Start Small, Think Big - Mary Auld, various illustrators

Start Small, Think Big is a series that sets readers on a journey of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where you really have to think big!

From the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the Amazon rainforest to see a huge fruit falling from the tallest tree.

Inside is a little brown Brazil nut, surrounded by 20 others. It sits and waits for an agouti, a rodent with teeth so strong that it can free the nut from its hard casing. The story of the Brazil nut tree and the agouti is told clearly and carefully, with facts about germination, photosynthesis, seed dispersal. The narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding and the gorgeous illustrations bring the story and the science to life.

These are brilliant!

Look for yourself in these fab extracts underneath the images of these beautiful and fact-filled books:

Each book also comes with brilliant activity sheets to be used by readers (link underneath each text):

https://www.mamamakesbooks.com/activities-brown-nut

From the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the Arctic. What will hatch from the speckled egg?

The cute fluffy chick that emerges will grow into one of the most remarkable creatures on the planet – an Arctic tern. Learn why it is extraordinary by seeing her grow up quickly, learning to fly and feed on the wing. At two months old, she is ready to embark on her record-breaking migration from the top of the world to the bottom and back again – a journey she does every year of her life. Her story is told clearly and carefully in a way that builds understanding, and it ends with the 50 fluffy chicks she has in their lifetime.

https://www.mamamakesbooks.com/activities-speckled-egg

The Author:

Mary Auld is an award-winning writer of children’s information books, most notably How To Build an Orchestra with the London Symphony Orchestra. Mary Auld is a pen name for Rachel Cooke, former Editorial Director at Hachette and an honorary fellow of the English Association in recognition of her work in children’s non-fiction.

The Illustrators:

Anna Terreros-Martin is a young British illustrator and Masters graduate of the Cambridge School of Art. Her first books When Mummy/Daddy Goes to Work (Templar) were published in 2021.

Dawn Cooper is a talented British illustrator with a passion for nature. Her recent books include Insect Emporium and Ocean Emporium (Egmont) and Up Close (Wren & Rook). She lives in Bristol, England.

The Publisher:

https://www.mamamakesbooks.com/

Links to the books:

https://www.mamamakesbooks.com/books/p/little-brown-nut

https://www.mamamakesbooks.com/books/p/small-speckled-egg