START SMALL, THINK BIG SERIES
EACH BOOK COMES WITH SUPPORTING FREE, PRINTABLE WORKSHEETS FOR DOWNLOAD
written by primary teacher Kerry Fitzpatrick
with love from Mama Makes Books
The third book in our Start Small, Think Big series that sets young readers on a journey of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where you really have to think big!
Tiny, Floating Coral starts with a tiny coral planula floating through the ocean in a soup of plankton, looking for a place to settle, divide and grow. It finds a place on a healthy reef off the coast of Australia. Learn about this remarkable animal, how it feeds, starts a colony and becomes a part of the Great Barrier Reef – a vast underwater city where other animals live, feed and bring up their young. The story’s narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding, and the delicate illustrations bring the story to life.
Thinking BIG, the book highlights that 25 per cent of marine life relies on the world’s coral reefs, and at the back the big fold-out map shows where they are. There is also an illustrated life cycle, and an Animal I-Spy to take children back into the book to find the reef animals.
Good for…
children 4 to 8
primary science: the life cycle of coral, marine food webs, metamorphosis, fluorescence, and other life processes, the role reefs play in a healthy ocean
Clear narrative text with two levels - main text written in the first-person for emerging readers, and additional information for confident readers or shared reading
Textured cover with a cut-through, a big fold-out with world map and an I-Spy game
Beautiful illustrations: a blend of non-fiction realism and picture-book beauty
230mm x 230mm hardback with textured cover and cut-through hole, 28 pages including a 6-page fold-out
FREE SCHOOL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE
To buy from us, a small independent business, click the ADD TO BASKET button.
Or click your favourite retailer here:
LoveReading (10% off and school donation) • Waterstones • Bookshop.org
Six free activity sheets to download for use with or independently of the book Tiny, Floating Coral. These activities have been devised by a primary school teacher to be perfectly aligned with the primary curriculum. They are cross-curricular and include:
Reading Comprehension: about Tiny Floating Coral
Life Cycle of a Coral: cut-out activity
Colouring the Reef: colouring sheet
Creative Writing with prompts
What Do You Know about Coral Reefs?: quiz
Parts of a Coral: labelling activity, science key words and writing practice
HOW TO DOWNLOAD:
1. Go to checkout and fill in your email address
2. Skip payment
3. Fill in an address (system requirement)
4. Download the activities
You will also receive a receipt with a 24-hour link.
Six free activity sheets to download to use with the our book Small, Shiny Dung Beetle. These activities have been devised by a primary school teacher to be perfectly aligned with the primary curriculum. They are cross-curricular and include:
Reading Comprehension: about Small, Shiny Dung Beetle
Life Cycle of a Dung Beetle: make a life cycle spinner
Insect Anatomy: labelling activity, science key words and writing practice
Sorting Beetles: cut-out cards and sort them in a number of ways, then design your own dung beetle
Insect Hunt: outdoor activity to find and record the insects you find
True or False Quiz
HOW TO DOWNLOAD:
1. Go to checkout and fill in your email address
2. Skip payment
3. Fill in an address (system requirement)
4. Download the activities
You will also receive a receipt with a 24-hour link.
Small, Sparkling Raindrop is the fifth book in our Start Small, Think Big series that sets young readers on a journey of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where you really have to think big!
From the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the mighty Mekong River and the South China Sea. This is the story of the water cycle and the journey of a small, sparkling raindrop, how it forms, where it falls, how it contributes to the ecosystems of our mountains, rivers and seas. There are facts interspersed within an easy-to-read story on primary science topics, such as the impact of water on the land and different ecosystems, how vital it is for all living things, the environmental threats of over-fishing and pollution. The story narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding and the gorgeous illustrations bring the story, and the science, to life.
Thinking big, the book shows why clean, healthy rivers are vital for both people and wildlife, including the endangered Irawaddy dolphin severely threatened by over-fishing and pollution. A big fold-out world map shows the major rivers of the world, an illustrated water cycle, and an I-Spy game to take children back into the book to find and name the animals within the detailed pictures.
Good for…
Children 4 to 8
Primary science: life processes and how all living things need water;
states of matter; physical properties; erosion; rivers; watery habitats;
and the impact of healthy and unhealthy riversClear narrative text with two levels - main text written in the first-
person for emerging readers, and additional information for
confident readers or shared readingTextured cover with a cut-through, a big fold-out with world map
and an I-Spy gameBeautiful illustrations: a blend of non-fiction realism and picturebook beauty
230mm x 230mm hardback with textured cover and cut-through hole, 28 pages including a 6-page fold-out.
FREE SCHOOL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE
To buy from us, a small independent business, click the ADD TO BASKET button.
Or click your favourite retailer here:
LoveReading (10% off and a school donation) • Waterstones • Bookshop.org
Six free activity sheets to download to use with the our book Little Brown Nut. These activities have been devised by a primary school teacher to be perfectly aligned with the primary curriculum. They are cross-curricular and include:
Reading Comprehension: about Little Brown Nut
Life Cycle of a Tree: labelling activity, science key words and writing practice
Animal Classifications: sort the animals into their groups
Creative Writing: with prompts
What You Know About: show off your knowledge
Parts of a Tree: labelling activity, science key words and writing practice
HOW TO DOWNLOAD:
1. Go to checkout and fill in your email address
2. Skip payment
3. Fill in an address (system requirement)
4. Download the activities
You will also receive a receipt with a 24-hour link.
A fascinating delve into the life of an African dung beetle, covering its life cycle and the super-strength it takes to keep the planet tidy.
This book will feed the curiosity of the youngest of readers who are:
• keen to know how the world works
• fascinated by nature
• enjoy learning new information
The story is carefully written for children learning to read, with additional factual captions for more advanced readers.
And here’s the WOW-factor – a large fold-out map of Africa at the end, with diagrams and a fun I-Spy game to take children back into the book to find and identify animals in the pictures.
Small, Shiny Dung Beetle is part of the Start Small, Think Big series of science-based picture books:
• Aimed at children aged 4 to 8
• Covers KS1 primary science subjects that children learn at school: life cycles, parts of an insect, grassland food webs, metamorphosis, predation and other life processes, the role decomposers and recyclers play in a healthy ecosystem
• High-quality educational content, beautifully illustrated
230mm x 230mm hardback with 28 pages including a 6-page fold-out.
Printed on FSC paper with eco-friendly inks
FREE SCHOOL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE
To buy from us, a small independent business, click the ADD TO BASKET button.
Or click your favourite retailer here:
LoveReading (10% off and school donation) • Waterstones • Bookshop.org • Amazon
Little, Brown Nut is the second book in our Start Small, Think Big series that sets young readers on a journey of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where you really have to think big!
From the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the Amazon rainforest to see a huge fruit falling from the tallest tree.
Inside is a little brown Brazil nut, surrounded by 20 others. It sits and waits for an agouti, a rodent with teeth so strong that it can free the nut from its hard casing. The story of the Brazil nut tree and the agouti is told clearly and carefully, with facts about germination, photosynthesis, seed dispersal. The narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding and the gorgeous illustrations bring the story and the science to life.
Thinking big, the book shows why the rainforest is important to local people and the wider world.
To make this book truly special, there is a big fold-out at the back, with a world map, a picture lifecycle, and an I-Spy game to take children back into in the book to find the polar animals.
Good for…
children 4 to 8
primary science: the lifecycle of a tree, germination, photosynthesis and other life processes, the role rainforests play in a healthy planet
Clear narrative text with two levels - main text written in the first-
person for emerging readers, and additional information for
confident readers or shared readingTextured cover with a cut-through, a big fold-out with world map
and an I-Spy gameBeautiful illustrations: a blend of non-fiction realism and picturebook beauty
230mm x 230mm hardback with textured cover and cut-through hole, 28 pages including a 6-page fold-out
FREE SCHOOL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE
To buy from us, a small independent business, click the ADD TO BASKET button.
Or click your favourite retailer here:
LoveReading (10% off and school donation) • Waterstones • Bookshop.org
Six free activity sheets to download to use with the our book Small, Sparkling Raindrop. These activities have been devised by a primary school teacher to be perfectly aligned with the primary curriculum. They are cross-curricular and include:
Reading Comprehension: about Small Sparkling Raindrop
Cloud Spotter: cut-out activity and record your findings
Parts of a River: labelling activity, science key words and writing practice
Evaporation: science experiment
Water Cycle Collage: art and science activity
Make a Water Filter activity
HOW TO DOWNLOAD:
1. Go to checkout and fill in your email address
2. Skip payment
3. Fill in an address (system requirement)
4. Download the activities
You will also receive a receipt with a 24-hour link.
Six free activity sheets to download to use with the our book Small, Sparkling Raindrop. These activities have been devised by a primary school teacher to be perfectly aligned with the primary curriculum. They are cross-curricular and include:
Reading Comprehension: about Fluffy Flying Seed
Pattern Seeking: outdoor activity to conduct your own wildflower survey
Growth of a Seed: plant a seed and draw its stages of growth
Seed Flight: make a paper dandelion seed to see how it flies
Smart Seeds: experiment with a dandelion seed in liquid
Parts of a Dandelion: labelling activity, using key science words and writing practice
HOW TO DOWNLOAD:
1. Go to checkout and fill in your email address
2. Skip payment
3. Fill in an address (system requirement)
4. Download the activities
You will also receive a receipt with a 24-hour link.
Fluffy, Flying Seed is the fourth book in our Start Small, Think Big series that sets young readers on a journey of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where you really have to think big!
From the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to a meadow on a windy day to see tiny dandelion seeds being carried by the wind. One lands safely in a sunny patch of grass, the perfect place to grow. This is its story, how it grows, protects itself from frost, reproduces and becomes a food source for many creatures. There are facts interspersed within an easy-to-read story on primary science topics, such as germination, photosynthesis, seed dispersal, parts of a plant, and food chains. The story narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding and the gorgeous illustrations bring the story, and the science, to life.
Thinking big, the book shows why this much maligned wildflower is important for animals in the spring, and why it is so successful at surviving and spreading. A big fold-out world map shows the temperate regions where dandelions thrive, an illustrated life cycle, and an I-Spy game to take children back into the book to find and name the animals within the detailed pictures.
Good for…
Children 4 to 8
Primary science: the lifecycle of a plant, food chains, photosynthesis,
seed dispersal, parts of a plant and moreClear narrative text with two levels - main text written in the first-
person for emerging readers, and additional information for
confident readers or shared readingTextured cover with a cut-through, a big fold-out with world map
and an I-Spy gameBeautiful illustrations: a blend of non-fiction realism and picturebook beauty
230mm x 230mm hardback with textured cover and cut-through hole, 28 pages including a 6-page fold-out.
FREE SCHOOL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE
To buy from us, a small independent business, click the ADD TO BASKET button.
Or click your favourite retailer here:
LoveReading (10% off and a school donation) • Waterstones • Bookshop.org
Small, Speckled Egg is the first book in our Start Small, Think Big series that sets young readers on a journey of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where you really have to think big!
From the moment a child opens the textured cover with the peep-through hole, they will be transported to the Arctic. What will hatch from the speckled egg?
The cute fluffy chick that emerges will grow into one of the most remarkable creatures on the planet – an Arctic tern. Learn why it is extraordinary by seeing her grow up quickly, learning to fly and feed on the wing. At two months old, she is ready to embark on her record-breaking migration from the top of the world to the bottom and back again – a journey she does every year of her life. Her story is told clearly and carefully in a way that builds understanding, and it ends with the 50 fluffy chicks she has in their lifetime.
To make this book truly special, there is a big fold-out at the back, with a world map, a picture lifecycle, and an I-Spy game to take children back into in the book to find the polar animals.
Good for…
Children 4 to 8
Primary science: the lifecycle of a bird, food chains, migration,
seasons and polar regionsClear narrative text with two levels - main text written in the first-
person for emerging readers, and additional information for
confident readers or shared readingTextured cover with a cut-through, a big fold-out with world map
and an I-Spy gameBeautiful illustrations: a blend of non-fiction realism and picturebook beauty
230mm x 230mm hardback with textured cover and cut-through hole, 28 pages including a 6-page fold-out
FREE SCHOOL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE
To buy from us, a small independent business, click the ADD TO BASKET button.
Or click your favourite retailer here:
LoveReading (10% off and a school donation) • Waterstones • Bookshop.org
Six free activity sheets to download to use with the our book Small, Speckled Egg These activities have been devised by a primary school teacher to be perfectly aligned with the primary curriculum. They are cross-curricular and include:
Reading Comprehension: about Small Speckled Egg
Life Cycle of a Bird: cut-out activity and key science words
Arctic or Antarctic?: where do polar animals live
Creative Writing: with prompts
What You Know About Arctic Terns: quiz
Parts of a Bird: labelling activity, science key words and writing practice
HOW TO DOWNLOAD:
1. Go to checkout and fill in your email address
2. Skip payment
3. Fill in an address (system requirement)
4. Download the activities
You will also receive a receipt with a 24-hour link.
