I was sent a lovely selection of books to review from Quarto. They had an extensive choice available, but I settled for five fascinating titles. The ones we picked out were Hackers, Future Humans (AI), When the Whales Walked, Amazing Evolution the Journey of Life and 50 Ways to feel Happy. I am really enjoying all the books we are being sent at the moment. It is good for the boys to have some chilled-out time reading and learn so many new things in the meantime.

What’s The Issue? Hackers (£9.99)

This book made me feel like I could tick off an in-depth Information Technology lesson for my eldest. It included lots of intriguing info about famous hackers, hacking terminology and cyberwar. The book is incredibly detailed, if there was anything you ever wanted to know about hacking this book will probably provide it.

It really gets you thinking about everyone collecting information on us. As they record our shopping habits, our searches and even our friends list! Plus, we will be much more careful in future opening attachments. The most damaging malware ever was the love bug which in a short space of time infected a tenth of the Internet and then cost 8 billion dollars to fix!!!

What’s The Issue? Future Humans (AI)

This book had plenty of thought-provoking facts. Like the average woman globally has 2.5 children in her lifetime, whereas 50 years ago the global average was 5 children! Also, males are generally born more often than females. It goes on to mention the evolution of humans, sleep, the mind, intelligence, clones, and lots more beside!

Additionally, it makes you question whether you would upgrade your body if you had the chance. George Washington rather randomly had dentures made from hippo teeth! But could the future see sophisticated genetic modifications – such as designer babies with genes of animals so they have more special abilities.

When The Whales Walked (£12.99)

This beautifully illustrated book from Quarto documents the extraordinary story of evolution. It documents the time when snakes had legs, birds had teeth and when elephants were tiny (the size of a pig!). It lets you what advantages those changes meant for each animal. Like elephants’ front teeth evolving into tusks to help them gather food more efficiently. Now we have a pet budgie I am quite relieved he does not have front claws and teeth!

50 Ways To Feel Happy (£9.99)

I was most looking forward to reading this book with the boys. Any way to feel happier right now is much need! Four weeks into lockdown can take its toll and dampen spirits. One of the ways to achieve happiness is through giving. I always feel better when I do something nice for someone else. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. The book is very realistic too, it acknowledges that you cannot always feels happy and that is okay too! But we will be working through the activities and seeing how we get on!

Amazing Evolution The Journey of Life (£14.99)

This book is very educational but accessible for children too. It has lots of illustrations to break up the text. The book documents the start of life, the rise of mammals and how humans evolved. It explains how you find and date fossils. We liked the section on our best friends. We love our dog so were keen to read how our loyal companions started off as affectionate wolves 30-40,000 years ago. The boys were enthralled by the suggestion future humans might have webbed feet to cope with raising water levels.

Quarto Book Bundle Giveaway

If you would like a chance of winning the same Quarto bundle of books that I reviewed please fill out the form below by the 21^st of May.

Win a Quarto Bundle of Books Worth £57.95

Please also check the other competitions live on my blog.