Templar Publishing Book Reviews

I was contacted recently by Templar Publishing asking whether I'd like to review a couple of books from their catalogue. Of course with two avid little bookworms the answer was yes!

Templar Publishing is a leading UK children's publisher which was founded in 1978. They have an extensive backlist and sell their products in oer 25 languages in more than 50 countries.  One of their most well-known products is the Ology series which was launched in 2003 and has since become a global brand - comprising of seven core titles and over 15 millions copies have been sold to date.

I was sent five books to review - three books from a series called The Pony Detectives, Marvellous Maths and Pop-Up bugs. It was easy to know who was going to review what!

Pop-Up Bugs by Ruth Martin

Go on an adventure into the world of bugs and get up close to beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, dragonflies and butterflies. This fun pop-up book is ideal to share together, and inquisitive children will love discovering jaw-dropping facts about all things creepy and crawly. Definitely not a book for the squeamish!

This type of book completely appeals to my 5 year old. Full of colourful pop-ups, the book showcases some of the world's most amazing creepy crawlies in beautiful bright colours whilst detailing informative and interesting facts about the insects.  My son loves a book about bugs and little creatures and I think the pop-up aspect is one that would appeals to most children. The facts are in easy-to-digest chunks and the book can easily be picked up and put down which it means it's good for little children with short attention spans!  This book was a real hit in our house and I've caught my son reading it in bed several times - I like that the bite-size snippets encourage him into reading it on his own and he has learned lots about creepy crawlies!

Published March 2013, RRP £7.99

Marvellous Maths by Jonathan Litton

An interactive, engaging and exciting exploration of maths, from the invention of zero to the geometry of a donut! Clear, humorous text, bright illustrations and interactive novelties help explain topics including numbers, geometry, probability, transformations and statistics. The focus is on making maths accessible and exciting, so each topic has an investigation for young numbersmiths to try at home.

Getting children interested in maths has always been tricky so anything aimed at making it a little bit more engaging and fun is always of interest to me.  The book is aimed at 7 years+ however I've found that it's bright colours, fun pictures and pop-ups, pull-tabs and spinners have made it a great book to read with my 5 year old even if he doesn't always understand the concepts yet.  The book takes a look at both KS1 and KS2 maths and explains ideas clearly in simple terms that all children will understand. My 7 year old who is now in Year 2 has been using the book to reaffirm what she has learned about numbers in the past couple of years and has enjoyed looking forward to topics which she hasn't yet covered.  Both of my children have enjoyed looking at this book and I think we'll get use out of it for quite a while yet.

Published August 2013, RRP £14.99

The Pony Detectives

Saddle up for friendship, fun and intrigue in these detective stories with an equestrian twist. Four best friends stable their ponies at the same yard and spend every moment they have with their ponies and each other. But they aren't just good at jumping and showing - they're also great at solving mysteries! When local champion show-jumping pony Moonlight disappears just before the prestigious Fratton Cup competition, the girls leap into action, following clues and getting themselves into sticky situations as they solve the case of the missing pony. Includes illustrated pony tips.

The Pony Detectives is a series of chapter books, designed for girls aged 7+. The first book in the series is "Moonlight, Star of the Show" followed by "Scout and the Mystery of the Marsh Ponies" and "Puzzle the Runaway Pony". The stories are equine adventures with a mystery-solving twist.  Whilst the books have several chapters, they are not too long in length with each being about 200 pages which I have found is long enough to keep my daughter interested without her getting bored.  Something that really hooked my daughter in was the fact the series has it's own website http://www.pony-detectives.co.uk/  and she enjoyed exploring that after reading the first book. The books woud make the perfect present for any horse-loving girl and are good books for those getting confident with reading longer books.

Published April and August 2012, RRP £4.99

With thanks to Templar Publishing for providing these books for review.