Start Small, Think Big is a brand new series from Mama Makes Books, an independent publisher launched in 2020. This month, National Non-Fiction November marks a celebration of the best information books for children available at the moment. I am impressed with the quality of this particular series and was delighted to be invited to take part in the blog tour this week Unfolding A World of Discovery!
This is the first book in the series and from the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the Arctic. The reader follows the journey of an Arctic Tern from egg, to fluffy chick to fully grown adult bird discovering more about the bird and its life cycle as they read. We see the chick grow up quickly, learning to fly and feed on the wing. When still young the chick is ready to embark on a migration from the top of the world to the bottom and back again for the first time. The bird’s life story is told clearly and carefully in a way that builds understanding.
The clear text is accompanied by beautiful illustrations and the presentation is inviting and uncluttered. The way in which the narrative can be read by both emerging readers and those with greater reading confidence is well done broadening the audience appeal. The main text is written in the first-person for emerging readers, and additional information is presented for confident readers or shared reading. There is a stunning fold out map at the end of the book incorporating a world map of showing nesting grounds and migration route, a pictorial life cycle, and a polar i-spy game encouraging children to find animals and birds within the book. Small, Speckled Egg would be invaluable in primary school libraries and classrooms both for reading enjoyment and as an aid to the Science curriculum.
There are free comprehensive downloadable activity sheets (suitable for home and schools) available of the publisher’s website here.
Following the same format as its predecessor the peep through hole takes us deep into the Amazon Rainforest to learn about the Brazil nut tree, one of the tallest in the forest. We see a huge fruit falling from the tallest tree and an agouti, a small rodent, frees the nut inside from its hard casing and and then buries it in the ground. This small seed is forgotten and germinates and we then follow it on its journey to full growth learning how it is used by other animals and its place in the life cycle of the forest.
The beautiful illustrations are clear and full of information enabling children to learn about seed dispersal, photosynthesis, pollination and the rainforest alongside the detail contained in the text. The narrative is again presented at two levels of reading ability, thoughtfully executed and adding to the enjoyment possibilities rather than confusing the reader. A child could learn a great deal from this book packed with facts. The fold out map depicts South America and its countries plus the position of the Amazon rainforest, the life cycle of the Brazil nut tree and rainforest animals to spot and identify within the book. Little Brown Nut continues the themes and learning offered in the first book of this impressive series covering primary science topics and definitely deserves a place in primary school libraries and classroom.
Once again there are free, comprehensive downloadable activity sheets (suitable for home and schools) available on the publisher’s website here.
If you have missed any of the earlier posts on the blog tour celebrating this new series of children’s books or want to read forthcoming posts the details of where to find them are given below.
Start Small, Think Big: Small, Speckled Egg by Mary Auld illustrations by Anne Terreros-Martin
This is the first book in the series and from the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the Arctic. The reader follows the journey of an Arctic Tern from egg, to fluffy chick to fully grown adult bird discovering more about the bird and its life cycle as they read. We see the chick grow up quickly, learning to fly and feed on the wing. When still young the chick is ready to embark on a migration from the top of the world to the bottom and back again for the first time. The bird’s life story is told clearly and carefully in a way that builds understanding.
The clear text is accompanied by beautiful illustrations and the presentation is inviting and uncluttered. The way in which the narrative can be read by both emerging readers and those with greater reading confidence is well done broadening the audience appeal. The main text is written in the first-person for emerging readers, and additional information is presented for confident readers or shared reading. There is a stunning fold out map at the end of the book incorporating a world map of showing nesting grounds and migration route, a pictorial life cycle, and a polar i-spy game encouraging children to find animals and birds within the book. Small, Speckled Egg would be invaluable in primary school libraries and classrooms both for reading enjoyment and as an aid to the Science curriculum.
There are free comprehensive downloadable activity sheets (suitable for home and schools) available of the publisher’s website here.
Start Small, Think Big: Little, Brown Nut by Mary Auld illustrations by Dawn Cooper
Following the same format as its predecessor the peep through hole takes us deep into the Amazon Rainforest to learn about the Brazil nut tree, one of the tallest in the forest. We see a huge fruit falling from the tallest tree and an agouti, a small rodent, frees the nut inside from its hard casing and and then buries it in the ground. This small seed is forgotten and germinates and we then follow it on its journey to full growth learning how it is used by other animals and its place in the life cycle of the forest.
The beautiful illustrations are clear and full of information enabling children to learn about seed dispersal, photosynthesis, pollination and the rainforest alongside the detail contained in the text. The narrative is again presented at two levels of reading ability, thoughtfully executed and adding to the enjoyment possibilities rather than confusing the reader. A child could learn a great deal from this book packed with facts. The fold out map depicts South America and its countries plus the position of the Amazon rainforest, the life cycle of the Brazil nut tree and rainforest animals to spot and identify within the book. Little Brown Nut continues the themes and learning offered in the first book of this impressive series covering primary science topics and definitely deserves a place in primary school libraries and classroom.
Once again there are free, comprehensive downloadable activity sheets (suitable for home and schools) available on the publisher’s website here.
If you have missed any of the earlier posts on the blog tour celebrating this new series of children’s books or want to read forthcoming posts the details of where to find them are given below.