Water wonders, rewilding cities and a thrill ride by various authors – children’s book reviews –

Age 8 plus:

The Wonderful World of Water: From Dams to Deserts

Sarah Garré, Marijke Huysmans and Wendy Panders

Water, water everywhere... dip into any page of this fun, fact-filled book and discover the endless ways that water impacts humans and nature, and sustains life on Earth.

Water is our planet’s most important resource, yet it’s easy to overlook its significance in our daily life. This kaleidoscopic journey across the planet offers fascinating insights into how water is connected to the air we breathe, the food we eat, and how our own actions can upset the delicate balance of its cycle.

Readers learn about how water journeys from ocean to sky to mountains, rivers, soil and back again, how water purification works, the flora and fauna of the rainforest, cloud formations and the weather they predict, natural phenomena such as the tiger bush, why rivers flood, and what causes a tsunami.

Did you know that three-quarters of Earth's surface consists of water and that because there’s so much water, astronauts see Earth as a blue planet from their spaceship. Discover how a water molecule consists of two types of atoms... one oxygen atom (O) and two smaller hydrogen atoms (H). And that's why scientists call water H₂O. Water, we learn, has always been there, and it travels round and round on an endless journey known as the water cycle.

When it rains, part of the rain disappears into the ground. Those raindrops find their way into the groundwater and it can be just under our feet or much deeper. Some droplets reach the groundwater after a few days, weeks, or months, but it can also take years or even centuries.

Learn about an oasis, an area of land where plants can grow in the middle of a very dry region because there is freshwater. Sometimes it’s a natural spring but there are also a great many oases where humans have given nature a helping hand. In the rainforest, meanwhile, there are an enormous variety of different animal and plant species... some yet to be discovered.

Presented by researcher Sarah Garré, Professor Marijke Huysmans and illustrator Wendy Panders in lively and engaging double-page spreads, each topic is explored with quirky illustrations, trivia, and sidebars that encourage further exploration and experimentation.

And best of all, it makes young readers aware just how deeply entwined their futures are with the health of our planet’s water.

(Prestel Publishing, hardback, £19.99)

Age 9 plus:

Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth

Steve Mushin

Step into the pages of a graphic novel like no other!

Youngsters will be queueing up to join industrial designer, illustrator and maverick inventor Steve Mushin as he tackles climate change with an avalanche of mind-bending, scientifically plausible inventions to rewild cities and save the planet.

Based in New Zealand, Mushin collaborates with scientists and engineers to solve perplexing problems that no one else seems to know what to do about and this intricately illustrated, mind-bendingly original book is bursting with brilliant inventions that could just save the world... while inspiring readers of all ages.

Ultrawild – Mushin’s brilliant debut book – features one hundred technically possible, totally bonkers inventions as Mushin takes on climate change and sustainability, the big questions of our time, putting the ‘A’ firmly into STEM studies and showcasing how the arts can invigorate thinking.

Jump into his brain as he designs habitat-printing robot birds and water-filtering sewer submarines, calculates how far compost cannons can blast seed bombs (over a kilometre), brainstorms biomaterials with scientists and engineers, studies ecosystems and develops a deadly serious plan to transform cities into jungles, rewilding them into carbon-sucking mega-habitats for all species, and as fast as possible.

Through marvellously designed and hilarious engineering ideas, Mushin shares his vision for super-high-tech urban rewilding, covering the science of climate change, futuristic materials and foods, bio reactors, soil, forest ecosystems, mechanical flight, solar thermal power and working out just how fast we could actually turn roads into jungles, absorb carbon and reverse climate change.

Developed over seven years – with all projects vetted by experts – Ultrawild is a book brimming with optimism as the author explores creative thinking, science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and the potential for massive change. Filled with laugh-out-loud design comedy, it aims to empower and excite a new generation of designers, scientists, engineers and ultra-wild thinkers.

A tour-de-force of extreme problem-solving which is guaranteed to provide hours of enjoyment and encourage readers, young and old, to think outside the box as we adapt to an ever-changing world.

(Allen & Unwin, hardback, £14.99)

Age 12 plus:

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café

Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada

Step inside the Tokyo Ghost Café if you dare! Author Julian Sedgwick and illustrator Chie Kutsuwada – the top team who brought readers the hugely successful Carnegie nominated Tsunami Girl – return with this thrilling collection of ghost stories in their trademark blend of prose and Manga, a style of Japanese comic book and graphic novel. Telling ghost stories at Christmas was made famous in England by Victorian novelist Charles Dickens but in Japan, the culture of sharing spooky tales around a fire has been taking place for centuries. And these dazzling short stories, framed by an overarching narrative and interwoven with Manga illustrations, create an unforgettably unique offering for readers. Abducted by spirits from his village, lost boy Akira must make the long journey in north Japan to find his family and save his young sister before time runs out. Voyaging deeper and deeper into a Japan ‘between the worlds,’ Akira and his companions encounter a host of yokai monsters and infamous spirits, discovering a sometimes comical and sometimes terrifying world of interlinked and ghostly short stories along the way. Sedgwick and Kutsuwada create a brilliantly seductive twilight ‘otherworld’ peopled by Japanese spirits which all have their own personality, traits and powers, and are the inspiration behind the phenomenon that is Pokémon. A stunning exploration of the different elements of Japanese history and culture, and our own relationship with the spirits around us.

(Guppy Books, paperback, £10.99)

Age 9 plus:

Finding Wonder

Lauren St John

Master storyteller and passionate conservationist Lauren St John returns with an unforgettable and moving tale starring a girl, a winning ticket, a stolen horse... and the adventure of a lifetime! Young horse fans will be chomping at the bit to get their hands on this equine extravaganza which blends daring deeds, a marvellous mystery and a stable full of stupendous steeds. Orphaned Roo Thorn feels like the unluckiest girl in the world... until she discovers a letter. The mysterious letter urges Roo to ‘grab life by the wings and fly’ and with the help of her aunt, Joni, Roo sets out to buy her dream horse... a fiery showjumper named Wonder Boy. When Wonder vanishes without a trace, Roo and Joni are determined to save him and set out to investigate his disappearance. But as the mystery deepens and more prize horses are stolen, the pair find themselves drawn into a thrilling, but dangerous, adventure. How far will they go, and what will they risk, to find Wonder? With eye-catching cover artwork by Levi Pinfold and beautiful interior illustrations by Marie-Alice Harel, this twisting, turning and gripping detective adventure celebrates not just one young girl’s heartfelt passion for horses but the joys to be found in family ties, friendships and the natural world. Rich in detail and emotionally charged, Finding Wonder is a thrill ride from start to finish.

(Faber Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus:

Children of Winter

Berlie Doherty

One of the most inspirational stories to come out of the devastation of the Black Death plague – which swept across England in 1666 – springs to life in this beautiful new edition of master storyteller Berlie Doherty’s Children of Winter. Author of over 60 books for children, teenagers and adults, and winner of the Carnegie medal for both Granny Was a Buffer Girl and Dear Nobody, Doherty lives in the Derbyshire Peak District and in this beautifully atmospheric and authentic novel she recreates the time when the tiny village of Eyam in Derbyshire was hit by the plague and cut itself off to protect other communities. Set in the 20th century, the story centres around Catherine Tebbutt and her family as they set out from their home in Sheffield to visit their grandmother’s house deep in the Derbyshire hills. Sheltering from a storm in an ancient cruck barn with her younger sister and brother, it becomes strangely familiar to Catherine and she is drawn back to a time when three children sheltered all winter from a terrible plague that was ripping through their village. With beautiful cover artwork by Tamsin Rosewell, this emotion-packed and thought-provoking tale is a reminder of the suffering and loss wrought by the plague on families across the land, and the sacrifices of the brave folk in the village of Eyam.

(UCLan Publishing, paperback, £7.99)