Bloomsbury Discovery series

Space ill. by Andy Rowland. ISBN 9781408194621.
My body ill. by Joelle Dreidemy. ISBN 9781408194638.
(Age: 5+) Recommended, Space, Body, Flap book, Non Fiction. Two new books from Bloomsbury in the Discovery series will find a ready audience amongst younger children, be they in a kindergarten, junior primary school or at home. Lift the flap books are so inviting that readers will not be able to keep their hands of these books. Just as well they are sturdily made, with a strong hardcover and thick, almost cardboard pages, and even the flaps have been given an inner strength to make the book last much longer than many books of this ilk.
Inside information is presented in small bites while time lines, chronologies and lists abound, to invite and entreat the reader. At the end of each book is a page of facts and a glossary. An easily read contents page at the start directs readers to a chapter which they may be searching for.
All in all these are a sound pair of books about subjects children are interested in and give a basic knowledge which will whet their appetites.
Space begins with a time line, starting at 14 billion years ago and winding through all the significant space events until now. This is followed by 'How space works' with a flow chart giving the life of a star, then the Solar System is outlined in spectacular colour while the following double page on Our Home Planet. Next comes 'Exploring Space 'with a range of space vehicles, and a fascinating double page on Living in space. A last double page showing the night sky for norther hemisphere livers completes this valuable book.
My Body begins with a time line starting at 4.5 billion years ago and going through all the sequences until man first walked on the earth about 3 million years ago, to now. Over the page is an outline of a boy showing all the body parts and lift up flaps about each section, then over the page presents information about bones, joints and muscles, followed by the digestive system, the senses, the brain and lastly breathing. Again a valuable book which could be well used in the classroom or at home, teaching young children the fundamentals of our body and how it works.
Fran Knight