James Muirden Boeken

Focuses on the stars as they are born, live, and die while also including descriptions of the sun, comets, shooting stars, and constellations

'I am not a historian. In fact, I wrote this poem in order to teach myself some history. I thought that sorting facts into verse form would concentrate my mind wonderfully. Which it did.' Brought up with the iambic pentameters of Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Verses ringing in his ears, James Muirden's rhyming history is a long poem in an equally simple and jolly form. Charmingly irreverent, magically humorous, delightfully illustrated by David Eccles - recently acclaimed for his line drawings for Now We Are Sixty - this is the perfect gift for historians and non-historians alike. This cheerful poem has been written: to tell the History of Britain; for people puzzled by the past - if this means you, here's help at last! From Celts to Churchill, it relates, (with all the most important dates) our country's convoluted course...It talks about: why Richard hollered for a horse; why Eleanor was such a catch; why no one liked the Spanish Match; the pros and cons of Laissez Faire; smart Georgian ladies' underwear; why Charles the Second went to plays; why Queen Jane reigned for just nine days; the causes of the Irish trouble; the bursting of the South Sea Bubble; that giant glasshouse in Hyde Park; and the First World War's igniting spark.

Many of us remember with pleasure Hilaire Belloc's humorous and piquant Cautionary Tales. Ever popular since publication in 1940, the moral poems were supposedly for children - but, with their satirical reflections on the state of the nation and the human condition, were also enjoyed by adults. Inspired by the prose and poetry of Belloc, James Muirden has penned these whimsical and well-observed Precautionary Tales to amuse grandparents, and perhaps their grandchildren too, and impart some moral guidance in today's world. Read about Matilda, who was too truthful to be successful in business, and John, who lost at conkers and gained his father some useful publicity. Whether you grew up reading Belloc or not, this compilation of wit in verse is guaranteed to leave you smiling - and may even teach you a valuable lesson or two. AUTHOR: James Muirden is the author of The Cosmic Verses, Shakespeare Well-Versed, A Rhyming History of Britain and 100 Great Wits. SELLING POINTS: Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales have been in print since 1940 and those who grew up reading them remember them by heart. James Muirden has adapted these poems for today's world in these charming and hilarious verses. Will appeal to those who bought Now We Are Sixty, Christopher Matthew's best selling re-telling of A.A. Milne, also illustrated by David Eccles. b/w illustrations

Text and illustrations, diagrams, tables, and charts present information on such astronomical topics as our solar system, galaxies, black holes, and space exploration.

One of a series which introduces young readers to the world around them, this book looks at the planets and stars which make up the universe. It also looks at satellites, space probes and space stations, and suggest what the future in space might be like.