The Beatles by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

Review by The Mole

Beatlemania started in 1963 and lasted just 7 short years but the legacy lives on today. At a recent pantomime there was an audio soundtrack running of just Beatle tracks and our 16 year old was surprised that what she was listening to and enjoying was the Beatles. One wonders how many more generations will go on to enjoy music from that short era.

This picture book, because it's difficult to ignore the fact that that is what it is, tells a very complete - if somewhat abbreviated - story of the origins of the Fab Four and their meteoric rise to fame. There are no photographs in this book - it is all original artwork - and the layout and presentation will appeal greatly to younger readers but the content and concise factual presentation will also appeal to fans of the group from their 1963 origins.

The format makes it a book to either 'dip into' for 20 minutes or just to sit down and read  - getting lost in nostalgia and being drawn down memory lane, forgetting the book a while.

A really beautiful book covering the lives of these seemingly 'normal' youngsters - although I never changed my trousers at the bus stop!

Publisher - Frances Lincoln
Genre - Picture Story Book, Non-fiction, biography

Buy The Beatles from Amazon

The Secrets of Stonehenge by Mick Manning and Brita Granström

Review by The Mole

Stonehenge has captured the imagination as long as man can remember - long after he can remember what it was built for. This book contains no new answers about it but does look at what is known, what has been deduced and what the stories surrounding it's history are. From calendar to worship, from legend to alien landing site - there seems to be little that hasn't been considered about it's origins and all are mentioned here.

The stones originate from outside the area and the book talks about where they came from and how they could have been transported. It talks about the construction techniques that may have been used and the people who may have built it.

Throughout it talks in a positive, non-contradictory way but also without dogma and this subject is so controversial to so many that avoiding dogma is a big plus in this book's favour. It also goes back in history to before the henge we see today and shows what excavations have revealed about the site before.

Couple this history with cartoon like drawings and historical asides this book is a great asset for children to learn from.

Maryom described it as "Fun, colourful introduction to one of Britain's most enigmatic monuments" - yes, it's that too.

Publisher - Frances Lincoln
Genre - Children's, non-fiction, history

Buy The Secrets of Stonehenge (English Heritage) from Amazon