The Twits

The Twits is the story of horrible people who did horrible things and how they got their just desserts. It's a classic underdog tale, where the victims rise up to teach the bullies a lesson they will never forget.

The chapters are short, about 1 or 2 pages long, and the language used is simple and easy to understand. The book can therefore be used as a bridge to take young readers from picture books to chapter books.

The illustrations are wonderful and depict the expressions and actions of Mr and Mrs Twit very well. For me, Quentin Blake's illustrations are the definitive illustrations for Roald Dahl's works. I own a copy of James and the Giant Peach that features another illustrator's illustrations and the reading experience was not the same. It somehow did not feel as satisfying.

This is another one of my all-time favourites so again, I shall have to give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
First published in 1980 by Jonathan Cape Ltd

Age range: 7 to 10 years old

NA's rating: 5/5

Fortunately, the Milk...

Fortunately, the Milk... is the unexpected adventure of a father who steps out to buy some milk. He meets all sorts of characters: pirates, vampires, angry volcano gods, aliens and a really cool dinosaur.

The story is fast-paced and compels you to keep turning the pages till you reach the end. There's action on almost every page and the illustrations just jump out of the page (even though the copy I have is not in colour). The characters are larger than life. All these elements combined make the story feel so alive and vibrant. It's great for reading aloud to your child, though I wouldn't recommend it as a bedtime story. Your kids will probably be bouncing off the walls instead of settling down to sleep.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found myself reading certain parts aloud. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
First published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Age range: 7 to 9 years old

NA's rating: 4.5/5

The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors is about Thomas, the visually-impaired protagonist, and how he experiences the world.

The entire book is black, with text standing out in white. The illustrations are done using raised lines which the reader can feel, rather than see. Text is minimal but vividly describes how Thomas experiences the world through his other senses: hearing, smell, taste and touch. The Braille alphabet is included at the end of the book. The experience of touching the illustrations is interesting and allows the reader to get an inkling of how the visually-impaired live and feel. It's a good way to start the conversation on tolerance and understanding for people who are different. Overall, I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Author: Menena Cottin
Illustrator: Rosana Faría
Translated by: Elisa Amado
First published in Spanish as El libro negro de los colores in 2006

Age range: 5 to 16 years old

NA's rating: 4.5/5

The World in Infographics: Planet Earth

Planet Earth presents facts about Earth's physical aspects - ecosystems, geographic features, plate tectonics, water cycle - through infographics!

The infographics featured in the book are brightly coloured and eye-catching. This definitely influenced my decision to borrow it. Each topic is given a spread over two pages. There is a main infographic taking up the bulk of the spread and smaller infographics or paragraphs of text in the remaining space. These make it quite exciting to read - it gives one the feeling that there's just so much to know about each topic!

The language used is simple but there are quite a number of difficult terms used, such as "transform boundary". It is therefore more suitable for older children. There is a glossary of terms included at the end of the book to help with understanding. An index and a list of useful websites for further reading are also included. Since infographics do not present information in a conventional manner, the index is especially helpful in pinpointing where certain facts or topics appear.

Overall, this is a nice introduction to our home planet. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Editor: Jon Richards

Designer: Ed Simkins
Part of the World in Infographics series

First published in 2012 by Wayland

Age range: 8 to 12 years old

NA's rating: 4/5

Reticulated Python: The World's Longest Snake

Reticulated Python shares interesting facts about the habitat, distribution, behaviour and life cycle of reticulated pythons. It includes colour photographs and illustrations of reticulated pythons exhibiting various behaviours and in their natural habitat.

The information is presented in bite-sized pieces and is written in easy-to-understand language. I really appreciated the neutral tone used in the book; the snakes are not vilified. The photographs and illustrations are used to effectively illustrate and explain the facts that are presented. In addition to the main topics discussed, there are interesting related facts highlighted. For example, under the main topic of how pythons find food, the heat-sensing pits located above the python's lips are highlighted. In addition to facts on the reticulated python, there is also a section that features other long snakes such as the green anaconda. This will help children who love snakes find out what other species of snake they can read up on next. 

A glossary of terms, index and list of resources for further reading are included at the end of the book. The glossary is useful in explaining unfamiliar terms and the index is useful in locating specific topics discussed in the book. The list of resources for further reading would be useful to children who would like to read and learn more on reticulated pythons.

Overall, this is a good primer on reticulated pythons. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.


Author: Meish Goldish
Part of the More Supersized! series
Published in 2010 by Bearport Publishing Company, Inc.

Age range: 5 to 10 years old

NA's rating: 4/5

Komodo Dragons

Komodo Dragons shares interesting facts about the appearance, habitat, distribution, behaviour, and life cycle of the komodo dragon. It is full of colour photographs of komodo dragons in their natural habitat or displaying certain behaviours.

The information is presented in bite-sized pieces and is written in a style that is accessible and easy to understand. I appreciated the neutral tone used in the book; the komodo dragons are not vilified. The photographs are used very effectively to enhance understanding of the facts presented. A mini-glossary explaining difficult terms and words is included at the bottom of the pages where they are used. There is also an index and a list of recommended books and websites for further reading included at the end of the book. These are useful for children who are doing research for projects or those who are just interested to find out more.

Older children might find the language too simple and the explanations too brief, so this would be more suitable for younger children. But overall, it is a good primer on komodo dragons.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.


Author: Valerie Bodden
Part of the Amazing Animals series
Published in 2013 by Creative Education

Age range: 5 to 10 years old

NA's rating: 4/5

Flotsam

Flotsam is a wordless picture book that tells the story of a boy who found an old camera washed up on the beach. He develops the pictures which show wonderful and almost unbelievable scenes of life under the sea.

This book is a great of example of the often-heard saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". It's no wonder that this book won David Wiesner his third Caldecott Medal in 2007. Even though there are no words, the illustrations keep the story flowing very smoothly. The illustrations of the facial expressions of the protagonist do very well in capturing and communicating his emotions. There are also strange and beautiful full-page scenes of life under the sea that capture the imagination.

As one with a strong interest in marine life, I found this book very enjoyable. It was also interesting "watching" the story unfold rather than reading and imagining the scenes in my head. The accessibility and clarity of the illustrations make this book easy for children of all ages to understand. Adults can also get children to participate by pointing out details in the illustrations that they find interesting or by describing the scene and what they think is happening. This is a good introduction to marine animals in spite of the elements of fantasy.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. (Disclaimer: Reader beware! I am being very biased.)


Author and illustrator: David Wiesner
First published in 2006 by Clarion Books

Age range: 3 to 8 years old (and older!)

NA's rating: 5/5