Non-Fiction books have the power to inspire kids, and our Book of the Week this week is from a publisher who fully understands how to get the best out of their creative teams to put together the most amazing, immersive and engaging books.

"Amazing Islands" by Sabrina Weiss and Kerry Hyndman is indeed amazing, taking us across the globe to island habitats and a glimpse at how we humans co-exist with fabulous flora and fauna.

Sabrina and Kerry take us to 100 different islands, each with their own diverse and unique environments, weather patterns and of course creatures and plants.

Imagine an entire island populated by fierce (Komodo) dragons, or islands comprised completely of shells, or the finest sand, the darkest volcanic rocks and even human habitats that have long been abandoned yet taken over by nature once more.

This is stunning stuff, we loved leafing through this, imagining what it would be like to be able to visit these places ourselves before they disappear for good (the book does not shy away from talking up ecological / environmental issues but does so without making the subject dull or boring for kids).

Utterly brilliant.

Sum this book up in a sentence: a truly stunning natural history book showing just how amazing our planet is, and how islands across the globe are home to some wonderful lifeforms we should protect and preserve.

"Amazing Islands" by Sabrina Weiss and Kerry Hyndman is out now, published by What on Earth Books (kindly supplied for review). 

There's a clear and present danger in children's publishing, that emerging trends flood the market to such an extent that kids immediately switch off.

Sometimes it's a trend that is well meaning, nay planet-saving, and vitally important for children to engage with and take up the cause of - and it's nice to see What On Earth Publishing doing something amazing and different with a subject that has been (well meaningly) flogged to death over the last couple of years. We've come to expect no less from this plucky indie, they have a knack for this kind of stuff and they also have a knack for taking up residence in our "Book of the Week" slot too.

So "Planet SOS" by Marie G. Rhode may have caused a moment or two of eye-rolling with Little Miss when she saw it, until we started to look inside and became completely wrapped up in the way the book mixes 22 real-world threats to our amazing planet in a pseudo-mythological way that instantly makes it appealing to a wide audience age.

Marie's genius idea pays off beautifully within the first few pages of the book, as she reimagines planet-threatening ecological nasties as real and actual monsters, twisting and wrapping their nefarious coils around our world.

Let's take a look at a sample page...

Twisting, turning, choking - the all-encompassing road snake and its mythical counterpart from viking legend

A while ago I remember talking to a (slightly bemused) commissioning editor about fictional non-fiction, devising ways to produce a non-fiction book that uses storytelling and fictional elements to get its point across and this is one of the best examples of the sort of thing I meant.

This is such an original and fascinating approach, and the whole thing is really beautifully presented. If you find that your own kids, or your own classes at school are groaning every time they hear or see anything about climate change or ecological disaster, this book might just change their minds and bring them back around in a fantastic way.

Sum this book up in a sentence: Mixing real-world climate threats with myth and legend is an utterly genius idea and this book is one of the most impressive titles on the subject we've seen to date on the blog.

"Planet SOS" by Mafie G. Rhode is out now, published by What On Earth Books. 

Animals are amazing, and it's easy for kids to sometimes assume that their senses work in exactly the same way ours do.

But when it comes to a sense of smell, that vital sense can mean the difference between life and death, food or starvation so in "Nose Knows" by Emmanuelle Figueras and Claire De Gastold, prepare yourself to sniff out a ton of amazing facts about animal schnozzes!

In this fun flap-filled book, you'll learn how smell plays a key role in the lives of animals and shapes their behaviour and relationships. 

Step back in time, way back in time to find out all about how our earth was formed - and how the most amazing lifeforms began to emerge from the slime and swamps of our primordial world.

"Prehistoric: Dinosaurs, Megaladons and other Fascinating Creatures of the Deep Past" by Kathleen Weidner Zoefeld and Julius Csotonyi stretches a curious gaze back to a time when truly mighty and magnificent creatures stalked the planet.

This is the perfect book for dinosaur lovers, stopping in frozen ice ages, lush prehistoric rainforests, and ancient oceans along the way.

Bold illustrations allow children to discover fascinating creatures, including hungry dinosaurs and enormous mammoths. 

Great Scott!! What On Earth Books are producing some truly amazing non-fiction titles at the moment, and this one's so good that we just had to slap a "Book of the Week" award on it.

"Humanimal" by Christopher Lloyd and Mark Ruffle is one of those books that makes you think long after you've closed the covers.

So you think you're special? You think, as a human, that you're the only animal on the planet capable of displaying intelligence, empathy, sometimes even love?

Think again! In this fabulously presented book, Christopher takes us across the planet on a whirlwind tour of the many amazing animal species that display behaviour that we sometimes think is entirely unique to humans.

For example, some ape species such as Bonobos clearly show behaviour that looks like an empathic response to a situation (for example, if one of their troop is injured, often they will stay around as long as possible to try and help, or to soothe their troop mate's wounds).

Caring creatures. Animals that clearly show empathy, even love for their troop mates and siblings

Even the blue footed booby seems to do this, older stronger siblings looking after and feeding their weaker smaller sibs when food is scarce.

The book really does open our eyes to the natural world around us, and will really make children consider how important it is to protect endangered species, and treat all animals not just as our dumb cohorts on this ball of mud, but as sentient and intelligent creatures in their own right.

The Leader of the Pack can sometimes take a rest and others will fill in for them.

Christopher's simple but effective text explains how 'human' our animal friends can seem, and Mark Ruffle's gorgeous and effective illustrations help to bring those animals brilliantly to life in each page spread.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A brilliant look at the way animals display behaviour that we consider is unique to humans, brought to life with simple but effective text and gorgeous illustrations.

"Humanimal" by Christopher Lloyd and Mark Ruffle is out now, published by What On Earth Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Great Scott! This is a book that really does feel like it's packed with absolutely everything...!