There's a lot to be said for the excitement that seeing a simple multicoloured balloon on the cover of a book can invoke.

Both my wife and I have "Keepers" from our own childhoods from Usborne's amazing selection of non-fiction books and we were delighted that they were still going strong when C first began to show a huge interest in non-fiction titles.

For me as a kid, it was always Usborne books that showed how things worked, the internal workings of machinery, or even how our weather systems worked.

My wife always liked the science stuff, in particular Usborne's amazing books about our bodies, from our brains to our bums.

As we began to gather newer books for C, we realised that Usborne had branched out quite a lot into fiction (including publishing some of the best middle grade stuff on the planet) but we were always drawn back to their non-fiction books, with high production values, stunning artwork and photography, and a ton of facts and interesting information crammed into each one.

So let's take a look at a few, starting with the one in the header of this article.

"The World of the Unknown: Ghosts" was republished last year after a hugely successful kickstarter campaign (which we enthusiastically took part in). These books were like catnip as a kid, nestling in the school library and always the books I made a complete bee-line for (as well as ghosts there were books about strange creatures and UFOs - things I was (and still am) obsessed with as a kid). After the campaign finished and the book reached eager hands, we were delighted to find we were actually in it!

"How Your Body Works" with awesome illustrations by Colin King is another family fave and one we've kept since we first nabbed a copy. This is the sort of thing that Usborne excel at, producing a book that shows the inner workings of our own bodies, the fascinating way that all the component parts fit together to make us who we are, and allow us to do the amazing things we are capable of doing.

It's a mark of the books that they speak in a language that's easily digestible by kids, yet doesn't talk down to them at all, making these absolutely perfect for use in school as well as at home (and I've lost count of the number of times our Usborne books have been hauled off the shelves for reference use with homework).

The family's passion for all things spacey is also well catered for.

Usborne's amazing range of books about space exploration, our solar system and beyond are always a draw - ranging from brilliant books for early years to get kids enthusiastic about rockets and spacecraft, astronauts and space stations, through to their titles for older kids that work for such a wide range of ages that they'll last you years.

"The Official Astronauts Handbook" by blog fave Louie Stowell, with a foreword by Tim Peake was a huge fave of ours too (mostly due to the girls being totally obsessed with Tim. We first got to know Louie from her work on various Usborne titles but she talks about and writes about Space with such a huge amount of expertise and knowledge that this book has been a real highlight of our blogging decade.

And of course Usborne cater for our other family obsession - art!

Usborne's art books do more than just inspire kids to learn all about famous artists throughout history, and their amazing work.

They encourage kids to dig out their best art materials and have a go themselves, with a series of titles ranging from reference books like "The Usborne Introduction to Modern Art" through to their more activity based titles, including their truly brilliant sticker books.

There are two publishers out there who set the highest standards in non-fiction (you'll learn about the other one tomorrow) and Usborne are one of the two, with an enviable range that stretches to just about any subject you can think of.

We've been delighted to cover so many of Usborne's amazing non-fiction books on the blog so have included a selection of our original reviews below.

Original Review Links: 

Celebrating National Non-Fiction Day today with our favourite "go-to" for Non-Fiction Children's Books - The mighty Usborne Publishing!

It's National Non-Fiction November! Celebrate with a trio of awesome Usborne books!

Back to School with a selection of brilliant new books from Usborne Publishing

Marking Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th 2015 with Usborne's Young Readers range

"The Usborne Book of Planet Earth" by Megan Cullis, Matthew Oldham and Stephanie Fizer-Coleman (Usborne Publishing)

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 17th October 2014 - "The Usborne Official Detective Handbook" by Various Authors, illustrated by Colin King (Usborne Books)

ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 6th November 2015 - "The Usborne Big Book of Rockets and Spacecraft" by Louie Stowell and Gabriele Antonini (Usborne Books)

British Science Week beings today - what better way to join in than with a crop of fantastic books!

The Usborne Art Book about Colour by Rosie Dickins, Ashok Roy and Desideria Guicciardini (Usborne Books)

The Usborne Outdoor Book by Alice James, Emily Bone and Briony May Smith (Usborne Publishing)

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 1st April 2016 - "100 Things to Know about Space" by Alex Frith, Alice James and Jerome Martin (Usborne Publishing)

Marking the 70th Anniversary of V.E Day with a look at Usborne's fantastic range of World War 2 history books

The Usborne Introduction to Modern Art by Rosie Dickins (Usborne Books)

100 things to know about Science (Usborne Publishing)

Write your Own Adventure Stories by Paul Dowswell and Paul Hoppe (Usborne Publishing)

Usborne Puzzle Series - Puzzle Jungle (Usborne Books)

Sticker Dressing - Shakespeare by Rachel Firth and Diego Diaz (Usborne Publishing)

Booky Advent Calendar Day 5 - Dec 5th 2013 - 100 Christmas Things to Make and Do by Fiona Watt (Usborne Publishing)

Fingerprint Activities: Animals by Fiona Watt and Erica Harrison (Usborne Publishing)

ReaditDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 28th August 2015 - "The Official Astronauts Handbook" by Louie Stowell and Roger Simo with foreword by Tim Peake (Usborne Books)

Usborne "See Inside" Series - See Inside Ancient Egypt by Rob Lloyd Jones and David Hancock (Usborne Books)

The KnowHow Book of Spycraft by Falcon Travis, Judy Hindley and Colin King (Usborne Publishing)

"All About Families" by Felicity Brooks and Mar Ferrero (Usborne Books)

Usborne "Look Inside: Your Body" by Louie Stowell and Kate Leake (Usborne Publishing)

ReadItDaddy's Ultra-Special Mega-fantastic 3rd Book of the Week - Week Ending 4th October 2019: "The World of the Unknown: All About Ghosts" (Usborne Publishing)

Cataclysmic Comic Making! We pit "Write and Draw your Own Comics" (Usborne) against "How to make Awesome Comics" (David Fickling Books) 

Out today - the fabulous "All About Feelings" by Felicity Brooks, Frankie Allen and Mar Ferrero (Usborne Publishing)

Two excellent titles to raise awareness of children's mental health issues in Mental Health Week 2019 (Usborne Books)

The Usborne Book of Drawing, Doodling and Colouring by Fiona Watt, Katie Lovell and Erica Harrison (Usborne Books)

Make some noise for three new titles in Usborne's timeless and endearing "Poppy and Sam" series.

in "Poppy and Sam's Noisy Train" by Sam Taplin and Stephen Cartwright get ready for a steam-powered chufftastic adventure with the twins aboard a big puffing steam train!

Kids can join in by pressing the noise button on each page, with lots of whoo-wooing, dogs barking and birds chirping to accompany your storytelling.

As with all the Poppy and Sam adventures, watch out for the duck, who can be found on each page!!

"Poppy and Sam's Noisy Train" by Sam Taplin and Stephen Cartwright is out now, published by Usborne. 

More creative kids can have even more messy fun with the next title.

"Poppy and Sam's Rubber Stamp Activities" is the perfect book for kids who are about to disappear to their grandparents for a stop-over at half term. A sturdy board-backed book has lots of space in it for a brilliant set of rubber stamps in various shapes (with of course a duck stamp, because you need a duck on every page, right?) with lots of colours to choose from to make your creations even more zappy and artistic!

Have fun with the twins in this creative little book, the perfect way to enjoy some peaceful crafting and creativity if the weather turns yucky.

"Poppy and Sam's Rubber Stamp Activities" is out now, published by Usborne Books.

After all that excitement it's time to settle down with some stories, and "Poppy and Sam's Animal Stories" by Heather Amery, Lesley Sims and Stephen Cartwright.

Love stories about your favourite pets and farmyard favourites? You've come to the right place as the twins learn all about different animals, the noises they make and what they like to eat.

This collection of ten different stories from Appletree Farm will surely delight little ones as they join Poppy and Sam on a set of animal adventures, with Stephen Cartwright's wonderful illustrations.

A brilliant book to wind down with at the end of a busy day with all that stamping and train-riding!

"Poppy and Sam's Animal Stories" by Heather Amery, Lesley Sims and Stephen Cartwright is out now, published by Usborne Books. 

(All titles kindly supplied for review)

Oh my, it's time for another one of those completely adorable "That's not my" books, and this time it's the turn of our antipodean kuji bears, the gorgeous koala!

"That's Not My Koala" by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells once again uses the same mega-successful touchy-feely tried and tested formula to deliver a nose-booping koala-powered experience like no other.

Little ones absolutely love exploring the textures in these books, with the simple story wrapped around bright colourful and bold visuals, perfect for tinies just developing their visual acuity.

Can you spot that hidden mouse? He crops up a lot, so keep an eye out for him too!

Utterly love these!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A trip down under for a distinctly antipodean version of the tried and tested book series, absolutely essential as your little ones' first book experience.

"That's Not My Koala" by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells is out now, published by Usborne (kindly supplied for review)

We can't help ourselves, we have such a soft spot for Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells' brilliant "That's not my" book range, and there's a new one out today.

Are you pink?

Do you like standing on one leg?

Are you partial to a shrimp sandwich?

Then step right up, today sees the launch of the truly brilliant "That's Not My Flamingo" !

These were some of the first books we read to C when she was an absolute tiddler, and though the library copies were always very well thumbed / drooled on, they were such a great introduction to books for her, and such a great way to start off that excitement and engagement that comes from turning each page and discovering something new.

Fluffy wings? Shiny beaks? Yep we love it to bits and we hope that this book range goes on forever, though now C is 11, she still loves these and half her enjoyment comes from trying to dream up new titles that Fiona and Rachel might not have thought of yet.

"That's not my Blobfish! His face is too squishy!" - Make it happen ladies :)

Sum this book up in a sentence: The very best book range for tiny tiddlers, introducing the excitement, anticipation and interaction that comes from sitting down with a great book from a very early age.

"That's not my Flamingo" by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells is out today, published by Usborne Books 

(kindly supplied for review with the world's greatest tote bag!)

May 13th to 19th 2019 is Mental Health Awareness week in the UK, and these two brilliantly timely books are absolutely essential for kids who may be coping with mental health issues themselves.

In "The Unworry Book" by Alice James and Stephen Moncrieff, children's worries and anxieties are tackled head-on with a series of awesome stress-busting tips, mind-calming activities and discussion exercises to help youngsters put their feelings into words and pictures themselves.

This is an absolutely brilliant idea, and one I wish we'd had when C was younger - as we spent a lot of time working out different ways to tackle her own anxiety issues - everything from a 'worry box' to worry beads and dolls.

Having a journal-style approach works beautifully though, as each of the topics discussed helps children to describe and draw out how certain things feel at times of stress or when they're feeling particularly anxious.

With a brilliant kid-friendly design, and lots of space for their own doodles, writing and ideas amongst the exercises, this is a book designed to help the healing process, for children and their parents to both work their way through in their own time and at their own pace.

"The Unworry Book" by Alice James and Stephen Moncrieff is out now, published by Usborne Books. 

For older children there's also "Looking After your Mental Health" by Alice James, Louie Stowell, Nancy Leschnikoff and Freya Harrison.

Again, designed for older children but actually invaluable for a wide range of ages, this book helps children to discuss and describe their feelings using friendly and practical advice, and written in a style that doesn't talk down to kids - but understands and addresses their mental health issues and needs in language they'll understand and not feel intimidated or patronised by. 

We love quality board books for tiny tiddlers, and we're taking a look at two more brilliant titles coming up from Usborne Publishing.

First is the latest in the mega-successful "That's not my" series from Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells

"That's Not My Mermaid" invites you on an undersea adventure with superb textured board-book pages to tempt little ones into a sensory experience with their first books.

Sturdy and beautifully presented, these books are always a total win with us - and we love recommending them to parents who are looking for a set of collectable titles to introduce their children to the joy of reading.

"That's not my Mermaid" by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells is out on 7th March 2019 published by Usborne. 

Out on the same date is another treat, this time for unicorn fans...

"Are you there Little Unicorn" by Sam Taplin is a brilliant addition to Usborne's "Little Peep-Through" books, again encouraging exploration, curiosity and interaction.

There are lots of opportunities for littlies to explore and enjoy the colourful illustrations and peep through sections in the book, and let's face it who DOESN'T love a book full of Unicorns?

Great fun for the tiniest of tinies.

"Are you there, Little Unicorn" by Sam Taplin is also out on the 7th March 2019, published by Usborne Books. 

(Both titles kindly supplied for review).

Can you believe that the fantastic "That's Not My" books are celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year?

Wow! These were amongst C's favourite books when she was the tiniest of tinies, and Usborne are rolling out the gold carpet with special sparkly gold-edged-page editions of their best "That's Not My" books - including the one that kicked it all off. "That's Not My Puppy" by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells.

Wee ones love the multi-textured and tactile pages, and the books are wonderfully chunky and long lasting - standing up to even the most ardent chewing (whether by puppies or kids!)

Absolutely essential for little ones getting into books for the first time, the range is now colossal so head over to the Usborne web site to see the entire range.

Sum this book up in a sentence: An absolutely brilliant first book for any child, and a brilliantly imaginative range of subjects to keep all kids engaged in their first reading experiences, happy 20th Birthday!

"That's Not My Puppy" 20th Anniversary Edition is out now, published by Usborne Books (kindly supplied for review).

Another awesome book from Usborne, this time with a non-fiction approach to learning more about our favourite insects. Bee kind, they're in decline!

Gosh, here's a series that takes us back almost ten years to when we first started exploring books for the first time together...

Wow, we haven't seen anything from Usborne for quite a while - but they're back with a fabulously diverse and beautifully constructed book full of positivity and a whopping big heart...

We're joining the 2018 blog tour for a book that's full of chaos, comedy and crazy aliens.

Author Matt (Compton Valance) Brown has put his considerable comic talents into "Aliens Invaded my Talent Show" coming soon from Usborne Publishing.

To celebrate the launch of the book we've handed over the reins of the blog to Matt himself to talk about his comedy influences, and all things alienesque.

Take it away Matt...!












Aliens Invaded My Talent Show! Blog: Comedy Influences

My new book, "Aliens Invaded my Talent Show!" is, I hope, the funniest book you will ever read about aliens invading a talent show. I have spent my whole life obsessing about funny TV shows and reading funny books and comics. To my simplistic brain, there is little in life as thrilling as the sight (and sound) of someone fall about laughing when you tell them a joke.

Comedy double-acts have always been my thing. For as long as I can remember I have loved watching partnerships like Laurel and Hardy, Morecambe and Wise, and Reeves and Mortimer. And, if I’m honest, I think that the aliens in Aliens Invaded My Talent Show!are my attempt to create my own double-act.

When I was growing up, I had two favourite comedy actors, Rik Mayall and Ade Edmundson and I watched everything they were in. And I mean everything; the Young Ones, Filthy Rich & Catflap, Happy Families, the Comic Strip, Bottom as well as a host of cameo appearances, charity performances and movie roles. If they were in it, I wanted to watch it. I loved the way they bickered and squabbled and fought with each other. They were sort of like Tom and Jerry but they made jokes about farting. So, when it came to creating my alien double-act, I looked to Rik and Ade for inspiration and found it in one of their earliest incarnations, the Dangerous Brothers. The way my aliens speak and act with each other is based on Richard and Sir Adrian.





Speaking of the aliens, I named them after one of my all-time favourite jokes. The joke involves the actor, Edward Woodward, who was famous when I was in school. Okay, here is the joke, and it is much funnier if you say it out loud. Go on, try it on someone…

Why does Edward Woodward have so many ‘w’s in his name?

Because otherwise he’d be Edard ooDard.

Why does Edward Woodward have so many ‘d’s in his name?

Because otherwise he’d be Ewar Woowar.

So, my head alien had the name E-Dard Oo-Dard because I LOVE that joke. In fact, in an early draft of the story, the other alien was called E-War Woo-War but it was quite confusing so he became Trevor instead.

In Aliens Invaded My Talent Show, the aliens visit Dreary Inkling Primary School to inspect the children, to see if they are worthy of life. They disguise themselves in “human clothes” and give themselves “human names”.





E-Dard Oo-Dard calls himself Mr Don O’Tenter after he sees a Do Not Enter sign but Trevor becomes known as Mr Watt-Watt-Watt-Watt after a misunderstanding.






This whole misunderstanding was inspired by a brilliant routine by Abbott & Costello called ‘Who’s on First’. Costello is trying to find out the name of the baseball player who plays first base but the name of the player on first base is Who.





About two months after I finished writing the book, this happened in real life. A footballer called Sanchez Watt was sent off for dissent after the referee thought he refused to give his name. Sometimes life is too perfect.



(Watch that Abbot and Costello clip below btw)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M&t=87s

Our second book of the week was pretty much a shoe-in for a BOTW win. How could we possibly resist "The Big Book of Rockets and Spacecraft" from Usborne...

"The Story of the Second World War" by Paul Dowswell and Ian McNee (Usborne Books)

Lilya Litvyak, known as "The White Lily of Leningrad" - a truly gutsy and fascinating female fighter pilot

"Sticker Dressing Second World War" by Lisa Jane Gillespie and Emi Ordas (Usborne Publishing)

"See Inside Your Head" by Alex Frith and Colin King (Usborne Publishing)

It's British Science Week, and from today until the 22nd March we're all abuzz with all things science-ey. Of course, as book bloggers we couldn't wait to check out some of the fantastic science titles for children that are currently available including a trio of fantastic books from our go-to publisher of choice for fact-packed fun ways to learn, Usborne Publishing.

Our first title particularly interested Charlotte as she loves lift-the-flap books - but the subject of this particular book is very close to home for us. Charlotte's mum has broad spectrum Epilepsy, so a book that delves deep into the way our brain works really can help answer a multitude of questions Charlotte has about the various things poor mum has to go through.

With over 70 flaps to lift, you can really peel back the layers of the brain and find out what it's made of, why it works the way it does, and what can happen when things go wrong. The book touches on the physiology of the brain, and psychological matters affecting the way we behave and perceive our world.

It's an utterly incredible book, fantastically illustrated (as you'd expect from Usborne) and with quite a broad appeal to a wide age range, a book that will be a valuable resource for your budding biologists to dip into.

The Story of Science by Anna Claybourne and Adam Larkum (Usborne Publishing)

Broadening our range a little next, we take a dip into "The Story of Science" by Anna Claybourne and Adam Larkum.

Mix history and science together in this fascinating look back at some of the groundbreaking discoveries made over the last few centuries, as you and your children learn how the world's most famous scientists theorised, experimented and discovered the secrets of our world and the universe beyond.

Tinged with humour, and crazy anecdotes, this is nevertheless a fact-filled book chock full of detail and will undoubtedly give your child plenty to investigate and enjoy. Like the rest of Usborne's non-fiction range, it's expertly presented and pitched at just the right level for children of Charlotte's age who are just beginning to touch on science subjects at KS-1 / 2, and beyond.

Last but by no means least for our look at Usborne's fantastic science range, let's head out into space (our favourite science subject!)

The Story of Astronomy and Space by Louie Stowell and Peter Allen (Usborne Publishing)

Superstar book peeps Louie Stowell and Peter Allen have pulled out all the stops for this next title, reaching out into the cosmos for "The Story of Astronomy and Space" - a book that was snatched out of my hands with a "Whoop!" by Charlotte before I could even get a look in (don't worry, I sneaked off with it and curled up for a good long read once she'd gone to bed - one of the perks of being a booky parent!)

With the clear skies we've been getting lately, and our recent trip to the Greenwich Observatory and Planetarium still fresh in our minds, it was great to read through this book, identifying some of the things we'd recently seen.

Astronomy charts help you and your children map the night skies, and if you're lucky enough to live somewhere where the light pollution isn't too bad, you can get a lot out of staring up at the night sky.

A fantastic book, you can tell Louie and Peter have a lot of passion for the subject at hand - and it's passed on perfectly in this wonderfully presented and beautifully illustrated addition to Usborne's superb science range.

We'll be catching up with more Science books as British Science Week continues - so stay tuned!

"Usborne Famous Lives - Anne Frank" by Susanna Davidson (Usborne Young Readers)

The Holocaust by Susanna Davidson (Usborne Books)

Usborne's "Spy Handbook" was essential reading when I was a wee whippersnapper dreaming of being James Bond. We recently re-read the updated and reprinted version, and it's still an absolute classic, full of awesome detail and packed with facts.

"The Usborne Official Detective Handbook" sets out its stall in a similar way to the Spy Handbook, in a handy pocket-sized format so that amateur detectives can flick through it while out on important cases.

It's a little-known fact that Charlotte quite fancies herself as a detective, and loves children's detective stories like The Famous Five and Hermelin - The Detective Mouse. The genre is seeing something of a resurgence so having a more fact-based handbook like this is a real boon.

Each section encourages would-be gumshoes to delve into the sometimes dark and often quite seedy world of detecting. Honing your observation skills, and encouraging kids to scope out a scene and pick points of interest, it's really smartly produced and illustrated (we expect nothing less from Usborne).

It's also one of those books that has Charlotte running up to me every five minutes to point out something new and cool.

Utterly essential stuff for your own little sleuths!

Charlotte's best bit: Reading body language and how nefarious types will change their hair or beards to disguise their appearance

Daddy's Favourite bit: I really really wish I'd had this as well as the spy book as a kid. Utterly fantastic stuff from Usborne!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Usborne Books)

Round 1 - BIFF!

Bottom Faced Fish Man - Stand upwind of him, he's a bit of a whiffer

Charlotte drawing Rainbow and Diamond

Round 2 - POW!

"The Lovely Mermaids vs Bottom Faced Fish Man" - The next zillion seller from ReadItDaddyMondoComics

"Wait a minute Daddy, you need to read a bit more, your character is RUBBISH!"

Charlotte busies herself making her lovely mermaids royally rock but who's that lurking in the corner?

Round 3 - Kra-KOOOM!

Hey, those farty stickers are very useful!

Bottom Faced Fish Man - does anyone have a breath mint?

Round 4 - Za-FOOM!

Charlotte spent a lot of time perfecting hairstyles but said "Why hasn't Neill's book got more girl hairstyles in it!" (Eeps!)

Some truly awesome drawing tips (I need them, Charlotte doesn't!)

Round 5 - The Verdict - Which book is best?

Our heads were spinning like Bottom Faced Fish Man's trying to choose between this pair of absolute crackers!