Top 10 non-fiction for February

Favourite facts children borrowed in February:

1.  Star Wars by David West Reynolds

2.  The LEGO book by Daniel Lipkowitz

3.  Ripley’s believe it or not!by Rosie Alexander

4.  Guinness world records 2013 by Craig Glenday

5.  Ara pūretaby Frances Goulton

6.  Pokemon black version & Pokemon white version handbook by Michael G. Ryan

7.  The horrible history of the world by Terry Deary

8.  Guinness world records 2014 by Craig Glenday

9.  Wow! dinosaur by Douglas Palmer

10.  The age of the dinosaurs (12 volumes) by Steve Parker

 

Top 10 non-fiction for January

Here are the most popular non-fiction books for this month. Looks like a couple of Christmas ones from December have sneaked into the list too!

1. Star Wars by David West Reynolds

2. Ripley’s believe it or not! by Rosie Alexander

3. Guinness world records 2013 by Craig Glenday

4. Kiwi kids sing favourite Christmas songs & Carols Linda Adamson

5. Star Wars character encyclopedia by Simon Beecroft

6. The LEGO book by Daniel Lipkowitz

7. Guinness world records 2014 by Craig Glenday

8. Horrible Christmas by Terry Deary

9. The official collectable figures guide by Richard Dinnick

10. The Usborne big book of big ships by Minna Lacey

Top 10 Non-Fiction for October

Impress your friends and family with awesome factoids by checking out October’s most popular non-fiction:

1 Star Wars by David West Reynolds

2 The horrible history of the world by Terry Deary

3 The LEGO book by Daniel Lipkowitz

4 Ripley’s believe it or not! by Rosie Alexander

5 The Usborne big book of big machines by Minna Lacey

6 Big book of papercraft Fiona Watt

7 Amazing giant dinosaurs Marie Greenwood

8 Pokemon ultimate handbook by Cris Silvestri

9 See inside the First World War by Rob Lloyd Jones

10 The girls’ book of crafts & activities by James Mitchem

 

Odd Stuff: What’s the dirtiest item in your house?

I bet you think it’s the toilet, right? Wrong!

A recent study done by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) that aims to draw attention to sanitation around the world has revealed some shocking facts – about a third of people reckon the toilet is the dirtest place in their home, but it’s actually more likely to be the arms of your sofas and your gaming controllers. Ew!

But it’s not just the inside of the house that you have to be worried about. Things found in the garden are super dirty too! Trampolines, bikes and footballs were shown to have high levels of bacteria on them.

So now that you know, would you rather lick the toilet seat or your games controller…?

Danger! Open with extreme caution!

Here is another great book about fearsome facts and startling stats. It is filled with peril, risk and suspense and believe me it is all true.

Find out about the most dangerous mathematical formula in history.

Discover the secret to surviving a savage shark attack.

Visit a fast food restaurant that serves up a deadly menu.

While reading this book I learnt a gross fact so be warned before you read this.

In 1804, American doctor Stubbins Ffirth performed some revolting experiments to test his idea that deadly yellow fever was not infectious. He drank bloody black vomit from a fever patient and rubbed it into his eyes. He didn’t get infected, so he considered his case proven. We now know that the disease is spread by mosquitoes.

Would you do that???

This is an awesome book. So go on, sneak a peek, I dare you!

 

 

 

Incy Wincy Spider, Greek Myths and Disgusting Facts.

New non-fiction books to get stuck into. Enjoy!

It’s Always Time for a Nursery Rhyme illustrated by Emma Stuart.

‘Hickory Dickory Dock’, ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ and ‘Hey Diddle Diddle.’ You will find all your favorite nursery rhymes in this new and exciting read! Great for preschoolers!

 

 

 

 

 

The Adventures of Achilles by Hugh Lupton, Daniel Morden and Carole Henaff.

This book retells the events of the war between Greece and the city of Troy. Achilles is the son of a king and a goddess and also the best warrior in Greece.  So when Prince Paris claims Helen from a Greek King, and Troy declares war, everyone knows that Achilles will be vital to the Greek cause. This book also includes bibliographical references and comes  complete with two full-length audio CDs. A fantastic book for anyone who is interested and/or studying  Greek Mythology.

 

 

Pokemon: Guide to Pokemon Legends.

For anyone who is a fan of Pokemon, this is the book to read! From Arceus to Zekrom, fans will discover dozens of the most renowned Pokémon of all time in this guide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Word Witch by Margaret Mahy.

Do you know about the Word Witch? Has she cast her spell over you? Her name is Margaret Mahy. These are her spells. This is a fantastic book of poems aimed for children written by Margaret Mahy through the whole of her literary life and acquired from a number of literary sources including Learning Media and Margaret’s own private papers. Also accompanied by CD of poems performed by Margaret Mahy.

 

 

 

 

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Special Edition 2013.

Nothing is stranger that the truth! Can you believe hair that measures more than 20 feet long?, An ocean that turned into a giant bubble bath?, or a tongue so long that it can reach someone’s eyeball? you find all these  bizarre facts, stories, and photographs featuring strange creatures, people, places, and adventures from around the world in the new Ripley’s Believe It or Not Special Edition 2013.

No nonsense non-fiction to blow your mind

Wild Buddies …and Baddies

In this amazing book I learnt that a worm can control the mind of a weta! Read it for yourself and find out all about tuataras that like to snuggle up to seabirds and why keas can be  the biggest of all bird bullies.

 

 

 

 

 A Black Hole is Not a Hole

Then what is it?  This book has the most amazing space photographs and the text for older readers will totally have you knowing all about black holes by the time you reach the back page. A book full of surprises (because sometimes a black hole is where you least expect it! )

 

  

 

 What’s Maths all about?

This is a hugely informative and very funny book about numbers and mathematicians for the older reader. Pages are packed with fun facts and helpful explanations of everything from measurement to probability. Also contains a great internet link for more maths fun.

 

 

 That’s Life

How did life begin? What’s at the top of the food chain? What are the weirdest life forms on Earth? Find out in this fact-packed, brilliantly illustrated book and put the buzz back into biology.

 

 

Lives of the Great Spiritual Leaders

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one” Mother Teresa once said.  Jesus challenges us to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”  and the Dalai Lama asks us to “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

Older readers will enjoy learning about the great spiritual leaders of the world in this inspiring book.

 

 

The Awesome Book of Unusual Bible Heroes

This book has some seriously weird stories and one chapter even comes with a warning that that only males between the ages of 8 and 12 will truly appreciate its graphic and gruesome details! For some reason the author thinks that girls will probably run screaming from the room when they discover the gory details of the story. Hmmm. Makes me want to get every girl to read it and prove him wrong! Come on girls, don’t let me down now….

 

The not-for-parents Travel Book

This is your very own Lonely Planet book kids. Find out really cool stuff about every country in the world.

 

  

We’ve Got A Job

This is the incredible story of a key piece of civil rights history that I had no idea about. One of the kids tells about their time marching for civil rights in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama. “When my mother took me to school Monday morning, I went straight though the school. In one door and out the other. There must have been three to four hundred kids leaving the school, headed towards downtown.” These kids were hosed with water canons and arrested for standing up for their rights and the rights of their parents who couldn’t march for fear of losing their jobs. Great book.

 

Knight

Join a joust, examine armour and discover the long forgotten rules of chivalry all from the comfort of your own home. This is another great Eye Witness book crammed full of information, photographs. Basically everything you ever wanted to know about knights.

 

 

Henry Vlll

Good old Henry Vlll. Apparently he was a very clever and fun-loving Tudor king. But he and his wife Catherine did not produce a son. (Pretty essential back in the day.) Henry’s solution is to change the rules of the church so he can divorce and marry again, and again, and again, and again and again. Find out all about this character and his six wives in this excellent little book. Other important people in this Famous People Great Events series are Anne Frank, Queen Elizabeth ll, Elizabeth l, Florence Nightingale, Martin Luther King. And two great events in this series are The Great Fire of London and The Gunpowder Plot.

 

 

The Bumper Book of London

London will be in the news a lot soon when it hosts the Olympics, so get to know the place now by reading all about this amazing city in this fact packed book. You too can gasp at London’s smallest dingeon, walk under the Thames (without getting wet), scare yourself silly in the most haunted palace in London and learn a bit of London lingo to chat with with the locals.

The scoop on poop

Well as amazing as it seems someone has actually written a book about poop.  Yes that subject that most of us avoid is all out in the open now because Poop Happened.

This book has the history of the world from the bottom up with everything from the chamber pot to the astronaut’s toilet. It will have you rolling on your own toilet with laughter as well as pulling faces in real disgust.

For instance did you know that the Ancient Romans did not use toilet paper? In their public bathrooms they had a sponge on a stick that was placed in a bucket of salt water. After they….. you know… they would wipe themselves with the sponge and then put it back in the bucket for the next person. THAT IS DISGUSTING.

Or did you know that the first patents for flushing toilets were filed about two hundred years ago. But as recently as a hundred and fifty years ago, most homes still had no toilet. The new toilets were so pricey, only wealthy people could afford to have one.  Although at first they were considered status symbols, the early toilets didn’t work very well. They smelled, they leaked, and the noise they made when they flushed was deafening. And because they were not hooked up to sever lines (which didn’t exist), they often flooded people’s basements or yards. Yuk!

Fact for the day: Did you know that there are special scientist’s that spend a lot of time studying ancient poop. They are called Paleoscatologists. Believe it or not, they can learn a lot from fossilized human excrement. Rather them that me I say.

But anyway if you are interested in Poop then this book is for you but you may want to wash your hands after reading it!

Grossology 101

Do you want to be a master of slimy, mushy, oozy or stinky facts about the body? Well you might want to read this book which is truly a science of really gross things!

 

Surprise your friends, relatives, families or even the odd stranger with your knowledge of the grosser side of life. An example: in your mouth alone there are more critters than there are people in Australia and Canada combined! So that makes your mouth the most unsanitary part of your whole body! Yikes!

 

If you’d like to master the art of grossology then check out Grossology by Sylvia Branzei at the children’s non fiction area with the call number J612BRA. Explore the grosser side of life! Enjoy!

Hideous History Facts

Prepare to be disgusted, revolted and laugh out loud at these hideous facts from our putrid past with 1001 Hideous History Facts.  Did you know that Australian Aborigines have used kangaroo-skin bandages for thousands of years, and on the 25th October 1760, King George II became the second English king to die on the toilet? What about in the 18th century they made a vaccination against smallpox by using pus taken from sores on dairymaid’s hands and rubbing it onto a scratch on the patient’s arm. Yuk, glad they don’t do that anymore!