We received these books from Pansing (a books distribution company in Singapore and Malaysia that is a member of Times Publishing) recently and they have kindly agreed to sponsor a giveaway too!
I chose these 4 books from Bloomsbury Publishing UK, and was immensely gratified that all four were winners – the kids loved reading them!
You may have already come across the first two books by Kate Pankhurst – the girls and I had read the yellow one, and the blue one was just as fantastic if not more so.
1. Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst
It has been called “wildly wonderful and accessible”, and I couldn’t agree more.
Its beautiful, engaging illustrations and fascinating facts make this a book that even I enjoyed poring over at length. It is no surprise that it has been nominated for the 2018 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards.
Author Kate Pankhurst is a Liverpudlian, who only realised after writing this book that she was distantly related to suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, whom she featured in the book. Although she thought for a period that there was no connection, another family member confirmed the link. Isn’t that fascinating?
Although this is a great book to inspire girls with, all boys should read it too! It will give balance to the many accolades on men that they will come across in school books and the like.
Here are the incredible women featured: Jane Austen, Gertrude Ederle, Coco Chanel, Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie, Mary Anning, Mary Seacole, Amelia Earhart, Agent Fifi, Sacagawa, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank.
2. Fantastically Great Women who Made History by Kate Pankhurst
This is a recent follow-up to the successful first book, and I must say it has done especially well in introducing more ethnic diversity in the range of women featured. It also spans across a much broader time horizon, going back to ancient Egyptian times (Hatshepsut) and featuring Chinese revolutionary Qiu Jin (1875-1907).
I liked the fact that it showed how there were a few women in ancient times who still managed to overcome the overwhelming odds then to rise to leadership and bring about significant change.
It was also cool that she chose to feature slightly more obscure personalities in this book, making this a significant and meaningful addition to the canon of literature on great women in kid lit.
Here are the wonderful women featured in this book: : Elizabeth Blackwell, Qiu Jin, Boudicca, Flora Drummond, Pocahontas, Noor Inayat Khan, Harriet Tubman, Valentina Tereshkova, Ada Lovelace, Sayyida al-Hurra, Hatshepsut, Josephine Baker, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley
3. The Explorer by Katherine Randell
This was easily K’s favourite book of the set (until she started reading the fourth book, haha). She started reading it one evening, and inhaled it in less than 24 hours.
I guess books don’t win the 2017 Costa Book Prize for nothing.
The story was fast paced and very absorbing, as it traced the adventures of four children who are plunged into the Amazon jungle after a plane crash. Alongside the gripping adventures are vivid descriptions of rainforest flora and fauna – educational in every sense!
A dramatic reviewer even likened reading this book to “eating electricity”. ‘Nuff said.
4. Bad Mermaids by Sibeal Pounder
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this, but it had K chortling from the get-go.
It just made me smile every time K laughed out loud ever so often as she progressed through the book. She would read me the funny phrases, which were impressively witty.
It was no surprise then, when I found out that author Sibeal Pounder was formerly a Financial Times writer, since thinly veiled sarcasm is characteristic of FT articles.
I liked the fact that it was humour pitched perfectly at her age group, without being boorish or sloppy (as some of the schoolroom drama books enjoyed by this age group tend to be).
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Thanks to Pansing Distribution, one loyal reader will win this set of four books!
To enter, simply complete the following:
- “Like” LilBlueBottle’s Facebook Page.
- Please share this post to spread the word about this great set of books.
- Leave a comment on this Facebook post with your email address (or PM your email address to me), and tag 3 friends who might be interested.
The giveaway ends on 2359 hrs on 22 April 2018, and the winners will be contacted via email.
The usual terms and conditions apply.
[The winner is Janice S Chen! Thanks all for participating!]
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