The theme for National Non-Fiction November 2024 is ‘Why Don’t You?’ which aims to stimulate discussion about hobbies and leisure activities and to encourage children to try something new. Neon Squid are a relatively new publisher whose aim is to create books that appeal to all sorts of children, from fact fans and visual learners to those who like to curl up with a good story. The two books I am reviewing today illustrate just how they are achieving this.

Become A Chess Champion: Learn the Basics from a Pro by James Canty III and Brian Lambert.

This entertaining book introduces children to the world of chess, talking them through the various chess pieces and how to use them. There are chess puzzles to solve, some interesting facts about the history of chess and famous players making this a great book to browse for pleasure alongside learning something new. James Canty uses a conversational tone throughout the text and starting with the basics moves gradually through to more complex stages of the game providing plenty of practice and clear explanations throughout. The illustrations by Brian Lambert incorporate additional information and each chess piece is given a character of its own with facial features, rather like a cartoon character, adding to the fun.

Become a Chess Champion is suitable for beginners but would also be helpful for anyone looking to develop their skills further. The adult members of my family enjoyed using this guide as a useful refresher course too! This would be a lovely book to give as a present and would be ideal for school use to support chess clubs or encourage beginners. It is well presented with a helpful contents page and a glossary making it accessible for the young reader of about 8+.

Secrets of the Ocean: 15 Bedtime Stories Inspired by Nature by Alicia Klepeis illustrated by Kaja Kajfež

This book is a winning combination of narrative and facts will have great appeal for young animal lovers. It is made up of a collection of 15 short stories each of which focuses on a different marine creature. The stories are followed by a factual explanation of each creature, ‘the science behind the story’, providing a biological snapshot of the creature they have just met. This is a clever approach giving the book a slightly different tone than a traditional nature study reference tool.

The stories include swimming iguanas, penguins, deep-sea anglerfish, albatrosses, dolphins, whales and sea turtles and feature both the creatures’ habitat and other creatures with whom they live. The narrative focuses on animal families and their behaviour which children will appreciate plus threats and predators, happily ending with escape. A younger child may enjoy listening to the stories for their own sake even if they do not yet have the reading fluency to read them independently.

The author, Alicia Klepeis has written over 200 books for children covering a range of subjects in both non-fiction and fiction and you may like to explore her other titles for differing age groups on her website here. Kaja Kajfež’s illustrations are beautiful bringing each creature to life on the page and the gold embossed cover of this hardback book is most appealing having a slightly traditional appearance. This, like the other title reviewed here, would make a good present for children.

I should like to thank the publishers, Neon Squid, and Malu Rocha for providing my review copies. If you are interested in exploring some more factual books for children from this publisher I have reviewed a couple here.