Celebrating National Non-Fiction November with two utterly brilliant little titles from 360 Degrees Publishing

It seems incredible to think that just a few short years ago, it looked like children's Non-Fiction was suffering from...for want of a better way of phrasing it...a serious lack of inspiration. There were a lot of books, but most seemed to be a bit too 'schooly' for us. Most followed a fairly formulaic approach, dishing up dry facts with uninspiring illustrations.

All that changed - in fact around 2015 according to our blog history, we celebrated a really amazing year of astonishingly fantastic non-fiction titles and it feels like it's just got better and better every year since.

Innovative publishers, like 360 Degrees Publishing (a new imprint of Little Tiger Press) now understand that non-fiction titles aren't purely for 'school work' or reference, they're actually huge fun to read - particularly for readers who don't always get on with stories and fantasy.

So we're taking a look at two of their titles, to celebrate National Non-Fiction November.

First is "Foods of the World" by Libby Walden and Jocelyn Kao. We instantly loved the 'small format' of these books, and the approachability. Aimed at younger readers, "Foods of the World" couples simple but informative text with gorgeous illustrations almost good enough to eat.

Find out about different foods around the world, from the familiar English roast dinner and American burgers, to some truly wonderful (and some very odd) alternatives. Ever fancied trying a 100 Year Old Egg? It's a Chinese delicacy but you might not want to pack them in your lunch for school!

There are some lovely little insights into world culture revolving around food and its importance and significance around celebrations and international holidays, religious and traditional festivals that revolve around tasty treats.

The illustrations are colourful and despite their aimed-at market, these are still as engaging for a 10 year old as they would be for a 5 year old.

"Foods of the World" by Libby Walden and Jocelyn Kao is out now, published by 360 Degrees Publishing. 

Also from 360 Degrees Publishing, there's "Festivals and Celebrations" by Sandra Lawrence and Jane Newland.

This touches on some of the subjects covered by "Foods of the World" as we take another global tour of the many ways people around the world celebrate, come together and enjoy family time while exchanging gifts and enjoying some wonderful food.

Again, the book takes the approach of mixing the familiar and the unfamiliar - showing for instance how different countries celebrate Easter and Christmas, but also have their own colourful festivals and celebrations that are equally vibrant and amazing.

As with "Foods of the World", "Festivals and Celebrations" contains brilliant and descriptive text with gorgeous illustrations to immerse kids in the subject matter. Again the small format is pretty cool too (though we love a huge big non-fiction title to sprawl out on the floor with, these are dinky and bag-sized so perfect for shuttling between school and home).

"Festivals and Celebrations" by Sandra Lawrence and Jane Newland is out now, published by 360 Degrees Publishing.

(Both titles kindly supplied for review as part of National Non Fiction November).

So we have another innovative and vibrant new contender developing brilliant non-fiction titles, we look forward to seeing what 360 Degrees come up with next.