I would like to begin with a huge thank you to Love books tours and Buster books for allowing me the chance to read and review this fabulous children's book. I was sent a physical copy of this beautiful book in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Blurb
A colourful and comical tour through history from cartoonists Mike Barfield and Jess Bradley.
The hilarious minds behind A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You have teamed up once again - this time to give a taste of the daily lives of the people, animals and objects who made history.
Featuring a day in the life of early humans as they paint mammoths on the walls of a cave, a fierce gladiator battling in the Colosseum and the first woman in space. And not forgetting the animals of history - from an Egyptian cat (worshipped as a god, of course) to an albatross flying over Rapa Nui and a dog in the trenches of the First World War.
Readers can also discover the stories behind famous constructions, including the Great Wall of China and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and delve into the secret diaries of a Viking, Isaac Newton's cat and the wooden panel that became the Mona Lisa.
With over 90 entries told in the friendly, informative style of Mike Barfield and brought to life by Jess Bradley's brilliantly funny illustrations, this book will have children learning and laughing as they go.
My thoughts
This was such a clever book to engage and inform children of many aspect of history. The book is told in Chronological order, starting with Neanderthals and moving through many important moments in history. It is told through comic book cartoons, with lots of humour and fun facts throughout.
I loved that it gave information in such original ways, for example A day in the life of a Munmun pot or an Egyptian cat, or even bacteria. History was described through the point of view of different characters living and non-living! Such a great way to keep children interested and learning without realising it!
The illustrations were colourful, fun and vivid. The addition of world maps as well as cartoon comics was a lovely touch.
Overall I think this was a great book and will serve to educate and entertain many children about important aspects of History. I highly recommend it and willl be adding it to our schools library!
Author Bio
Mike Barfield is a writer, poet, performer, songwriter, ukulele player and cartoonist. He has written extensively for TV and radio - with credits as diverse as Spitting Image, The Dennis the Menace and Gnasher Show and five years on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. His cartoon feature Apparently has appeared in the pages of Private Eye for over 20 years, and his drawings have been on display in the Cartoon Museum, the V & A, the Museum of London and Nigella Lawson's downstairs loo.
His Destroy This Book series (published by Buster Books) has been sold around the world, starting with the Destroy This Book In The Name of Science!: Einstein Edition 2017. The Galileo and Brainiac editions were hot on its heels, and Destroy This Book in the Name of Maths and Destroy This Book in the Name of Art are both on the horizon. All of them are unique activity books where the reader doodles on, colours, and cuts up the pages, making over a dozen amazing working models in the process! Every page, including the cover, is an interactive experience - as well as being huge fun!
Mike is also the author of a series of hilarious random insult making books published by Laurence King. 'The Ultimate Insult Generator' (aka The Ultimate Wisecrack Generator' in the USA) was a huge Christmas hit, and will be followed this September by 'The Ultimate Spell-caster' - more fun, but with a Halloweeny-feel.
Mike is also the author of a fact-filled, funny and beautifully illustrated children's guide to the Periodic Table -'The Element in the Room'. With drawings by up-and-coming illustrator Lauren Humphrey, the book encourages readers to hunt for the elements hiding in their homes, in the company of scientific detective Sherlock Ohms.
Mike has a first-class degree in botany and zoology from King's College, London, and his ever first book many years ago was also a children's science title - a tie-in for the ITV kids' science series Panic Station. His second was the Oldie's Dictionary for Our Time. He also edited the last great Beachcomber collection: 'Cram Me With Eels!'. His comic dictionary This Septic Isle was published by Ebury.
He has five poems in the children's poetry selection When Granny Won Olympic Gold, edited by Graham Denton. He has only one poem in the poetry collection, Best of Enemies, Best of Friends (compiled by Brian Moses) but they did at least put it on the cover. His most recent published poetry can be found in the collections A First Poetry Book by Pie Corbett and Gaby Morgan, and Is This A Poem, by Roger Stevens. Both highly recommended for use in primary schools.
He still cartoons for Private Eye, writes and performs poetry and comedy, often to the accompaniment of a ukulele. He also invented squirrel fishing.
He can easily be persuaded to give a very entertaining talk about his multifaceted career, and is best approached through his website at www.mikebarfield.co.uk
Oh, and perhaps uniquely, he also presents a clicking, clanking circus of clockwork toys. Who else on Amazon can give you all this?
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