Children's Books discussion

A Year Around the Great Oak


Lots of interesting information about European flora and fauna (and I do think it should be mentioned that this is a European themed book, and yes, there should definitely be secondary sources included). Love the illustrations, like the story (although there is in my opinion a bit of casual sexism, as the girl in the story often seems to get left out).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables


With There's No Such Thing as Vegetables (2024), Lyle Lukoff's words and Andrea Tsurumi's accompanying artwork present in a delightful marriage of engaging text and brightly descriptive images how Chester, when he is asked to gather vegetables for a salad from the community garden, encounters a hilariously cocksure and opinionated cast of anthropomorphic garden produce who categorically reject the “vegetable” label (since for example broccoli florets are flowers, potatoes are roots and tomatoes are indeed fruit). And yes indeed, Lukoff has all the anthropomorphic plants in There's No Such Thing as Vegetables call themselves and each other by their preferred terms (and not vegetables) and also live in complete and perfect harmony (which is a bit pie-in-the sky perhaps but makes me smile). But yeah, a list of books and websites on botany and on social constructs would be nice.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast: A Celebration of Plants Around the World


The botanical information Michael Holland presents is extensive (and sometimes unfortunately even a bit overly so for a book geared towards young readers) and interesting (and although there is a section on plant evolution, this can if necessary be skipped over). But yes, the font is way too small, I also would prefer a combination of illustrations and photographs (even though the artwork is lovely) and the absence of a bibliography and suggestions for further reading is a bit frustrating (still, a high three stars, but I would definitely recommend not reading I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast: A Celebration of Plants Around the World in one sitting).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Candy Experiments


Candy Experiments 2


Excellent and fun resources (only reviewed the first book since the second book is basically exactly the same except that it features different candy themed experiments). Fun, educational (and I do wish that something akin to Candy Experiments had been available when I was a child). And my partner and I actually tried a few of the candy experiments and we both really enjoyed doing them (so yes, both volumes of Candy Experiments, while conceptualised for children and STEM are also something that parents, teachers etc. would and should enjoy as well).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Children of the Stones


Not a bad story is Children of the Stones and to an extent decently fun and pleasantly creepy (even today, even in 2025), but well, the rather hokum science (combined with magical paganism etc.) truly does grate quite a bit, makes much of Children of the Stones rather tedious and annoying for me personally and as such only a low three star rating (and which I also think is pretty hugely generous for Children of the Stones).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Manybooks wrote: "Children of the Stones


Not a bad story is Children of the Stones and to an extent decently fun and pleasantly creepy (even today, even i..."

Hm. The blurb says "astrophysics" in the first sentence, implying it's suitable for STEM. Too bad it really isn't. :(

Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Children of the Stones


Not a bad story is Children of the Stones and to an extent decently fun and pleasantly creepy (..."

It was fun but not really all that scientific and tries too hard to tie astrophysics, mythology and magic together.

I found the information presented in LOL Canadian Nature (by Sahara Kagune) and in Gross & Disgusting Nature (by Wendy Weinstein) decent and readable (although the riddles in LOL Canadian Nature are rather cheesy but can easily be ignored). But both books do not have any sources, the organisation of Gross & Disgusting Nature is haphazard and LOL Canadian Nature leaves out some iconic Canadian animals (like beavers and loons) and also does not bother with conservation statuses.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

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