Our world is incredible: inspiring, intricate and filled with wonder.
It’s a complex system that runs on autopilot, always moving and changing and healing. Our animals, plants and weather all have important roles and live by ever-changing cycles that support our planet and give us all life. It’s one big team, working together.
We can do better, and reading this book will help kids, families, classrooms (and adults) to understand how the world works and what we can do to protect it.
It’s a comprehensive and detailed journey, covering everything from where we are in the universe to nature’s daily miracles. There are 32 chapters, which go through all the different kinds of plant life that support our world (plants, grasses, fungi, soil etc.), everything you need to know about life cycles (pollination, migration, evolution and extinction etc.) and a giant selection of our worlds fascinating creatures, divided by habitat (think rainforests, mountains, wetlands).
There is just so much information in this book!
The layout is awesomely engaging and spot on for kids, which makes this a book they will WANT to pick up. Large text, breakout boxes, and info delivered in short sections means kids can read bite-sized pieces of text, one at a time. And loads of colour, photographs and illustrations on every single page means there is always something to look at while you read, helping to cement concepts.
Non-fiction books delivered with such strong and well-planned layouts are perfect for kids (and adults, too, I might add!). With so much information to absorb, it really helps to be able to take it slow and read small sections at a time.
But this isn’t just a book of facts, either. It includes myth-busting information throughout (which I love), and tips and tricks to better support the environment, which makes it a very actionable book, instead of just providing information.
Back of the book favourites include a glossary and an index to help you find your way, but my kids and I loved opening the book at random and reading a page or two. The set up and layout of the book allows for this type of exploratory reading, and I think it works really well to engage kids and make this a book audiences will dip into time and time again.
Title: It’s a Wonderful World
Author: Jess French
Illustrator: Aleesha Nandhra
Publisher: DK, $19.99
Publication Date: 1 March 2022
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780241533543
For ages: 6+
Type: Non-Fiction
May 6, 2022 at 12:51AM Shaye Wardrop
