Oooh, two of our favourite things combined in a brilliantly presented and seriously absorbing new book from DK? How could we resist!

Food and Science meet with a pop, and a fizz in "Science you can Eat" by Stefan Gates.

Stefan is a brilliant host in this amusing and utterly fascinating look at our food, and the way our bodies work with it, combined with a ton of awesome recipes and experiments to keep you and your little ones busy in the long summer hols.

We busied ourselves getting right down to the nitty gritty of trying out some of the experiments in this book. Spit and custard? OK We did skip that one, as it sounded a little bit too gross - but learning how our saliva works on our food to make it easier to digest was actually one of the more interesting bits of this book.

We also found out why popcorn pops, why Space Dust fizzes and explodes on our tongues, and - er - why baked beans make your trousers trumpet!

Let's have a look inside this fabulous book!

Our tongues are amazing. Not just for poking out at your teacher or politicians, they're amazingly sensitive to a whole range of flavours and tastes

Stefan's easy style of writing completely captures children's imaginations, and science experiments you can do at home with just a few simple things really make this a complete winner of a book when the kids plaintively cry "We're bored! Find us something to do!"

Yeah we always cry when we slice an onion because we think about all their little onion brothers and sisters missing them. SOB!

The real science behind some of the amazing facts in the book is introduced in a kid-friendly but not dumbed-down way, so you'll come away with a whole gamut of knowledge about food and how we process it. Did you know, for instance, that there really is iron in cornflakes? There's a great experiment in this book to prove it to you!

We all scream for ice cream!! Yum!

As you'd expect from DK, this is a beautifully presented and visually impressive book. Wear a chef's hat AND a lab coat for the proper effect while digging into a ton of amazing experiments that will wow and stun in equal measure.

Sum this book up in a sentence: The perfect book for the long summer hols, round up your pet adults and get busy with a ton of fabulous food-based experiments to tantalise your tastebuds and stimulate your brain!

"Science you can Eat" by Stefan Gates is out now, published by Dorling Kindersley (kindly supplied for review). 

Today on the blog we're taking a look at a selection of titles from the truly gigantic range of amazing non-fiction books from Norfolk-based independent publishers Booklife Publishing.

Booklife got in touch with us to see if we'd like a look at some of their new books for 2019, and we jumped at the chance as their range ticks all of the boxes for features we look for in quality non-fiction, covering a huge age range and a truly diverse set of topics to suit all tastes and curiosities.

Kids love non-fiction books that not only work in school, but are equally fun to read through at home and the first we looked at in the range definitely qualifies.

"Plastic Panic: Polluted Planet" by Robin Twiddy, designed by Drue Rintoul is a fascinating and quite horrifying look at the rise in use of single-use plastics, and the terrible impact they are having on our planet.

Using a really neat mix of fiction and non-fiction, Robin tells the story of a time-travelling hacker who manages to contact a kid from the present-day to warn them of the horrific impact our love affair with plastics has had, and continues to have as we struggle to cope with the vast quantities of lethal toxins leaking into our ecosystem from the use of them.

Beginning with a history lesson of how we came to use the first plastics, through to some pretty mind-bending facts and figures about how big this problem has become, the emphasis is on giving kids the vital information they need about the issue itself, and what they themselves can do to help out Terry, the future time-traveller whose world is in ruins because of our folly.

Designed for KS2 Science (Text Level 7-11) this is a thoroughly absorbing and impactive title that's absolutely timely for issues that kids today are not only facing, but are beginning to protest about and do something about themselves. This really is absolutely brilliant stuff.

"Plastic Panic! (Polluted Planet)" by Robin Twiddy and Drue Rintoul is out now.

We love books about space, so our next two titles are absolutely cosmic!

"Sty in the Sky Guide to Space Shuttles" is piggin' brilliant, a humorous yet informative look at our innovations in space travel, presented by a charismatic astro-pig!

Designed to enhance Science subjects for KS1 stage (Text level 5-7) you'll find out tons of interesting information about NASA's innovative reusable Space Shuttle as well as interesting snippets of info about today's spacecraft, and how huge powerful rockets are helping us explore beyond our own home planet.

We loved the mix of fun and non-fiction in this title, with excellent discussion points to stimulate classroom activities around space science and just great fun to read at home too.

"Sty in the Sky Guide to Space Shuttles" by Kirsty Holmes and Danielle Rippengill is out now.

More astronauty antics in our next title, again heading out into the inky blackness of space...

"STEM in our World: Space Technology: Landers, Space Tourism and More" is another fantastic and informative look at how science is assisting our quest to explore our Solar System and beyond.

Again using a mix of fiction and non fiction, our guide for our journey around space science is Professor Tess Tube (I know, I know, right?) and joining her STEM school, you'll find out tons about all aspects of space exploration, science and even space tourism!

Find out what it's like to live in zero gravity, or what it cost the first space tourist to take a jaunt on a Russian rocket.

With a great mix of informative text, fab illustrations and stock photographs, this is another brilliant title for KS2 (Text level 7-11) to compliment lessons based around technology, science and of course space.

"Space Technology: Landers, Space Tourism and More" by John Wood and Dan Scase in the "Stem in our World" range is out now.

Last, but by no means least, who can resist a scatological science book! Well, no one really, not even C!

"Why do I Poo?" is a fun and somewhat stomach-churning yet informative look at our bodily functions as part of the "Why do I...?" range.

From smelly poos to dribbly goos, bloody squirts to growing spurts: bodies are amazing - and disgusting!

Nothing to do with cartoon dogs, this one - but how would you feel if you found yourself suddenly downgraded in the intergalactic importance stakes...?

This week's first Book of the Week makes science fun, and engages children in a whole stack of groovy experiments using ordinary household objects. Steve Mould's awesome "How to Be a Scientist"...

What a fantastic idea! A book full of fizzing whizzing science experiments based on one of our favourite Roald Dahl books! You bet we're in!!

If there's one thing we REALLY love, it's a book that brings out our inner Magnus Pyke (younger readers are now frantically googling that name and are probably cackling with glee at the YouTube videos of our fave nutty professor in full swing).

"This Book Thinks you're a Scientist" has been compiled in conjunction with The Science Museum, drawing on some of the brilliant exhibits and experiments in their innovative exhibitions.

Any science book worth its salt can carry across its themes and messages by encouraging you not to just read about cool science, but do some very cool science experiments yourself!

That's why this book encourages you to imagine, experiment and create with a ton of really fantastic ideas and ways to use the book to do some practical demonstrations of the theories shared in this fascinating tome.

Experiments involving ice cream and chocolate? WHERE DO I SIGN?

Most of the experiments can be done with simple household supplies (but don't be afraid to raid the recycle bin for a few extra bits - with parental permission of course!)

We're almost reaching our tipping point with this experiment!

Awesome science, awesome presentation and illustrations and tons to do. Yep, that's just how we like our science books...!

Why do I keep humming Pink Floyd tunes whenever I see this page?

"This Book Thinks you're a Scientist" is out now from Thames and Hudson. 

Charlotte's favourite bit: Making awesome paper aeroplanes that soar and stunt

Daddy's favourite bit: Exploring colour theory and coming up with daft names for paint shades.


(Kindly sent for review by Thames and Hudson)

Glorious rhymes, groovy illustrations and a crazy but cool lady scientist? Oh I think we're going to like this one a lot...

Our second book of the week is something we've been hopping up and down in anticipation of seeing and here it is! The amazing "The Usborne Official Astronaut's Handbook" by Louie Stowell, Roger Simo and Tim Peake!

How does your brain work? How does your brain control your body and relay information from your eyes and ears? A fascinating look at the science of thinking and feeling in "Brain Twisters"