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The STEM Encyclopedia of Wildlife Words: An Illustrated a to Z of 100 Animal Terms for Kids to Know by Jenny Jacoby designed by Vicky Barker

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 31 March 2026

Publisher: b small publishing limited
ISBN: 9781916851689

 

 
 
 
 
 
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An illustrated encyclopedia covering the top 100 animal-related words that children ought to know. Organised in alphabetical order with each term beautifully and humorously illustrated, the essential concepts will fascinate scientifically minded animal-lovers.

There is a contents list at the front and a full index at the back, plenty of extra words and definitions … plus fascinating facts. 

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Jenny Jacoby is an experienced and respected non-fiction author of non-fiction titles for children. Here are some of her other books:

 

The Unexplained: Ghosts by Adam Allsuch Boardman

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 22 Aug 2025

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“This book will be an absolute joy to read or browse and students looking for solid information will love it, either as a recreational read or as a starting point for research.” Youth Services Book Reviews

Whether it’s shadowy figures in dark hallways, objects that move on their own or unexplained chills in an abandoned place, ghosts have fascinated people for centuries. A bump in the night, the creak of floorboards and the uneasy coldness of a room has kept investigators and mediums asking one big question. Are ghosts real?

Explore the mysteries of ghosts in this graphic guide and decide for yourself – is there anything hiding in the dark?

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My Path by Jana Curll

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 14 Jan 2025
Indie Book of the Month Jan 2025

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Jana Curll is an art director and illustrator whose studio is nestled on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia (Canada) where she lives with her husband, two kids, and a massive long-haired black cat.

Every morning, a little snail sets off on their Path. There are mountains to climb, rushing rivers to cross and, sometimes, when the path ahead seems impossible, they need to ask for help. But as long as it feels like the right Path for them, this determined snail keeps going.

This inspiring journey shows that ANYONE can defy the odds and find their own unique way forward. My Path will help children choose their own special path . . . and keep going.

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Astrophysics for Supervillains – Supervillain Academy by Dr. Matthew Bothwell ill. Nathan Reed

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 9 Jul 2024

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Based on real questions from children, Dr Matt Bothwell — public astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy — has created the Supervillain Academy to teach astrophysics to middle graders.

Could you crash the Moon into the Earth?
If the Sun explodes, would we all get vaporised?
What’s the weather like on Mercury?

Discover the answers to these questions and many more at the Supervillain Academy, the magnificently morbid school for young bad guys-in-training. Facts about space are all well and good, but discovering that if you threw someone into a black hole, they would be spaghettified — stretched out long and thin before getting squashed smaller than an atom — is fascinatingly gruesome.

At the Supervillain Academy, readers will learn about the solar system, galaxies, the universe, and the answer to the question “Which planet is entirely populated by robots?” 

Entertainingly illustrated throughout by Nathan Reed:

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The Swing by Britta Teckentrup

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Dec 2023

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See also:
When I See Red
The Are Fish Everywhere
The House By The Lake
Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

“This not a picture book for the Kinderbox; this is a picture book to be offered to a wider age range, both young people and adults. It is a thoughtful book that could provide the basis for discussion. It is also a book to enjoy for its production, but most of all for Teckentrup’s paintings so full of heart, each and every one asking the viewer to stop, look, think and engage.” BfK 5-star review
“A beautifully illustrated book about the passing of time, with the swing at the centre on every page, as a place that is special, meaning many things to all the different people and generations that have used it.” JustImagine

Inexplicably overlooked earlier in the year (it was published in February), this is unquestionably one of the highlights of 2023.

A swing on a hill overlooking the water is at the centre of this lovely meditation on childhood, growing older, friendship and loss.

“The swing has always been in this place—ever since I can remember,” declares the narrator. “Here we stood together, looking out to sea, waiting for something to change. . . for something new, something exciting. But every day was the same.”

But as seasons change and years pass, things do change. Friends come and go, lovers meet and kiss, spring turns to autumn, and the swing set grows creaky with age. All of these changes are gorgeously communicated by Teckentrup’s signature collage paintings that employ soft, radiant colors and simple yet powerful compositions.

With its equally compelling text, readers of every age will experience time as a gentle but inescapable force, bringing about new experiences.

Born in Hamburg, Britta Teckentrup studied art and illustration at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London. She is an author and illustrator of numerous books and has received many awards. She lives in Berlin with her Scottish husband and her son Vincent. 

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The Sky Over Rebecca by Matthew Fox

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When mysterious footprints appear in the Stockholm snow, ten-year-old Kara must discover where they’ve come from – and who they belong to. They lead Kara to Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, and her younger brother Samuel. Kara realises they are refugees – from another time, World War Two – and are trying to find their way home.

The grief and loneliness that Rebecca and Samuel have endured is something Kara can relate to – feeling like you’re always on the outside looking in – and she finds herself compelled to help them. Through her eyes, we rediscover the magic that lies in the world around us, if only we have the courage to look for it.

Kara is a heroine for modern times: fragile but fierce, in this utterly compelling story from a stellar new voice in children’s literature, Matthew Fox.

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The Envious Siblings And Other Morbid Nursery Rhymes by Landis Blair

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Inspired by the dark imagination of Edward Gorey, Envious Siblings is a twisted and hauntingly funny debut. Comics artist Landis Blair interweaves absurdist horror and humour into brief, rhyming vignettes at once transgressive and hilarious. In Blair’s surreal universe, a lost child watches as bewhiskered monsters gobble up her fellow train passengers; a band of children merrily play a gut-churning game with playground toys; and two sisters, grinning madly, tear each other apart. These charmingly perverse creations take ordinary settings-a living room, a subway car, a playground-and spin them in a nightmarish direction.

“Cannibalism, gruesome death and the mistreatment of minors abound in this book, all illustrated in obsessively cross-hatched detail. The Envious Siblings won’t be to every young person’s taste, but those of a darker bent may find it grotesquely appealing, like a jack-o’-lantern that’s just started to rot.” FT

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Refugees by Brian Bilston ill Jose Sanabria

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ACHUKA Book of the Day Tue 10 Dec 2019

A poem by the ‘Poet Laureate’ of Twitter (one of those that can be read from the top down, and then again from the bottom up, with an entirely different meaning)  brought to life by Argentinian artist José Sanabria whose first English Language book this is.

Follow the illustrator on Instagram: https://instagram.com/josesanabriaacevedo

Waterstones

The Dictionary Of Difficult Words by Jane Solomon ill. Louise Lockhart

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ACHUKA #BookOfThe Day Tue 8 Oct 2019

Jane Solomon is an American lexicographer and she has compiled the most wonderful collection of strange and beguiling words. I love this book! It has words in it for all ages. I’m a cat lover but I didn’t realise that makes me an ‘ailurophile’.

There are words for our times: “kakistocracy” = government ruled by the worst people…
Words that will become instant favourites: “lollapalooza” a person or thing that is highly impressive…
Words to reserve for a special put-down” “ultracrepidarian” someone who has big opinions about things they know nothing about…

There are no very rude words and a commendable avoidance of patronising gutter humour.
“Vomitorium” is simply described as what it is, a passageway to a Roman amphitheatre.

It is splendidly designed and illustrated. One of the best non-fiction books of 2019. Do yourself a favour and hunt it out. 

Waterstones

White Horse by Yan Ge ill. James Nunn tr. Nicky Harman

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ACHUKA Book of the Day Wed 4 Dec 2019

Yun Yun lives in a small West China town with her widowed father and an uncle, aunt and older cousin who live nearby. One day, her once-secure world begins to fall apart. Through her eyes, we observe her cousin, Zhang Qing, keen to dive into the excitements of adolescence, but clashing with repressive parents. Ensuing tensions reveal that the relationships between the two families are founded on a terrible lie.

First published in the UK in 2014 and now re-released, the story was in fact written quite a bit before that and included in People’s Literature (China) in 2008.

Waterstones

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