Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: The Amazing Theatre of Physics GENRE: Juvenile Nonfiction, Science. SERIES: Science All Around Us, #2 PUBLICATION DATE: June 24, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated book about the real-life examples of physics in a city. Practical and informative. A great option for STEM enthusiasts in the middle-grade and teen age groups. This is the second book in the interesting STEM series titled ‘Science All Around Us’. It does an excellent job of enlightening children about the practical aspects of two of the most dreaded science subjects: physics and chemistry. I have already read two books from this series: Book One: The Awesome Physics in Your Home and Book Three: The Amazing Chemistry in Your Home . Book Two maintains the same level of quality, though set in a different environment. As the title indicates, this book leaves the ‘home’ setting and focusses on applications of physics in the city at large. I appreciate how the places chosen are the ones that children actu...

AUTHOR: Mimi May ILLUSTRATOR: Aniek Bartels GENRE: Children's Nonfiction Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: June 23, 2026 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book depicting one adventurous day in the life of a slug. Nonfiction that reads like fiction. Informative and funny. Needed a bit of tweaking in some textual portions. Some content might be tough to explain to the target age group. Could work for slightly older children who are interested in animals. Parents advised to read it first. This informative picture book begins by introducing us to Simon the Slug and with a labelled diagram explaining his anatomical features – very useful. I like how there’s a pronunciation key for the tough body parts. The main content covers one day in the life of Simon. Luckily (or unluckily) for us, Simon is having one heck of a day where he eats a lot, narrowly escapes being eaten, almost loses his head, meets another lovely slug to mate, nearly dries out, and so on, all within the timeframe of...

AUTHOR: Lenka Karpiskova GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, STEM. SERIES: Science All Around Us, #3 PUBLICATION DATE: January 27, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A fully-illustrated nonfiction work about how we encounter chemistry in our homes. Aimed at middle-graders and teens. Recommended. This book is a part of a series with three standalone books. I recently read Book One: ‘The Awesome Physics in Your Home’ and found it quite impactful and enlightening. But as Book Two was also about Physics (The Awesome Physics in Your City), I decided to change subjects and try Book Three instead with Chemistry as the focus. Kids are often told in school that cooking is the most common chemistry, but this book explains how chemistry in our daily lives goes far beyond the kitchen. Just as in the Physics book, the content is divided not by chemical concepts but by the parts of the house such as living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and so on. This ensures that we get a practical view of sev...

AUTHOR: The Amazing Theatre of Physics GENRE: Juvenile Nonfiction, Science. SERIES: Science All Around Us, #1 PUBLICATION DATE: June 18, 2024 RATING: 3.75 stars. A fully-illustrated nonfiction book for old middle-graders and teenagers about how we experience physics in our daily life. It covers the physics found in different rooms of the house such as the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, outside in the garden and the garage, and even in the house structure such as the roof and the chimney. This is not a beginners’ book, so it presumes a certain familiarity with basic concepts such as inertia, centre of equilibrium, friction, infrared colours, and so on. So it will be a good option for those who already know the fundamentals of theoretical physics but do not understand how frequently we encounter it every single day in everything we do, even in common tasks like walking and sitting, riding a bicycle to school, boiling water in a microwave, draining a bathtub, changing a channel wi...

AUTHOR & NARRATOR: Cory Doctorow GENRE: Tech Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 7, 2025 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An engrossing exposé on the enshittification of the internet and all its components over the last few years. Well-researched with substantial and concrete examples. Informative without getting too techy. Don’t be fooled by the cover; this is a serious and scary book. Much recommended. Canadian author Cory Doctorow has been an internet activist for more than twenty-five years. He has worked on digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics, among other themes, and has actively lobbied for liberalising copyright laws. Doctorow coined the term ‘enshittification’ in a blog post in 2022, to indicate the process by which online products and service gradually decay in quality until they are *shit*. While the concept was already being spoken of, his term caught on and became a widespread neologism, chosen as the ‘Word of the Year’ by The American...

AUTHOR: Victoria Grace Elliott GENRE: Graphic Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: November 30, 2021 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A graphical non-fiction exploring the development of popular desserts. Contains a good mix of history, pseudo-interviews, stories, and recipes. Quite comprehensive and entertaining. A tempting [pun intended!] read for those with a sweet tooth. 😄 If you ask various people what they consider the yummiest dish, chances are that a majority of the responses you receive will mention some or the other dessert. Even those of us who don't have a sweet tooth enjoy at least some dessert once in a while. Cakes, ice-creams, donuts, pies,… ( gulab jamun, kulfi, and kaju katli for my desi friends 🤤) – there is at least one dessert we like, if not love. But have you ever thought about how these desserts came into being? This graphical book aims to enlighten and entertain you at the same time on the scrumptious topic of desserts. There are eight chapters in this book, cover...

AUTHOR: Daniel Georges GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: September 15, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A lovely picture book teaching a much-needed lesson in today’s world. Great story, quirky illustrations, excellent life lessons. A standalone new entrant to the ‘My Crazy Stories’ universe. Recommended. Plot Preview: When Jimmy’s parents are going out for the evening, they leave him in the hands of a new babysitter named Ms. Cherry. Jimmy behaves wonderfully until his parents leave, and then unleashes his hidden side. With him flexing his speed and fearlessness and temper, Ms. Cherry has a tough time keeping up. But then, something happens and Jimmy is forced to question his attitude. The story is written in Jimmy’s first-person perspective. We are living in a material world, and we are raising a material generation because of our short-term thinking. Giving so many things to children – at times, even if they don’t need anything new – trains children to take...

AUTHOR: Jean-Baptiste Aubin GENRE: Maths PUBLICATION DATE: February 3, 2026 RATING: 5 stars! In a Nutshell: Exactly as the title states. A big book of everything pi. Fascinating and hilarious. Not at all dry. Totally enjoyed this book. If only math textbooks were like this! If someone had told me in my school years that I would relish a book about that infernal concept called pi π, I would have laughed right in their face! Not that I didn’t enjoy maths, but so many geometrical formulae involved the use of pi that it became a bugbear. I wish such a book had existed in my childhood. Pi is known to be one of the most enigmatic concepts in mathematics, even when humans (with the aid of computers) have unfurled its decimals to much more than practically necessary. This book seeks to shatter the dread surrounding this concept without sounding like a school textbook, and it is VERY successful in this endeavour. The uniqueness of the approach is that the content is almost conversational despit...

AUTHOR: Lisa Papp SERIES: Madeline Finn, #2 GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: March 1, 2019 RATING: Ten loud-yelps-of-joy stars! In a Nutshell: OMG, this picture book, y’all! I loved it so much! Amazing in every way – story, graphics, emotions, and message. The first picture book ever to make me cry. Much, much recommended! Second in the Madeline Finn series, but works as a standalone. Plot Preview: Ever since Madeline’s life changed after meeting Bonnie the library dog, she has been begging her mother for a puppy of her own. Mum has finally said “Yes!” Thrilled, Madeline and her mother go to the library to select one of Bonnie’s puppies as a pet. Instead, one of Bonnie’s puppies ends up choosing Madeline, and she happily names him Star. When Mrs. Dimple, the librarian and Bonnie’s owner, tells Madeline about animal shelters as being the other place where pets come from, Madeline and her mom visit the shelter. There, the little girl is distressed to see the lonely a...

AUTHOR: Jen White GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 21, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about the connection between art and science and how the two can work in sync. A good concept, but I wanted more from the execution. This might click slightly better for older kids than the targeted age group. Art and Science have long been considered distinct fields. However, there is plenty of science in art ( think colour combinations, geometric arrangements, spatial utilisation, structural knowledge of materials, and so on ) and plenty of art in science ( think botanical sketches, chemical bonds, engineering structures, architectural designs, and so on .) The commonality between the two is a fascinating topic, and hence, I was thrilled when I saw the title of this book. Unfortunately, though it gets some things right, it skips some foundational information and aims at a higher level. The book begins with some generalised statements about how both art ...

AUTHOR: Dan Nott GENRE: Graphic Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: March 14, 2023 RATING: 3 stars. A graphic novel revealing the workings behind three systems we use every day without even thinking about them or how they work: internet, electricity, and waterworks. The content gets a bit technical and dry at times. The scope of the topic is huge, so some parts feel rushed. In the electricity and waterworks sections, the focus seemed to be more historical than contemporary. The graphics are fairly simple, but this helps in keeping the focus on the text. Basically, informative on the whole, but doesn’t always succeed in making the proceedings fluid and/or interesting. Aimed at teenagers, though adults wanting to know more about these systems might also give this a go.

AUTHOR: Terri Tatchell ILLUSTRATOR: Ivan Sulima SERIES: Endangered and Misunderstood, #6 GENRE:Children's Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 8, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book focussing on the adorable axolotl. Cute story and illustrations. Rhythmic prose. The latest volume of the amazing ‘Endangered and Misunderstood’ series, and just as charming. Plot Preview: A young axolotl wonders how the world would be beyond his dark lake. When he sees a beautiful hummingbird flying above the surface of the lake, he gathers all his courage and asks her about the land that is unknown to him. The hummingbird decides that he can be trusted, and takes him around. However, as we all know, some of the creatures on land, especially the biggest two-legged ones, cannot be trusted. Will the hummingbird be able to keep her new friend safe? The ‘Endangered and Misunderstood’ picture book series always highlights at least one endangered animal that children might not know much about. T...

AUTHOR: Edward Brooke-Hitching ILLUSTRATOR: Oksana Drachkovska GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 9, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A collection of 365 trivia from assorted subject areas. As mindboggling and amazing as the title suggests. Some of the inclusions sounds too wild to be true, but they are. Much recommended! The title clearly indicates what this book is, but it also constrains the actual scope of the book. 365 – that’s the official count of entries in the book. But there’s a surprise at the end. Amazing – Well, the content is amazing, but it is too prosaic a word for such a fabulous collection. True Things – accurate enough. Every entry is true, even if it seems wildly wild! To read in bed – Again, valid. But such a limiter! The book can be read anywhere and anytime! Of course, the introductory note by the author does mention that while you can read the book anywhere, the best place to open it would be your bed. He justifies this though...

AUTHOR: Mike Rampton ILLUSTRATOR: Guilherme Karsten GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 14, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A Q&A-styled nonfiction for middle-graders. Contains some interesting questions and some equally interesting answers. Given the title, I expected the questions to be more whimsical and wacky, but these are far and few between. Informative. A good gift option if you are looking for a different kind of encyclopaedic book covering multiple subjects. Author Mike Rampton’s daughter once asked him a question he couldn’t answer. This simple incident led to a wonderful and worthy revelation – there are no silly questions. Thus began the ideation of this book, wherein the author noted more than 200 “silly” questions and the answers for each. I love that the book begins with two “silly questions” right on the title page, questions of which most book-loving readers would surely enjoy the answers. Questions are unfortunately not given enough...

AUTHOR: George Kirk ILLUSTRATOR: Ana Gomez GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: September 2, 2025 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a little girl whose head is buzzing with busy bees all the time. A clever metaphorical story on ADHD, though I suspect it might be a tad too deep for little readers. Fabulous analogy, but leaves a few things unsaid. Will definitely work better with discussion. Plot Preview: Little Bessie’s head is always buzzing with bees, and she has been perfectly okay with them. But when her granny takes Bessie to a new place… a school, Bessie notices that none of the other kids there have bees. She tries to force her bees inside her head, but the bees don’t like this and they rebel. Soon, Bessie’s head is bursting with bees, and they begin creating havoc at school. How can Bessie ensure that her bees behave at school? I absolutely love the metaphor of buzzing bees to indicate the constantly buzzing thoughts in the mind of a person ...

AUTHOR: Anthony Antoniou ILLUSTRATOR: Baptiste Amsallem GENRE: Children's Picture Book. PUBLICATION DATE: October 7, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a little boy and his big, biiiig problem. Written by a teenager about his experience with his own autistic brother, so there is a beautiful thread of hope, love, and determination supporting this story. Helpful and insightful. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: As the vacation is about to begin, little Noah is pondering over a big, biiiig problem: he wants to play with his younger brother Gabriel, but cannot. Gabriel is autistic and hence his brain functions differently. However, Noah is not one to give up. He tries a variety of fun activity options with Gabriel, but the result is never successful. Just when Noah thinks he might not be able to overcome his big, biiiig issue, he hits upon a big, biiiig solution. The story is written in Noah’s third-person perspective. This book was originally written in F...

AUTHORS: Alex L. Combs & Andrew Eakett GENRE: Graphic Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 13, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A non-fiction graphic novel detailing trans history from ancient times to contemporary times. Very informative and fairly well-researched. Contains many examples of historical as well as current-day trans people. Generalises some facts at times and gets a bit dry in the historical bits. But a good option for those who wish to learn more about the topic. While there are many labels about gender and sexual identities these days ( Sometimes, I feel like I can't even catch up with the existing ones before there's another new label in circulation! ), one label that has existed for quite some time now is "transgender". Though we now know that a trans identity isn't just "transgender" people, many of us don't realise what the term actually encompasses. Worse, a few of us dismiss "trans-ness" as a mental disease or ...

AUTHOR: Collins Kids GENRE: Nonfiction, Trivia PUBLICATION DATE: September 11, 2025. RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: As the title indicates, a collection of “curious facts” on a multitude of topics. Great for trivia lovers. The title tell you that the book contains “Curious Facts About Everything”. The tagline informs you that this book contains 1500 interesting facts to amaze you. The GR page indicates that the book is just 160 pages long. All this together tells you one key feature of the book: it’s a bit crowded. The book does contain 1500 facts. ( They are numbered, so we don’t need to actually count them to verify the claim. ) However, as the thin size of the book indicates, the facts are in a numbered list. Each page contains anywhere between 6 to 15 pieces of trivia. I am not sure if all the entries can be called “curious” in the sense of “strange” or “unusual”, but the compilation is interesting and meticulous. The content is listed topic-wise, taken from seventy-six points...