Book Review: Wild Symphony by Dan Brown

 Title: Wild Symphony

Author: Dan Brown

Publisher: Puffin

Wild Symphony is an interactive picture book by Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code. Through 20 short poems in this picture book, Maestro Mouse invites young readers to meet a series of animals who have lessons to impart and a symphony to perform. Each spread also includes life lessons reinforced by a short message (often on a banner or signpost held up by Maestro Mouse, who introduces the story on the first page) drawn from how animals face their own challenges and anxieties.

Brown has composed poems made of three to eight rhyming couplets, each line with four strong beats, to introduce the animals who will be revealed in the final double gatefold as the players in an all-animal orchestra to be conducted by Maestro Mouse. The book, as such, introduces kids to orchestral music. There are various instruments named in the book to pique the interest of young music lovers.

This picture book is fully interactive with a smartphone app that plays each character's signature song. The music is part of a symphony the author composed and that's played by the Zagreb Festival Orchestra.

In the book there's also a hidden game involving search-and-find puzzles—a bee that appears somewhere in every scene, and letters that form anagrams of instrument names—and a final coded message from Brown in his author’s note. This book brings music, animals, instruments, and word searches all-in-one.

Susan Batori’s cartoon illustrations are whimsically engaging and absolutely gorgeous. Each page is like a colorful palette to be enjoyed by kids.

Dan Brown has always been a storyteller. Fascinated by rhythms and riddles since age three, Dan loves to share stories through books, music, and poetry for bookworms big and small. Dan is the author of numerous #1 international bestsellers – including the worldwide phenomenon The Da Vinci Code. Wild Symphony is his debut picture book. Dan lives in New England with his yellow lab, Winston.

Susan Batori lives in Budapest, Hungary, with her soulmate, Robert, and her cat, Kamilla. She studied graphic design at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. Since 2013, Susan has been a freelance children’s book illustrator.

Amazon * Website

I'd like to thank the publisher for letting me review the book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and happy reading!

* I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in. wildsymphony.com

Book Review: Unlocking the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking

Title: Unlocking the Universe

Author: Lucy and Stephen Hawking

Publisher: Puffin

Lucy & Stephen Hawking’s ‘Unlocking the Universe’ is a space buff’s bible written keeping in mind young and enthusiast readers. This book is actually a compendium of Stephen and Lucy’s series of children’s books, which was a global hit.

In this book, complex science has been presented in an engaging manner for young minds. Though aimed at children, it’s suitable for all age groups. It aims to describe various aspects of the universe in a manner that is accessible to children and others new to the topic.

The book is divided into seven parts, each explaining a different aspect of space science. Each topic in the book is in the form of an essay, of which some are framed as a story. These essays are from various scientists and cover a wide range of topics from relativity and black holes, particle collision, life on Mars, and the historic moon landing, to flat earthers and science deniers. 

Some of the chapters are written as explanations while others have an imaginative slant. But every piece is informative and true to science. A part of the book is dedicated to the future with descriptions of the fun of creating robots and the interesting problem of what to do when they run out of power.

To make the book more interesting, there are illustrations as well. Most of these illustrations are in black and white, with some colour photos in the middle of the book. The book also includes graphs, timelines, and pictorial depictions of various concepts.

The book is easy to read and the language is also coherent. There is minimal use of technical jargon with a glossary at the end of the book as well as quick search index for various concepts. It definitely engages while being informative.

An excellent book that will do wonders to raise enthusiasm for science among young and old readers alike.

STEPHEN HAWKING was a brilliant theoretical physicist, generally considered to have been one of the world's greatest thinkers. He was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and is the author of A Brief History of Time which was an international bestseller. His other books for the general reader include A Briefer History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universe, The Universe in a Nutshell, and Brief Answers to the Big Questions.

He died on 14 March, 2018. 

LUCY HAWKING is a children's writer, the co-creator of non-fiction compendium Unlocking the Universe and the George fiction series, with her father Stephen Hawking. Lucy is a former journalist, having written widely for British newspapers, and she gives regular talks about science and stories to audiences all over the world.

Amazon.in

I'd like to thank the publisher for letting me review the book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and happy reading!

* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in