Merry Christmas from everyone at Apple Juice Radio!

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We frown on Where the Wild Things Are and smile at Tell Me a Dragon.

The Quick Review

Where the Wild Things Are? Who cares! If our kids were as whiney as these wild things, they’d be on the naughty stair with no prospect of a hot supper EVER. Self-indulgent and pointless.

Instead we recommend Tell Me a Dragon (age 2+), a magical picture book that celebrates all different kinds of dragons – sea, sky, fire, ice, snaggle-toothed or pocket-sized – it will make even the grown-ups wish they could have one for real.

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We visit the Planet Science website, try a Horrible Science experiment, and review some of the best new science books for children.

The Quick Review

The Science Museum’s Everything You Need to Know about Science (age 5+) has lots of facts, big colourful pictures, and easy experiments to try at home… it’s a perfect introduction to everything from rocks to rocket science.

For age 8+ we recommend Really Really Big Questions to get kids thinking about life, the universe and everything. Is time travel possible? Are there such things as flying saucers? Is it wrong to design a baby? Get the kids reading now, and maybe they’ll come up with answers by the time they turn 40.

planet-science.com is another fun way to introduce young children to science, with stacks of online games and plenty of imaginative ideas for parents and teachers.

And the massive worldwide success that is the Horrible Science series of books and experiment kits did manage to give us a big bang of our own. Listen to the show to hear for yourself.

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