Non-Fiction Animals in Wartime

UK Writer and Illustrator David Long, illustrated by Peter Bailey Jet the Rescue Dog

Faber & Faber 2014  $24.99hb  222pp

ISBN 978 0 5713 0492 9

Themes: Animals in Wartime

Near Hyde Park in London there is a stone and bronze memorial to the courageous dogs, cats, birds, horses and even a bear that went to war along side the humans who were fighting.  From animals in the Blitz, London 1940, the Western Front in Northern France 1914 and a memorable cat that saved a ship’s crew in the Yangtze Incident in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, these are stories that help to show not all heroes and heroines are human. Don’t be put off by the very unremarkable look of the publication – beige cover and black and white pen drawings. It is not a book many children would pick up for themselves but the stories are riveting and well worth following up – there is much about many of the animals in the book on the net. It is also worth following up on the work of Peter Bailey whose textured drawings may be found in books by writers such as Tony Mitton, Alan Ahlberg, Dick King Smith, Laurie Lee, and Philip Pullman

Year 4 up/ Age 7 up

Hyde Park Memorial to Animals in Wartime

Non-Fiction - Age 7 up

UK Writer (Images from various sources)

Raman Prinja   Night Sky Watcher

QED Publishing 2014  $19.99pb 120pp

ISBN 978 1 7817 1657 1

Themes: Exploring the universe/ Stars and planets

This is a great guide to exploring the night sky with useful hints on how to make the most of an evening’s stargazing.  There is probably not much more any writer can say about the night sky until something new is discovered but this is a comprehensive cover of the known facts and the book is encased in thick plastic with a zip in case the user wants to take it out on a frosty night!  Colour and many fact boxes and images will make this appealing to not-so-keen readers.

Raman K. Prinja is professor of astrophysics at University College London

Year 3 up/ Age 7 up