Our fantastic non-fiction Picture Book of the Week comes from an author who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty when it comes to some truly gross things, and a talented illustrator who managed to turn us a little green around the gills as we read through this one.

"A Giant Dose of Gross" by Andy Seed and Claire Almon shines the spotlight on animals that you normally don't see in more prim and proper natural history books. Those animals who look pretty grim, have some of the most disgusting habits, and use some pretty stomach-churning ways of staying alive.

Not one to be read over breakfast (as C discovered as she leafed through this one while enjoying a healthy bowl of porridge), Andy and Claire dig through the more unsavoury side of the animal kingdom, uncovering a plethora of farters, pukers, slimers, bleeders, ploppers and piddlers.

From puking vultures and farting goats to stinky opossums who pretend to be dead, this book gathers them all together in a fascinating volume for those of us who don't mind uncovering nature's less salubrious side. 

Wow, it has been quite the year for books that are filled with astonishing and inspirational figures - both from history and contemporary times...

It's not often we get to kick up a stink about a poo-based book, this one is 'turdally' brilliant though...

With a daughter at the age where there are so many different things to juggle all at once, books like this are absolutely vital...

They're not just for waving frantically at royal occasions, this book uncovers an amazing collection of facts about flags...

Quarto's fantastic non-fic range gains a new mechanical companion in the latest fab book in the "What on Earth?" range...

Out today and here to save your sanity! If you, like us, are having a tough time of finding things to do that don't chew through your budget in record time, you NEED this book!

There's something quite satisfying, even soothing about a trip to the seaside to indulge in some rockpooling / beach scouring...

We're actually very pleased to see a couple of new titles from QED, covering subjects that really don't get enough attention in children's non-fiction...

It's time for yet another stunning non-fiction title from QED Publishing, once again celebrating the amazingly diverse animals we share our planet with...

Space...the final frontier! We love delving into any new books that deal with space travel and exploration, and we're always looking for a new wrinkle on non-fiction titles that offer tons of brilliant details and facts.

QED Publishing has a brilliant new range of books that examine in fine detail the many ways we've devised to get around our planet - and off it too!

In the first title, "Legendary Journeys: Space" by Dr Mike Goldsmith and Sebastian Quigley we take a look at the history of space travel, right back as far as the first time humans looked up at the stars and asked themselves "What if we could go THERE!"

Though space history has been fantastically well documented in a whole range of children's titles, this is a really fabulous addition to their numbers, thanks to some innovative uses of flaps (YAY! Lift the flaps for OLDER kids really does work as a book mechanic, we've been saying so for ever!) and also some truly stunning pull-out pages, that really allow you to gauge the sheer scale of some of the rockets we've launched into space.

For example, the mighty Saturn V, the pinnacle of NASA's technology during the space race in the 1960s and 1970s, unfolds to show you all the various stages of the rocket. It's a majestic sight!

"Legendary Journeys: Space" by Dr Mike Goldsmith and Sebastian Quigley is out now, published by QED Publishing. 

Of course we're not just rocketing off into the inky blackness, how about something for those of you who prefer your transport a bit more down to earth?

"Legendary Journeys: Trains" by Philip Steele and Sebastian Quigley offers just as much detail as the space-going book, this time showing the history of the locomotive - from the very first chuffings of Stephenson's Rocket, forward in time to the mighty bullet train that can propel folk around Japan at speeds of up to 280 KM/H.

Again, the book features lots of flaps to lift and those same brilliant giant-sized pull out pages so you can see the WHOLE train, not just the engine!

It's a fabulous idea, and this book is so packed with intricate detail that any rail enthusiast should definitely add it to their collections.

I think the only minus point we found with both titles was that the pull-out pages take some care in handling, so these books wouldn't be suitable for younger age groups but 7 years up should be fine, and once you work out why the pages get a bit 'stuck' sometimes, you'll know to take a bit more care with them.

Both books are brilliantly written and gorgeously illustrated, and definitely show that there's plenty of scope for children's non-fiction titles to push the envelope just that little bit further to offer up books that really bring their subjects to life.

"Legendary Journeys: Trains" by Philip Steele and Sebastian Quigley is out now, published by QED Publishing. 

(Both books kindly supplied for review). 

The huge surge in interest in STEM subjects amongst children is a fantastic thing to see...

We're absolutely delighted to be able to pick a superb non-fiction "Book of the Week" this week, with an addition to the superb "50 things you should know" series...

Kids absolutely LOVE coding, it's the thrill of seeing something unfold before your eyes that you've had a hand in making.

Kids also really love the Scratch programming language, developed as a really user friendly way of beginning your coding journey by MIT Laboratories, and available as a free download for most PCs and tablets (you can find out more at scratch.mit.edu and get set up in no time at all).

Max Wainewright's books on coding are always fantastic fun, and he uses Scratch as the basis for a whole new set of coding adventures where YOU can be the hero.

In "Code Your Own Space Adventure" Max guides you through a superb set of challenges along with Major Kate, in order to save the Planet Zyskinar from certain doom.

You'll need all your wits about you, but there's tons of help in the book's fantastic and brilliantly laid out page spreads, with superbly zippy retro-style cartoon artwork from Henry Smith.

Uh oh, can you survive an asteroid attack? Major Kate is depending on you so get typing, shorty!

Theres more "Code your Own" adventure fun with a fantastic "Jungle" edition too!

This time you will crack codes and embark on a thrilling amazonian quest with Captain Maria - the quest to find the mythical Lost City of Gold.

The books are gorgeously presented, and superb for kids who are just beginning to want to write their own fun games and routines.

In fact there are so many different topics in the series (including "Knights" and "Pirates") that kids are bound to find one amongst the range that they'll enjoy.

"Code your Own Adventure" series books by Max Wainewright and Henry Smith are out now, published by QED Publishing (kindly supplied for review)

If there's one thing guaranteed to elicit a heavy sigh from Charlotte, it's the thought of maths homework. It feels like she has to do so much of it (at least three times a week) and though she's actually very good at maths, she absolutely hates it!

Don't let your eyes play tricks on you, this is a mind-bending and dazzlingly exciting book for kids (and adults) who love awesome visual trickery.

As our daughter grows up at what seems like a ridiculously rapid rate there are so many questions that my wife and I, as first time parents, have to field in the process of ensuring she has an awesome and happy life, stays safe and healthy and avoids some of the pitfalls of pre-teen and teenage life.

The two new titles from QED, "Growing Up: Girl Talk / Guy Talk" by former Teen magazine editor Lizzie Cross, with illustrations by Damien Weighill looked like they might be a huge help at first, but the more we dug in, the more we still think there's a gigantic gap in the market for something for middle graders.

At 9, Charlotte is still a bit young for the book which is advertised as covering the 9-11 age group though I'd probably say it's more suitable for 9-13 and definitely the higher end of that scale (again, with any age groupings in books there's a huge, huge range of diversity and granularity on what kids can cope with at certain ages and factors such as older / younger siblings, upbringing, cultural influences etc all contribute to that in their own way).

The books are fantastically presented for sure, with attractive and simple illustrations that really do suit the pitched age group perfectly. The issue there is that the often cartoonish style doesn't lend itself well when you start to discuss physiology, or if you want to go into a little more detail (without grossing kids out too much and becoming like a biology text book). So when you start discussing male / female private parts, a cartoonish approach falls a little short of what's required, particularly when the diagrams don't always correspond directly to what's being talked about in the text.

There's also a lot of advice here that feels like it's being delivered in more of an authoritative tone than perhaps it should be. My wife took issue with one section talking about shoes in the "Girl Talk" book for example, where flat-soled ballet pumps and Converse All-Star style sneakers were recommended over heels, when all three are actually fairly harmful to your feet in different ways (with no mention of getting shoes properly fitted) perhaps we're a bit over-sensitive to that issue as Charlotte has problems with her feet all the time).

There's no medical endorsement and the accompanying press release didn't detail whether the book was given the once over by a health professional, as it should have been as some of the advice tries to sound like it's more expertly informed than it actually is (though we'd be happy to put a correction in here if that WAS the case, certainly nothing in the book or the press seemed to indicate this and I couldn't find much more about the author to back that up either).

The tone of the book and the presentation is quite quirky, humorous and at times this is fine, at other times it grates when dealing with particular subjects that are serious and weighty. There's way more in the book than just talking about sex and sexuality (and there really needed to be something in here about the age of consent way earlier than page 36 surely?) A lot of this was completely lost on Charlotte because she's that rare thing nowadays, a kid who has no devices constantly to hand, and no online presence so most of the stuff about cyber-bullying, proper use of devices and the whole online smorgasbord of pitfalls took up more of the book than we needed. There is a bit more to the book than just sex and online stuff, but even Charlotte herself took a few fleeting looks through before declaring it was too old for her (and c'mon, what 9-11 year old needs advice on plucking hair or waxing?!)

I hate sounding negative about the books as they do set out with the best of intentions and their heart in the right place, but overall we came away disappointed, and felt that this book relied too heavily on anecdotal (though 'real life') cases and answers, a bit like seeking advice from a blog or magazine rather than something written by physical and mental health care professionals, professional counsellors or youth workers.

So our quest continues. We are still searching for that 'perfect' book that covers the sort of issues both Girl Talk / Guy Talk breeze through, but in more authoritative and detailed ways. If you think you know of such a book, please drop a comment below because we'd love to take a look at it.

"Growing Up: Girl Talk / Guy Talk" by Lizzie Cox and Damien Weighill is out now, published by QED Publishing (Kindly supplied for review). 

Fancy yourself as the next Elon Musk or Sir Tim Berners-Lee? Here's a fantastic book to inspire young inventors!

You'll get a buzz from this one, we promise...It's the fantastic "What on Earth?" series, this time focusing on "Bees"...

Wow, kids are getting into computers so much earlier these days...and it's not hard to see why!