World War II (Explore!) by Jane Bingham #bookreview

Book review: World War II is such an important part of our history and as such is a mainstay of our schools' history education. This book, aimed at children, provides an introduction to the topic.

What we have are 32 full-colour pages of bite-size chunks of text giving the important information around World War II like why it started, who was involved, the major events and so on. There are plenty of pictures along the way too, like paintings done during the War, posters, photographs and more. The subject matter could upset some, e.g. the Holocaust and people dying, but children tend to be rather resilient and the text is in a  matter-of-fact manner so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

There are a couple of suggested exercises along the way too. These are an exercise to write a letter from the point-of-view of a child experiencing the war using info from the book and other sources and to create a “cipher wheel” for creating secret coded messages. (I was tempted to write this review using a code generated by this wheel but decided against it at the last minute.)

At the end, there are also some books and websites listed as suggested further reading, although nearly all the books are by the same publisher. 

All-in-all then this is a book that introduces the topic of World War II which should be easy for children to read as the text is in bite-size chunks and there are plenty of pics to bring it to life. Further research can then be carried out afterwards if required.

Amazon UK link: World War II (Explore)

Penguins (Animal Families) by Tim Harris #bookreview

Book Review: People love penguins because they are so cute. That's why we have the Penguins of Madagascar, Happy Feet and Pingu. Indeed the first sentence of this book alludes to this - "Penguins are among the most familiar and best loved of any wild birds."

This book contains lots of pictures of cute penguins with some written information about them and is aimed at 6 to 11-year-olds. The language is suitable for this age group being simple, with uncommon terms, e.g. predators, krill, incubate, being explained along the way (although when it gets to the breeding part the words breed and mate are not similarly defined luckily).

There is also a flow to the book. For example, a chapter entitled egg-laying and incubation is followed up by another called bringing up chicks, then another called growing bigger... This follows the life of a young penguin.

On things that could improve this book, it is short at 32 pages so could have been longer (although for the targeted age group you could say it is better to be shorter). Also, pictures of all 17 types of penguin could have been included, and would have been of interest I feel to youngsters (and to me).

But I still found the book interesting, and it would suit readers who prefer to read in bite-size chunks, like young readers. Plus it can be used to introduce penguins as a topic which can then be researched via Wikipedia later.

THIS BOOK IS ON AMAZON UK HERE

Electrigirl and the Deadly Swarm by Jo Cotterill and Cathy Brett #bookreview

Book review: I got this for my nearly 10-year-old daughter. She read the first book in the series about a year ago and absolutely loved it so getting this was a no-brainer.

This book brings back some of the same characters from the previous, including of course the evil Professor Macavity, and includes some new characters too, with useful introductory profiles at the beginning of the book. 

This time Holly, the main character aka Electrigirl, goes on vacation only to discover that Professor Macavity has hatched a new scheme hiding a deadly swarm of robotic insects that sting you and give you a love for danger. Holly sets out to destroy them all, but there are too many. Will she succeed?

My daughter liked the story, the pictures - which included comic style parts for some of the dramatic parts of the story just like in the first book, and that the hero is a girl. Indeed most of the characters are female - this book has some true girl power!

AMAZON UK LINK: ELECTRIGIRL AND THE DEADLY SWARM

The Manmade World: How our world works in maps and infographics (Mapographica) by Jon Richards and Ed Simkins

Book review: I was preparing myself to be underwhelmed by this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found it interesting. It contains maps of the world showing "infographics" for:

* People and Energy

* A Moving World

* Trade

* Palm Oil

* Oil

* Water Access

* Growing Food

* Global Emissions and Population

* Tallest Buildings

* On the Line

* Internet Access

* Money

* Space Launches

It was interesting. For example, there was a map of the world at night, with lights marking urban areas, dark areas being more rural locations or poorer places. It was particularly interesting to see lights follow the river Nile in Egypt. Plus there is at least one country in the world that has opium as its highest value export. 

However, there are things I feel could improve the book too. It is short at 32 pages long, so could be longer. I wasn't sure on why all the categories included in this book were chosen. For instance, Palm Oil. Maybe I'm being ignorant here, as there is a message in the book that talks about the deforestation caused to make way for new palm oil plantations, but surely there could be better topics with available statistics to cover. Also, it would have been good if all the statistics were sourced so the data could be sought out. This is because the stats will quickly get out of date (there are fast-moving topics here like smartphone usage) and also it would allow other countries to be compared in the data because typically just the top and bottom 10 are given for the subject. This approach doesn't always allow comparisons to be made for the UK but is good for countries like USA and China that often feature in the top 2 of a topic. And an interactive version of this book would be better, so you could hover over your country of interest to find out the equivalent information, maybe with the ability to link to the data source so you can be sure you are using the latest info.

But I still found the book interesting, and it would suit readers who prefer to read in bite-size chunks, like reluctant, young readers. Plus it can be used to introduce topics that can then be researched via Wikipedia and the like.

Amazon UK link: The Manmade World: How our world works in maps and infographics (Mapographica)

Farewell to Upton Park: The Official Celebration of West Ham's Home 1904-2016 by Andy Hooper & Lee Clayton #bookreview

Book review: When I got "Farewell to Upton Park: The Official Celebration of West Ham's Home 1904-2016" I thought it'd be a collection of iconic moments that have taken place in the stadium. The sort that Karren Brady mentions in her foreword as she talks of Hurst, Peters and Moore's first match back at the stadium after they helped England win the World Cup, how they came onto the pitch before the rest of the team to be serenaded by the fans, and the scissor-kick goal Paolo Di Canio scored versus Wimbledon. Or maybe the sort that Trevor Brooking mentioned in his opening piece entitled "The West Ham Family" when he talked about winning promotion in 1981 with players such as Alvin martin, Billy Bonds and Frank Lampard Snr.

But this book isn't that at all. Instead, it is the third introduction by Lee Clayton which best describes this book. "Over many days in that final, dramatic season... award-winning photographer Andy Hooper captured images of players, legends and supporters, iconic images of a stadium that had been 'home' since 1904." 

These photographs are spread over six chapters: The Fans, Boleyn through the ages, Our Home, Match Day, The Legends of Upton Park, and The Final Game. Of these, my favourite chapter is the shortest, the 11-page "Boleyn through the ages", where there are a handful of historic photos with interesting accompanying captions.

The rest of the book is probably best for people wanting to recapture the atmosphere of going to a match at Upton Park in 2016, or who wanted to relive the fireworks and hullabaloo of the last ever match played there.

True, the photography is of a good quality, and all very arty (see the reflection of Upton Park captured in a bubble on the cover as a case in point) but I would have liked more history to in here, especially given Upton Park was West Ham's home for 112 years.

Amazon Link: Farewell to Upton Park: The Official Celebration of West Ham's Home 1904-2016

The Secret Railway and the Crystal Caves by Wendy Meddour #bookreview

Book review: I got this for my nearly 10-year-old daughter to read. She says:

The story follows Ella and Leo as they attempt to return the incredible Crystallator (which is needed to open up the crystal caves again so they so they can be mined for fairy dust) to the High Chief of the Hob Goblins, Gripendulum, the leader of the Kingdom of Izzambard. 

When I was reading it I liked how the only way to get into Izzambard was if the time was 11.61. I didn't like Griselda, the evil character. I laughed when Leo tried to wake up the sleeping key and failed, and I was sad when Griselda's mechanical moles came to stop Ella and Leo. Also, it was a little hard to follow at first because I had not read the first book in the series.

I think this book is good for children the same age as me (nearly-10).

Amazon link: The Secret Railway and the Crystal Caves

From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming #bookreview

Book review: "From Russia with Love" famously was one of President JFK’s top 10 favourite reads. It also inspired the second Bond movie which, being early in the series, is pretty similar to the book.

The book starts from the Russian side. Indeed it isn’t until chapter 11 of 28 that James Bond makes an appearance in the flesh.

The early chapters introduce “Donovan Grant or ‘Red’ Grant – Chief Executioner of SMERSH”, Rosa Klebb and Tatiana Romanova as they form a plot to kill Bond, although Tatiana, or Tania, is more a pawn in the plot than an instigator.

The plot is formed, to kill Bond, the spy who “has at least twice frustrated the operations of SMERSH” (see previous Bond novels for those occasions). He is to be “killed with IGNOMINY” with “great scandal required”, thus making it clear to the spying world that, after making some “stupid blunders, [which] has made the Soviet Union look foolish and weak throughout the world”, SMERSH is back.

Luckily for James Bond fans he manages to survive the plot, or does he? – the book ending in a cliffhanger.

Along the way, Bond displays his analytical thinking and eye for detail, useful traits for a spy, and the book is a thrilling read, with plenty of suspense, especially whilst he takes the Orient Express train home.

James Bond will return in Dr. No.

Available from Amazon HERE.

Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football by Sue Lopez #bookreview

Book review: Sue Lopez, author of this book, was one of the top early women footballers. She played for Southampton for many years, the team that won eight of the first eleven women's FA cups. Using her position within the game, which she continued after giving up playing with administrative and coaching roles, she tells not just her story, but also the story of women's football in England, and around the world. She also looks at "the barriers that still need to be hurdled in order for women to have real opportunities to participate." Many of these barriers are still prevalent today despite the book being 20 years old.

The first part of the book looks at the history of women's football, with the first boom peaking in 1921 with Dick Kerr's Ladies from Preston getting sell out crowds at stadiums such as Goodison Park leading to a ban by the FA on women playing on FA affiliated grounds. "The Dick Kerr Ladies had given women's football a great start, but in truth the FA ban had squashed the life out of the game." Then there was the second boom ignited by renewed interest following England winning the World Cup in 1966. This led to the Women's Football Association (WFA) being formed and organised women's football being played, and a lifting of the FA ban. The history here is really interesting especially given the author's inside view of it. There are interesting bits about the big clubs such as Manchester Corinthians and Fodens, profiles of a few high-profile England players of the time, details of the early England internationals plus details of things not documented well elsewhere like unofficial England internationals, WFA in-fighting, the WFA passing on hosting a World Cup in England etc.

And that is the first half of the book. After that the narrative stops as there is a chapter devoted to other nations women's football with lists of facts about the top nations, such as their first international match, as well as a brief description of that country's progress to date. The chapters after that are a little academic-y looking at women in different roles in football, such as a referee or a spectator, and barriers that prevail, with lots of references to other materials. 

So a book of two halves, one narrative, one more think-tank-y but worth a read.

Available on Amazon HERE.

King Flashypants and the Evil Emperor by Andy Riley #bookreview

Book review: "Edwin wasn't an ordinary nine-year-old... Edwin was the ruler of the kingdom of Edwinland." It's a nice kingdom until... "Your Majesty? The money's all gone."

Meanwhile in neighbouring Nurbisonia Emperor Nurbison has his eye on "Edwinland! Ruled by that moon-faced boy with that ridiculous shining crown he loves so much. He's a proper little king flashypants." Seeing the trouble caused in Edwinland by all the money disappearing Emperor Nurbison sees his chance and strikes.

The story has plenty of humour which is enhanced by the drawings throughout which are also done by the author. And, of course, King Flashypants comes out on top at the end. Looking forward to the next one. 

Available on AMAZON HERE.

Claude All at Sea by Alex T. Smith #bookreview

Book review: I got this for my children. One mentioned that her friend read Claude the dog books so she was familiar with the character already. Claude is also set to shortly have his own TV show on Disney Junior.

This story is of Claude and his friend Sir Bobblysock who always have adventures together when Claude's owners, Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes, go out to work. This time the adventure takes them out to sea.

All through the books are nice illustrations made of a limited colour palette (red, blue, black, grey, white, yellow) which make the book very appealing visually. The story is also fast-moving and succinct. There is a spelling mistake in there where Sir Bobblysock gets called Sir Bobbysock in one place but the children of course love it.

Available on Amazon: CLAUDE ALL AT SEA

How to Draw Mr. Men by Roger Hargreaves #bookreview

Book review: I got this for my 5 and 9-year-old daughters. It is a nice package with a hard-back cover that opens to reveal a "How to Draw Book" on the left and a "Sketch Book" on the right.

The "How to Draw Book" contains step-by-step instructions on how to draw: Mr Happy, Mr Grumpy, Mr Greedy, Mr Tall, Little Miss Sunshine, Mr Cool, Little Miss Naughty, Mr Strong, Mr Bump, Little Miss Giggles, Mr Tickle, Mr Bounce, Little Miss Princess, Mr Messy, plus a page that contains pictures of all the other Mr Men and Little Misses so you can have a go at them. You can do these in the enclosed sketchbook if you want or elsewhere.

In addition to providing some blank pages to draw on the sketchbook also contains some Mr Men stencils and stickers, plus some fun exercises.

My girls loved creating Mr Men and tested me to see if I could recognise who they'd drawn. And there is still more fun to come.

Available to pre-order on AMAZON here (released 06/Oct/2016): HOW TO DRAW MR MEN 

Frozen: Back-to-School Kit by Disney Learning #bookreview

Book review: This little kit contains five A5 full-colour 16-page booklets. There are books for: 

• Adding
• Subtracting
• Reading and Comprehension
• Words to Read and Learn
• Sticker Book

My daughter is between Reception and Year 1. She has been doing these books today. She gives them 5 stars. They hold the interest. This is because they have variety to them, not only across the books but also within the books with the activities being different. Also she hasn't found the books too difficult which is another thing that can turn her off these sort of things. These workbooks seem the correct difficulty for her (age 5-6 as stated on the product) and contain concepts she has come across at school, like the number line. Another good point is the reward element with one of the books being the sticker book, which she can't wait for although she has to wait until the other books are done first (each with a certificate page at the end that she can put her name on once she has completed them). Lastly these are Frozen themed and the theme doesn't seem to be just tacked on as it sometimes can be - the tasks include the Frozen characters. 

So although short and likely to be completed within a day these are still worth it for my 5-year-old daughter as she prepares to go back to school in September.

These are available on Amazon for £6.99 HERE.

Charlie and Lola: One Thing by Lauren Child #bookreview

Charlie and Lola: One Thing by Lauren Child #bookreview: I've just read this with my five-year-old daughter. She said, "that was a funny story." Indeed that's what you'd expect from a Charlie and Lola book right from the start with the familiar opening refrain of "I have this sister Lola. She is small and very funny."

Lola spends the book getting distracted by the world around her as she counts the dots on her dress or the leaves on the tree whilst Charlie is helping her learn her numbers. This is whilst they go to the shop with their mum so they can choose "one thing", 

The book is done in the normal art style of the Charlie and Lola books with a few real life images enhancing the pictures. The text is all over the place. It makes it interesting to look at even if you can't read. And with numeracy at the core of the story, it makes maths fun, whether that be adding, taking away, multiplying, telling the time, or counting to a squillion.

You expect a lot from Charlie and Lola books and this one delivers.

Available on Amazon HERE.

Real Life Family Photography by Amy Drucker

REAL LIFE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK REVIEW: What comes across most in this book about real life family photography is the author's passion for the subject, for her family and for photography. Across four main chapters (The Basics, Babies, Kids and Family) she gives tips and tricks of the trade whilst showing off lots of glossy colour photos to illustrate the points. Her main aim: "I want to encourage you to just keep photographing" and I think in that respect the book works.

The basics section introduces concepts such as exposure and aperture but you'll still need to refer to your camera's instruction manual to work it as this book is "less about the technical perfection than it is about subject matter and vision." Indeed I found tips on basic creative principles such as composition more useful and understandable for me as an amateur. Also interesting are bits of the book on photo editing software, such as Photoshop, and a section on the camera phone. ("I love my camera phone. You can't do everything with [it], but where it shines is its portability. 

All-in-all this is an inspiring book as it encourages you to take photos that "may seem mundane to you now, but one day, I promise, you'll cherish the slice of life, as they were at that moment in time." 

Available on Amazon HERE.

Inside Out - Handwriting practice by Disney Learning

INSIDE OUT: HANDWRITING PRACTICE 

BOOK REVIEW: I got this book for my nearly-6-year-old daughter but after only doing a few pages she has not done anymore saying that it isn't fun.

She has another handwriting book that she prefers. I note that the other one starts with her having to draw squiggles and outlines of shapes before moving onto letters. This one however has only letters. Also this book has a lot of white space compared to the other which is more colourful. Also both have stickers but whereas the other gives a reward sticker after every double-page spread is completed this one doesn't and loads of pages go by with no stickers being used as the sticker pages are very concentrated and few. So there is not the incentive there for my daughter.

There are a few story pages, and these could easily have been more incorporated into the exercises more, for example getting my daughter to trace in missing words.

So overall this hasn't been fun for my daughter.

Available on AMAZON

Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER BOOK REVIEW:

"Diamonds are Forever" - the fourth of the James Bond novels. This edition features an intro by Giles Foden who writes "clearly, by the time of this novel, Fleming had established some of Bond's traits, including a love of women, alcohol, cigarettes and, above all, action." So you know what to expect - a girl, in this case (pardon the pun) Tiffany Case, the drink ("martinis, shaken and not stirred") and all the action which revolves around diamond smuggling.

The plot quickly gets into the action with the start of the diamonds journey. Then there is the usual meeting between M and Bond where the details as known are detailed. "The British got hold of the [Diamond] business at the beginning of the century and we've managed to hang on to it. Now it's a huge trade. Fifty million pounds a year. The biggest dollar-earner we've got. So when something goes wrong with it the Government gets worried." 

Bond is then sent into the pipeline acting as smuggler Peter Franks. He smuggles into America where he gets into contact with the gangs there, "violence and cruelty were their only weapon." Luckily he has a friend, Felix Leiter making a return to the books, and also the girl, Tiffany Case.

The plot (as briefly outlined above) sounds similar to that of the film but they are different. There is no Blofeld here, and no Bond being cremated alive. You still get the action-packed ride though.To quote the Shirley Bassey theme song you have here "all I need to please me".

James Bond will return in From Russia with Love.

Diamonds are Forever

Moonraker by Ian Fleming

MOONRAKER

Book review: Moonraker, the third of the James Bond novels, follows the normal formula, namely Bond being despatched to defeat the physically unusual villain, this time the scar-faced Hugo Drax, with a girl in tow, this time Gala Brand (not Holly Goodhead like in the movie). The only difference here is that it is set in England so there aren't the exotic locations you normally associate Bond with, such as Brazil, Venice and outer space no less as in the movie. 

The plot hinges around Sir Hugo Drax and his Moonraker, not a space shuttle but "a super atomic rocket with a range that would cover nearly every capital in Europe - the immediate answer to anyone who tried to atom-bomb London." So everyone thinks Drax is a national hero (hence his knighthood from the Queen) for building this rocket "designed exclusively for the defence of our beloved island", and that his intentions are honourable, when in fact they are not. M though has a problem with the man so confides in Bond - "There's only one thing... Sir Hugo Drax cheats at cards."

So the book starts with a high-stakes card battle between Drax and Bond, not unlike Bond's previous exploits in Casino Royale of course. Then strange going-ons at Drax's plant lead to Bond having to go there too.

There may not be laser battles, and a villain called Jaws but you do get a thrilling read all right.

AMAZON UK: MOONRAKER

Teletubbies: A Rainy Day

Teletubbies: A Rainy Day 

Book review: I got this for my 2-year-old boy to enjoy. He took to it immediately saying “Teletubbies” over and over. Since then he has also taken it to bed with him and flicked through it many times (his favourite bit is where Noo-noo is there so he can say "Noo-noo" over and over. (Admittedly he doesn't have a massive book collection so that may be a factor in him cherishing it so much.)

It is a hard board book so he can easily turn the pages on his own (although he won’t always wait for you to read the text first before doing so). Each page is bright, glossy and colourful and features the Teletubbies on them.The cover looks better than the image here because the rain drops are obscuring the Teletubbies too much here.

The story is what you'd expect from the Teletubbies. A lot of "uh-oh"s when the rain arrives, a big hug, some tubby toast and so on. So for my 2-year-old it is perfect.

Teletubbies: A Rainy Day

Finding Dory - Telling the Time, Ages 5-6 by Disney Learning

Book review: I got this book for my 5-year-old daughter who is currently near the end of her reception year at school and is within the age group stated on the cover of the book (5-6). 

The book provides exercises in reading the time and progresses along quite nicely. My daughter was doing alright up until the part of the book where we had to say what the time would be an hour in the future or half an hour in the past which she found a bit harder. 

There are some good tips in the book for her. Like “don't worry if you make a mistake - everyone does when they are learning!” And there are some Finding Dory stories to break up the exercises. The first story is incorporated into an exercise but the other two are unrelated to the exercises which is not what I was expecting. Also on these stories I would say that a child of 5-6 would struggle to read these independently so I do think adult supervision is required.

We did notice a mistake though as we were going through the book with one of the stickers (saying half past 6 instead of half past 2). This could lead to confusion for a child who might think they have mastered the art of telling the time only to find this mistake and then doubt themselves.  

Disney could have made this book better by providing a mechanical clock face. True at the very end of the book they give you instructions on how to make your own clock face from a paper plate (which would have been useful to have at the beginning of the book, before going through the exercises) but a clock face with arms that moved in tandem would have helped with the exercises telling the time in the future or the past. 

All-in-all then this is ok but could be better.

On AMAZON UK: Finding Dory - Telling the Time

Shankly's Village by Adam Powley & Robert Gillan

Book review: Glenbuck was "the village of football". A village in Ayrshire its rise and decline followed the same trajectory as the rise and decline of the British coal mining industry upon which it was built. The village, now demolished, produced a half-century of footballers. "Over a period of roughly 50 years the village produced four English FA Cup winners, five full internationals, and 50 professionals out of a population that never exceeded 1,700." "Such a rich concentration of quality has never been equalled." This book covers the village's story plus profiles of its footballers, including its most famous son Bill Shankly.

"Football and Glenbuck were an irresistible, passionate and long-lasting marriage." Football provided a release from the mines, and for some an escape altogether. Glenbuck had its own Junior League club Glenbuck Athletic latterly known as Glenbuck Cherrypickers and it is through them that many of their footballers passed through. Players such as Terrible Tait, Bogey Brown and Wee Wallace.

I think this book would be of interest of people interested in the history of Scottish coal mining in the Ayrshire area. As for the football a lot of the profiles of the players are no more than a paragraph, plus some of them never even played a first team match for their professional teams, or only played a handful of games. Also these players have been written about before in "The Cherrypickers: Glenbuck, nursery of footballers", although that was a generation ago.

Amazon UK link: Shankly's Village; The Extraordinary Life and Times of Glenbuck and its Famous Sons

Kicking Against Tradition: A Career in Women's Football by Wendy Owen

Book review: This book "is about how a whole new generation of girls and young women, inspired by the heroics of the England men's team in the 1966 World Cup, refused to be denied access to the people's game any longer and began literally kicking against tradition." That tradition being the infamous 1921 FA ban on women players playing on FA pitches, the ban only being reversed in 1970, and the culture at the time ("I was very aware that in wider society it was not considered to be a very suitable game for girls").

In particular the book is about Wendy Owen, a player for the very first England team. She covers her formative years, about how she liked Leeds United as a child, how she went to Craven Cottage and Wembley to see matches. Then it goes into her playing career with particular focus on her Thame Ladies and England days. This section includes a handful of scans/photos of programme covers/line-ups for big games and a letter confirming her selection for England, all very historical items now.

Then her coaching career is covered as she coached girls/women (and boys/men) in the USA, including working for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL heyday, and in England ("It was great to be able to offer the kind of opportunities to female players and coaches that had not been available to me in my early career in football"). 

The rest of the book covers her assessment of the game over the years. Things like media coverage, how women's football compares across the eras and across the oceans, and what the future (to 2005 when this book was published) might hold. All from the viewpoint of "an ex-England international, coach to a university college women's football team, an FA coach educator and a senior lecturer in sport and exercise science".

The book is therefore part history of the women's game (for a period where information is scarce) and part comment on it, but for someone with an interest in the sport it will be a good read.

Amazon UK link: KICKING AGAINST TRADITION

World War II (What They Don't Tell You About) by Bob Fowke

Book review: History was never cool when I went to school but nowadays it is, and this is all because of Horrible Histories. This book has clearly been influenced by the Horrible History series of books, and that is no bad thing. 

This book tells the story of World War II in child-friendly text with definitions of possible unfamiliar words such as allies and evacuation. The book goes from the beginning of the war to the end and even covers a little of the aftermath. The title says "what they DON'T tell you about" but I would say that it actually covers the main facts, things like the reasons for the war starting, main events during the war such as the retreat at Dunkirk and the Normandy landings and so on. And there are plenty of black and white pictures along the way to enjoy too,

My 9-year-old daughter says "It has lots of amazing facts and a quiz at the end which tests your knowledge." History is now indeed cool.

Available now on AMAZON!!!!!

I Lost my Heart to the Belles by Pete Davies

Book review: “They’re footballers, absolutely typical footballers – not like the untypical few who make thousands a week, but typical like the tens of thousands who play every weekend because they love it… Typical footballers. Except they’re women” 

That’s what this book is. Pete Davies has gone into a football club and followed them the whole season. Not just any football club though, this is the best in the land, the double winners of the previous season – Doncaster Belles.

What follows is a match-by-match run through of their 94-95 season with unprecedented access to the dressing room. Stirring team talks are included. The team camaraderie and banter is included. You get to follow players playing for the love of the game, not for the money. 

In between the matches the author also profiles the players in their lives away from football, at their homes, their workplaces, their social hangouts. Of course at the time of this book the top women’s players in England were all amateurs. 

And at the end of the book England’s progress at the 1995 Women’s World Cup is covered. This allows the author to discuss the state of English women’s football compared to other countries, the FA at the time only recently having taken over running the game, although not necessarily with the correct attitude. 

Of course this book is now 20 years old and these days the top women’s teams in the country have professional players and the FA is definitely more behind women playing football but it is good to look back and see where the game has come from, the struggle to get to where we are today, where there is still a massive gulf between women’s football and men’s.

Available on Amazon: I LOST MY HEART TO THE BELLES

Dinosaurs in our Street! by David West

Book review: First impressions of this book are great. It is hardback. The front cover is slightly embossed with the tyrannosaur poking his head out of the Pink Floyd-inspired brick wall background. You can feel his teeth if you want, something you wouldn't want to do if it were real. The book's spine is good too. If you have this sitting on your book shelf a little dinosaur will be keeping its beady eye on you.

Inside all the pages are glossy full colour. There are thirty dinosaurs featured including the well-known ones. Each has a double-page spread with a computer-generated image of the dinosaur in an urban scene with people milling about it. So you'll see a brachiosaurus, for example, standing on its back legs and using its long neck to eat some vegetation from a roof garden at the top of a five-floor block of apartments as people nonchalantly walk past. Also by linking the dinosaurs to these modern urban environments there is a recognisable association that might bring these ancient creatures to life even more than other dinosaur books might.

Beside the images are a couple of paragraphs giving you the lowdown about the dinosaur and a little fact box contains the details of the dinosaur's period, where its fossils have been found, its size, weight and whether it was a herbivore or not, and a scale picture to a human to give you a visual idea as to how big it was. Having checked against Wikipedia quickly though I am not sure of the accuracy of the facts. For example the book says the altirhinus came from the Late Cretaceous period whereas Wikipedia says it came from the Early Cretaceous period. Maybe these things are too hard to estimate and I am probably being too picky.

My 9-year-old daughter loved the book: "It tells you about dinosaurs, how to pronounce their names, whether they are herbivores or carnivores and where their fossils have been found." She loves learning and facts.

My 22-month-year-old son loves it too. Especially when I act out a roaring dinosaur that wants to eat his belly. The pages are at risk of being ripped by him though if he isn't careful.

Overall I can see this being ideal for any young dinosaur fan, and if they want more detail into a particular dinosaur then that can easily be looked up online.

It's on AMAZON now: DINOSAURS IN OUR STREET!

The Fact or Fiction Behind Urban Myths (Truth or Busted)

Book review: I got this book for my 9-year-old daughter, but also read it myself for the purposes of this review. She loves this series of books having already read and re-read  The Fact or Fiction Behind London (Truth or Busted). She loves the facts and non-facts and loves de-mistifying things, especially stuff her mother may have said to her about things like swallowing chewing gum.

The presentation is probably one of the things that appeals to her with bold black and white and grey design throughout and lots of pictures in differing art styles. There's something going on on every page. And the text of the book is very bitesize making it ideal for children, but also ideal for the book to be picked up and read from any page at any time.

As well as the truth or busted bits there were other sections too, like sections called "It'll never happen" where figures from the past have said something about a modern (for the time) contraption and have since been proved wrong, or the "Where in the world" sections where things like champagne and poodles origins are explained and are not as we might have believed. Although these are not necessarily "urban myths" they are still interesting.

My daughter's thoughts on the book: "A lot of old wives tales aren't actually true and you find out in this book." And for me maybe the book was a bit short, being under 100 pages (like the other in the series), but I know my daughter loves it (even if she reads it all within a day) and that is good enough for me.

On AMAZON: The Fact or Fiction Behind Urban Myths (Truth or Busted)

The Art of the Jersey: A Celebration of the Cycling Racing Jersey by Andy Storey

Book review: “The Art of the Jersey” looks back at a selection of cycling jerseys from as far back as 1952, right up to 2015. The jerseys are ordered chronologically, each presented via an individual colour photograph of its front (lying flat), together with some brief accompanying information. At the start of each chapter, the author, no doubt aided by the fact that he works for a cycling clothing company, is able to talk about developments/advances in materials and printing technologies used in producing the jerseys of the corresponding era. In particular, he explains that such advances allowed for more intricate and elaborate designs from the 1980's onwards, and thus the vast majority of the jerseys covered are drawn from this timeframe.

The balance struck between images and text works well for a book of this nature. The companion text for a jersey notes the manufacturer as well as frequently containing interesting notes on the associated team and its sponsors, though it has a slightly repetitive feel at times. The inclusion of comments on key riders to have worn the respective jerseys, and some of the things they achieved while wearing them, is a great idea as this will bring memories flooding back for many cycling enthusiasts. The action photos showing a small number of the jerseys being worn in competition are also a nice touch, but there are sadly relatively few of these.

Many of the 228 jerseys highlighted seem to be taken from the author's personal collection, and though the selection is certainly interesting, it isn't particularly comprehensive. While it would of course be unreasonable to expect to see every cycling jersey that ever existed, there were some surprising omissions. For example, there is not a single jersey from some very well-known and important teams such as Française des Jeux, Casino, AG2R, TVM, Cofidis, Europcar, GAN, Astana, BMC, Phonak, and Gerolsteiner. In addition, teams such as (Deutsche) Telekom, Festina, Banesto and Lampre each make only a single appearance with jerseys that many readers probably won't consider to be the "classical" designs most associated with those teams. There are perhaps a few too many versions of some jerseys (for example, Giro d'Italia leader's jerseys numbering into double figures, many of which look very similar), as well as some curious selections of commemorative jerseys and other jerseys that never belonged to any team. Replacing some of these with examples of those from a number of the aforementioned omitted teams would have improved the breadth of the selection.

From the perspective of a cycling enthusiast, this attractively presented book is enjoyable and certainly does a solid job of filling a void, as it isn't always easy to get that cycling jersey fix. However, it would have benefitted from a more structured approach to selecting the featured jerseys, and may not be comprehensive enough to live up to some cycling fan's expectations.

- Review by Dr. Mark Parsons, cycling enthusiast

Book available on Amazon now!!!