Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a fantastic non-fiction book which is packed with so much information about a range of topics. Although focused on ‘treasures’, this is interpreted into many different ways to places around the world, fossils and artworks. Full of incredible illustrations which depict the great treasures of the world, I love the way the information is presented alongside it. It makes it especially appealing to children, as they can visually see each place or object they’re learning about.

To understand more about how this book can be used in classrooms, as well what treasure actually means, I am lucky to have a Q&A from author, David Long, on the blog today!

Q&A with David Long, author of AMAZING TREASURES

Tell us a little about AMAZING TREASURES

I’ve tried to cover the widest possible definition of ‘treasure’, everything from buried gold belonging to pirates through priceless man-made objects such as ancient manuscripts, the Crown Jewels and rare cars, to marvels of nature such as polar ice and the Amazon rainforest which we’re only just now beginning to value. There are more than a hundred in all – something for everyone, you might say.

What makes the book different from other non-fiction books out there for 7+ year olds?

It’s a fantastically busy book with very detailed illustrations and such an incredible variety that I would challenge any child (or adult) not to find things in its pages that they find thrilling. It was such a joy to write and I hope that comes across when readers pick it up and flick through the pages.

How did you research the book and was there any specific criteria that you used when deciding what to include?

I’m very lucky. I get to write about the stuff I enjoy so I just picked 100+ things that I’ve seen or visited or touched or read about and found amazing did my best to convey the sense of wonder that I feel when I see things like these.

Did you uncover any fun facts that you didn’t previously know?   

Sure. I own a billion year old meteorite, a present from one of my sons, which turns out to be four billion years old; and the world’s oldest pages from the Koran were discovered in a drawer at my old university where they’d been lost for nearly a century. No-one had any idea.

What makes something a treasure?

Anything which is valued, I guess, for its beauty or its rarity or its incredible complexity or its historical importance. And precious certainly doesn’t have to mean expensive – or even for sale.

Who owns treasure?

In a very real sense we all do and I think it’s always better when  these things can be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible.  I love museums and as much as anything I’ve tried to create a museum of the whole world in a single book.

Do you have any advice on how parents/teachers can get the most out of the book? 

Let the children flick through the book first and find the bits which interest them the most. Use this as the basis of a discussion, and explore the ways in which certain treasures connect with certain other ones. Some of the connections are surprising – and children will find others I’d not thought of.

AMAZING TREASURES: 100+ Objects and Places That Will Boggle Your Mind by David Long, illustrated by MUTI out now in hardback (£14.99, What on Earth Books) 

If you like the sound of this book, buy it here: https://amzn.to/2ZhD9oy

Emily x

📚 Book gifted by publisher.