The Ladybird Book of Quantum Mechanics by Professor Jim Al-Khalili (Ladybird Books)

You can almost hear the loud braying of Petronella nursing her free cup of Waitrose coffee, waving a chocolate croissant lazily through the air stating "Yarrrrsss, Little Crispin is reading his first book about Quantum Mechanics"...
That wasn't really the reason we picked up Ladybird's fantastic "Quantum Mechanics" by renowned physicist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili.

We were at the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading (which is well and truly worth a visit, not just for the fascinating Ladybird Books exhibit which is stunning), and we picked up two of these fantastic Ladybird Expert books. Giving Charlotte the choice, she opted for this one over "Evolution" (which I have to admit wasn't quite as catchy-sounding).

You see, there's something quite captivating about science, particularly physics, for little ones. Through science clubs and a metric ton of brilliant books (and of course plenty of science in school), Charlotte is instantly drawn to subjects which just stagger both my wife and I. I remember science really being a lot of messing around in junior school, swiftly turning to long boring lessons in mostly maths and formulae later on in secondary school (our Physics Teacher had absolutely no idea how to keep a class engaged, preferring to practically demonstrate the interaction between pupils' ears and sharp edge rulers instead.

Thankfully Professor Jim Al-Khalili is well versed in brilliant presentation and making science fun.

As you'd expect from the Ladybird series, this is a visual treat too and through the course of this pint sized book you can learn how you'd build your own quantum computer, why light is both a wave and a particle, and all about Shrodinger's Cat - plus an awful lot more in between.

Leave a copy lying around on the coffee table next time the grandparents are round!

The Ladybird Expert range is out now, published by Ladybird Books.
(self-purchased)