the subject; she has helped to create many titles, from pre-school through to reference books and encyclopaedias. There are lots of puzzles and activities in this book which build up our learning about different kinds of insects, and which you could use with your group.

The Book of Bees Piotr Socha & Wojciech Grajowski Thames & Hudson 978-0500650950 A big beautifully illustrated book on one of the most amazing animals on earth: the humble bee! This encyclopaedic book tracks bees from the age of the dinosaurs to their current plight, examining along the way the roles they have played throughout history and in the rest of the natural world. Piotr Socha is a graphic designer, illustrator and son of a beekeeper. He is one of Poland’s most popular cartoonists.

Quick Bee Quiz! 1.How long have honey bees existed? 4.What do bees eat? a. Four thousand years a. Insects b. At least a hundred million years b. Scraps of food c. A hundred thousand years c. Pollen and nectar from flowers 2.How fast can a bee fly? 5.What do the worker bees do? a. 30 km an hour a. Tidy up the honeycomb cells b. 1 km an hour b. Feed the larvae which hatch from c. As fast as it can to escape a eggs and grow into adult bees beekeeper c. Forage for nectar, pollen and water 3.What is the job of the drone (male) 6. How many flowers must bees visit to bees? produce 1 kilo of honey? a. To hover above the hive keeping a. Four hundred an eye on things b. Four thousand b. To fertilise the queen and father c. Four million the next generation of bees c. Nothing much

There is so much more about bees in this book – find out all about their waggle dance!

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599 Animals

Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals Are Big and Little Animals Are Little Nicola Davies & Neal Layton Walker 978-1406323399 Have you ever wondered why some animals are big, some wide, some small, and others are long and thin? Find out in this informative and wittily illustrated natural history book that explains how animals fit in to their environment and why, big, small, long or thin, they are all just the right size. Nicola Davies is a zoologist and writer, who has also produced and presented several radio and TV programmes. Her books include Poo, Extreme Animals and Ice Bear. She lives in Wales Neal Layton is the Illustrator of several natural history titles, written by Nicola Davies.

It’s fascinating – and quite complicated! – to learn how animals have evolved to adapt to their environment and for their size to work best within it. Pick out some of these amazing facts to talk about – for example, a whale’s hum can travel hundreds of miles, rhinoceros beetles can carry 850 times their own weight, and if you spread out flat all the air sacs that make up a human’s lungs, they would cover most of a tennis court!

See also, by the same authors: What’s Eating You? Parasites – the inside story Survivors – the toughest creatures on earth

And for a fiction take on evolution and different forms of life, see this Frank Einstein book! Frank Einstein and the Evoblaster Belt Jon Scieszka Amulet 978-1419723797

610 The human body

The Awesome Body Book Adam Frost Bloomsbury 978-1408862353 How long are your intestines? How many mites live in your eyelashes? Do all adults wear clean underwear? Find out hilarious, weird and wacky facts about your body with this fascinating book! Adam Frost has won the Blue Peter Book Award 2016 – Best Book with Facts,

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and been nominated for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize. More amazing body facts to share and talk about! Have a look for example, at what happens when we eat!

620 Machines and engineering and much more The Way Things Work Now David Macaulay & Neil Ardley DK 978-0241227930 This revised edition of The Way Things Work takes you into the inner workings of hundreds of machines and explains the science behind their technologies. From the simple lever to the modern microprocessor, this book has been completely updated with the latest technologies and explains every machine you’ve ever wanted to understand. The beautiful illustrations represent the inner workings of each machine. David Macaulay is an American illustrator and writer. His works include Cathedral and his illustrations have featured in non-fiction books explaining architecture, design and engineering. This is very much a reference book for finding things out, or to browse and enjoy. Lots and lots of detail.

796 Sports – Football, and, in this book, much, much more! Football School Alex Bellos, Ben Lyttleton & Spike Gerrell Walker 978-1406367249 A new series that teaches you about the world through the prism of football. The first book is packed with awesome true stories, real science and fascinating facts - and will make you laugh. Can you play football on Mars? What is a magic sponge? You will find the answers to these questions and more, in chapters on subjects such as history, geography, biology and maths. Illustrated throughout with hilarious cartoons and filled with laugh-out-loud gags this is the perfect book for any boy or girl who loves football. Alex Bellos is the author of Alex’s Adventures in Numberland and Alex Through the Looking-Glass. He has also written Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life. He lives in West London. Ben Lyttleton is a journalist, broadcaster and football consultant. He lives in North London. Spike Gerrell is a cartoonist whose work has been published in the New Scientist, Independent, Times Educational Supplement and Guardian. Spike lives in North London.

This book explores football through several different angles –e.g. music, politics, fashion, even ‘poo’ – biology! What are your group’s favourite interests? Try writing about them from another angle – e.g. dancing via history or biology; or cars via computer science, design technology, or business studies.

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910 Geography, travel and exploration

Charles Darwin’s Around the World Adventure Jennifer Thermes Abrams 978-1419721205 At age 22, Charles Darwin embarked on his first voyage aboard a ship called the Beagle. This picture book follows him as he explores South America for the first time, collecting insects, galloping with Gauchos, digging up dinosaur bones, and making early discoveries related to evolution and natural selection. He encounters a volcano, a glacier and an earthquake and survives a harrowing five-year journey before returning home to England, determined to devote his life to the natural world. Complete with map work charting his voyage, this book communicates Darwin s ideas and discoveries with illustrations that capture his admiration for the world around him. Jennifer Thermes is a children’s author/illustrator and map illustrator. She lives in Connecticut.

‘He collected butterflies, beetles, spiders, and lizards to send back home. At the end of every day he wrote in his journal. He made big observations about the tiniest of creatures.’ Imagine you are Charles Darwin, exploring the wildlife around your home. Look for tiny creatures – insects – and observe and write down as much as you can about them: their size, colour, shape, body parts, movements etc. Then look them up in a book or on-line and see what else you can learn about them!

920 Biography

What’s So Special About Dickens? Michael Rosen & Sarah Nayler 978-1406367423 Here is a whistle-stop tour of Dickensian London, with a richly detailed summary of Dickens’s childhood and career, a witty recap of his best-known novels, and black-and-white illustrations – an enjoyable and informative introduction to the work and world of Charles Dickens. Michael Rosen is a poet and author, and was Children’s Laureate between 2007 and 2009. His books include We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Shakespeare: His Work and His World, and Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. He lives in London. Sarah Nayler has also illustrated What’s so Special About Shakespeare? and Are You There Father Christmas?

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Talk about biographies and autobiographies: get a collection together from your library to look at, and see the ways people’s stories are told through words and pictures. Have a go at writing your own autobiographies – ‘My Life So Far’! What information and stories might you include? You could make a list together of chapter/paragraph headings to get you going.

Ada’s Ideas: the Story of Ada Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer Fiona Robinson Abrams Books 978-1419718724 Ada Lovelace (1815 - 1852) was the daughter of the poet, Lord Byron, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron’s love of poetry. Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics poetical science. Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in programming his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world’s first computer programmer. This is a picture book biography of her. Fiona Robinson is the author/illustrator of Whale Shines and What Animals Really Like.Her work has been honoured by the Royal Academy of Arts.

Have a look at this interview with the author Fiona Robinson, about how this book was created.

Amazing Babes Eliza Sarlos and Grace Lee Scribe UK 978-1922247346 This is a picture book for young and old celebrating inspirational women from around the world and across generations. It introduces women such as Gloria Steinem, pioneer of the American women’s movement; Kathleen Hanna, lead singer from 1990s seminal punk-rock act Bikini Kill; Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy leader; Miles Franklin, 20th-century Australian writer and feminist; and Malala Yousafzai, a passionate advocate of worldwide access to education. Eliza Sarlos is a writer, broadcaster, and creative producer based in Sydney. She is currently the artistic director at Underbelly Arts

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World Kate Pankhurst Bloomsbury 978-1408876985 Discover fascinating facts about some amazing women. Fly through the sky with the explorer Amelia Earhart, and read about the adventures of Mary Seacole, with this book, full of illustrations and facts. Women featured are Jane Austen, Gertrude Ederle, Coco Chanel, Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie, Mary Anning, Mary Seacole, Amelia Earhart, Agent Fifi, Sacagawa, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, and Anne Frank. Kate Pankhurst is a descendant of Emily Pankhurst. She lives in Leeds.

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Choose your special heroines from these two books – and look at the ‘Gallery of Greatness: How will You change the world?’ in Kate Pankhurst’s book. Together create your own Gallery of Greatness – or Gallery of Amazing Babes. You could picture people you admire today - or your Chatterbooks group and everyone’s ambitions!

929 Flags

The Book of Flags Rob Colson Wayland 978-0750298285 With more than 200 stickers and a world map poster, this is an interactive guide to the flags of the world. Did you know that the US Star-Spangled Banner was designed by a 17-year-old school boy? Or that the Brazilian flag shows a star constellation of the night sky from 1889? From the chequered Formula 1 flag to historical standards and country flags, this book is packed with facts, stories and curiosities. Rob Colson has written and edited many books for children and adults, including Ultimate Cars, Ultimate Machines, Super Science and Bone Collection: Animals.

Talk about what flags are used for and how symbols and colours are used to represent a country or an organisation. Design a flag for your school or your family – or for your Chatterbooks group! What colours and symbols will you use?

937 The Romans Roman Diary Richard Platt & David Parkins Walker 978-1406351576 It is AD102 and Iliona, an educated Greek orphan girl, has been sold as a slave in Rome. Apart from her beloved diary, she hasn’t a friend in the world... But as she makes friends and looks around her, she sees the Roman army return in triumph from war against the Dacians, visits Nero’s baths, watches gladiators fighting in the Colosseum, attends the senate, escapes a house fire ... and eventually celebrates her freedom! Richard Platt is the author of Castle Diary, Egyptian Diary and Pirate Diary, which won the Blue Peter Best Book with Facts Award.

Talk about these places often found in a Roman town and featured in this book – what were they like and what went on in them? *Amphitheatre *Shops *Baths *Forum *Temple

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940.53 Second World War

Voices From the Second World War First News (UK) Ltd Walker 978-1406360110 A powerful collection of first-person accounts of World War 2. Contributors include a rear gunner who took part in sixty bombing raids, a Jewish woman who played in the orchestra at Auschwitz, a Japanese man who survived Hiroshima and Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 children through the Kindertransport programme. Many of the interviews were conducted by children; and the book is published in association with the children’s newspaper First News.

My Secret War Diary, by Flossie Albright Marcia Williams Walker 978-1406331998 This is lovely – like a real diary! Flossie is 9 years old when, in 1939, Britain declares war on Germany and her father leaves the family home to join the army. She has to bring up her baby brother and face many new experiences on her own. Her diary is an outlet for relaying all the news of the war. From the first evacuees arriving to her sweetheart’s being killed in Normandy in 1944, Flossie endures much hardship. But her courage and humour see her through to the Armistice, when she can welcome her dad home at last. Marcia Williams is a reteller of classic stories – from Noah’s Ark and Don Quixote to several of Shakespeare’s plays – all illustrated in her distinctive cartoon-strip style. She lives in London.

People who were children during WW2 are now in their 80s – do you know anyone you could talk to about their memories what life in the war was like?

942 English history

The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes and Ferrets! Marcia Williams Walker 978-1406365818 Take a comic strip journey through Tudor history! Here’s an introduction to the Tudors, with colourful comic-strip illustrations throughout. Arthur Inkblott, Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite scribe, retells famous moments in Tudor history, from the Wars of the Roses and the Spanish Armada to Columbus’s discovery of America and Henry VIII’s many marriages! Marcia Williams is a reteller of classic stories – from Noah’s Ark and Don Quixote to several of Shakespeare’s plays – all illustrated in her distinctive cartoon-strip style. She lives in London.

Have a go at your own comic strip about Tudor times! It might be about Elizabeth 1, or William Shakespeare – or someone living in those days? Or the Spanish Armada? Below is a framework you could use for your pictures and text. When you’ve finished you could scan your comic strips and put them up on Blogger for everyone to see!

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Comic strip…………………………………………………….. by…………………………………….

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Wonderful Non-Fiction! More reading

AUTHOR TITLE PUBLISHER ISBN YOUNGER Andrea Beaty & David Ada Twist, Scientist Abrams Books 978-1419721373 Roberts Camilla de la Bedoyere & Would You Rather Dine with a Walker 978-1784931933 Mel Howells Dung Beetle or Lunch with a Maggot? Elin Kelsey & Soyeon Kim You Are Stardust Wren & Rook 978-0750296571 JUNIOR Emma Adams & James The Great Fire of London Wren & Rook 978-0750298209 Weston Lewis Anna Claybourne The Comedy, History & Tragedy Franklin Watts 978-1445131887 of William Shakespeare Didier Cornille 1. Who Built That? Bridges Princeton 978-1616895167 2. …Modern Houses Architectural 978-1616892630 3. ...Skyscrapers Press 978-1616892708 Nicola Davies I (Don’t)Like Snakes Walker 978-1406365689 Survivors: the Toughest 978-1406356656 Creatures on Earth What’s Eating You? 978-1406313543 50 Things You Should Know QED Clive Gifford *About Inventions 978-1784935610 *About Music 978-1784935634 Ramon Prinja *About Space 978-1784934729 978-1784935641 Sean Callery *About Titanic 978-1784933043 Anna Claybourne *About Wild Weather Sally Hewitt Science in Action: Human Body QED * Your Bones 978-1784934583 *Your Brain 978-1784934590 *Your Digestive System 978-1784934606 Susie Hodge Why is Art Full of Naked People? Thames&Hudson 978-0500650806 Mick Manning and Brita The Brontës : Children of the Franklin Watts 978-1445147314

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Granström Moors Richard Platt & David Egyptian Diary Walker 978-0763670542 Parkins Richard Platt & Chris Castle Diary Walker 978-1406352641 Riddell Pirate Diary 978-1406352658 Michael Rosen & Sarah What’s So Special About Walker 978-1406367416 Nayler Shakespeare? Marcia Williams Archie’s War Walker 978-1406352689 Egypt 978-1406338324 The Romans 978-1406354553 The Stone Age 978-1406370836 Young Rewired State Get Coding! Walker 978-1406366846

Children’s non-fiction book awards SLA Information Book Award 2016 – voting open till 4th November!

Royal Society Young People’s Book Award 2016 – winner to be announced in November

Blue Peter Book Awards: Best Book with Facts 2016 – The Epic Book of Epicness by Adam Frost, published by Bloomsbury

Wordsearch answer

T R E E S Z X S R E T U P M O C Y P V X V N Q B C X A S F Z V Q E C N E I C S Q W P B Z J X K H B M A B X Y Q X J X Z V G W X I S F T D W C F Z P F Q J F B G S W X U X K L X P F V Z X V X J T P J R Q W O J F P G Q F J K P O X F E Q X P Z P J E W Z V F M R S X P K J A X B I O G R A P H Y P Q S V F E G X J G P X J B G X O W L V X D Z V Q R X U F Z K Q R V A Z D I N O S A U R S G J W T P M V X A J Z Q P X P Q X G Z J E I K Q Z F J G H S Z W J V P Z Q N W F X Q P J Y X P J Q Z F X F A Q X Z J Y D O B N A M U H

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Amazing facts!

FACT TRUE or FALSE? 1. The Great Fire of London False – it was probably started by a fire in a was started by a Christmas baker’s oven in Pudding Lane, which hadn’t been pudding properly put out at the end of the day 2. Maggots breathe through True! It means they don’t have to come up for air their bottoms when they are feeding. 3. William Shakespeare True! –e.g. moonbeam, skim milk, and puking! invented over 1700 words 4. The Romans invented True! The systems were called ‘hypocausts’. underfloor central heating 5. A banana kick is a goal False – it’s a football pass or shot that curls scored by a player in yellow boots 6. A megabyte is the name for False – it’s one million bytes of information in a a triple-decker sandwich computer 7. Owls have three eye-lids True! One for blinking, one for sleeping, and one for keeping the eye in good condition 8. A footballer earning £1 True! Check the maths! million a week makes 1.6p a second 9. Your ears will keep on True! So does your nose…. growing all your life 10. Sound travels fastest False – in fact sound travels 15 times faster through air through steel than through air 11. 9% of people in the world True! 90% have very dark or black hair & less have brown or blonde hair than 1% have red hair 12. Snakes have slimy, scaly False – their skin is dry. It looks wet because they skin have a shiny, see-through outer skin 13. There are 53 Lego bricks True! How many do you have?! manufactured for each person on earth 14. The longest an average False – it’s 40 days. But you do need to drink adult human can last some water… without eating is 25 days 15. Bats have powerful eye- False – have you heard the saying ‘blind as a sight and can see things a bat?’ They ‘see’ by echo-location: making high-

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mile away pitched sounds which bounce off the things they are near & give them a sound picture 16. Dwarf elephants, about a True! The species became smaller on islands as it metre high, once roamed had less space and resources – and smaller Mediterranean islands creatures to defend itself against 17. The average person walks True! the equivalent of all the way round the world in a lifetime 18. You share your birthday True! Some complicated maths needed here…! with at least 9 million other people in the world 19. If a crab’s leg gets broken True! off, it can grow a new one. 20. The average 4 year old True! child asks over 400 questions a day!

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