Cicada Books

11-year-old Benji, and his grandma, Bubbe Rosa, are shopping for the ingredients for Friday night dinner. Bubbe's relationship with the city is complex - nothing is quite as she remembered it and she feels alienated and angry at the world around her. Benji, on the other hand, looks at the world, and his grandmother, with clear-eyed acceptance. As they wander the city, we catch glimpses of Bubbe's life and loves, piecing together the history to gain an insight into the tender soul that lies behind the cantankerous exterior.

An eye-opening search-and-find book of life on Earth – from tiny cells to dinosaurs, mammals and everything in between! This entertaining book combines an informative, educational journey through the history of life on this planet with a vibrant, detail-packed search and find. Simple texts, accessible to kids as young as three, break down the various epochs – from the Precambrian Era through to the Holocene. On each spread, a selection of relevant creatures can be found hiding in the landscapes. Can you spot Pulmonoscorpius, the 2 ft long scorpion, hiding in the Carboniferous landscape? Or the tiny dinosaur, Eoraptor, concealed in the Triassic? Kids will return time and again to pick through all the incredible detail on each page. A gorgeously packaged, boredom-busting romp through evolution that will provide hours of entertainment for budding palaeontologists aged three and up.

Sometimes everything feels heavy and uncomfortable. My body, my family, my life . . . And the only thing that releases that weight is music. Nel is fifteen years old, and life is a grind. School is exhausting, social pressures are relentless, and adults are oblivious. Somehow Ludo, Nel's handsome twin brother, seems untouched by it all, gliding effortlessly through life's complications. Her playlist and her best friend, Kit, are pretty much the only things Nel's got going for her right now. When Ludo joins a band and Kit starts going out with the guitarist, it feels like even the tiny space Nel has carved out for herself is in peril. But nothing is forever, and teenage life can turn on a dime. When Nel finds herself taking Ludo's place in the band, she has to work out whether life outside the shadows is all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes you need to follow the music to find your way back to yourself.

Alma is curating an exhibition at the Museum of Shapes. Learn all about the shapes that make up our world and help her put the exhibition together! Welcome to the Museum of Shapes. Alma is the curator of the museum. She decides which shapes should go where. Triangles have three sides and three angles. Can you help Alma find all the triangles on the shelf? Alma's favourite shape is a circle. All the points on the edge of a circle are the same distance from its centre. Not all shapes are geometric; some are wiggly and messy. Can you make a wiggly line with your body? This is an engaging and informative book about the shapes that make up our world. The narrative framework is complemented by interactive texts and gorgeous, minimalist illustration by New York Times Best Illustrated award winner, Sven Volker. Geometry has never been this mesmerising!

All kinds of guests check in and out of the Grand Hotel of Feelings. Some are fun and some are tricky, but all are welcome! Welcome to the Grand Hotel of Feelings, where all kinds of feelings come and stay. Every guest has unique needs. Anger is very loud and needs plenty of space to scream and shout. Sadness speaks in a small voice and occasionally floods the bathroom. Anxiety takes many shapes and loves the spotlight. Some feelings are big and some are small, some are fun and some are tricky, but all feelings must be listened to and acknowledged. After all, they’re just passing through. This beautiful and imaginative title is much loved by readers young and old and has been translated into 22 languages. This is a new paperback edition.

From the acclaimed author of The Grand Hotel of Feelings, this fantastical adventure takes children on an journey of reflection and self-acceptance. Lika has never given much thought to her shadow. Sometimes it’s long, sometimes it’s short… but it's never anything more than a shadow. That is until the day it starts acting strangely. When Lika waves a hand, Shadow raises a foot. When Lika sits down, Shadow stands up. Lika tries to hide, but the smaller she makes herself, the bigger Shadow becomes. When Shadow whisks Lika off to a curious land of shadows – and right into a spooky shadow circus – she must look deep inside herself to find her way back home. A poignant and uplifting book about exploring and acknowledging the parts of ourselves that we try to hide from and embracing the shadows within.

The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters. This is a gorgeous atlas of eight of the world’s greatest mountains on all its continents: Everest - Nepal Pucak Jaya - Indonesia Fuji - Japan Matterhorn - Switzerland Kilimanjaro - Tanzania Denali - Alaska Chimborazo - Ecuador Vinson Massif - Antarctica. Clear, accessible texts by Robin Jacobs break down the geography of each mountain, its flora and fauna, the history of its conquest, tales of local populations and mythologies, and finally, how best to climb them. The routes to the summit are explained as are the individual climbing challenges posed by each mountain. Further chapters provide information on how mountains are formed, climbing terms, how to tie knots, what to do in case of an avalanche and important climbing gear. With dynamic, vintage-inflected illustrations by Ed J Brown (Epic Animal Journeys, Cicada 2022), this is a book that captures the majesty of mountains and a spirit of adventure that will appeal to budding explorers and climbing enthusiasts alike.

Remember, Humphrey; never run, never jump, and NEVER. EVER. sit on a wall! Humphrey’s parents have taught their son to be cautious. Make sure you double knot your shoelaces. Never run. Never jump. And never ever EVER sit on a wall. You remember what happened to your uncle… Humphrey anxiously heeds their advice until the day he bumps into Princess Jean (PJ) in the park. An adventurer through and through, PJ tells him tales of all her antics and mishaps. Humphrey is so engrossed, he doesn’t notice the park is closing. Oh no! How will Humphrey get home? There’s only one way out. OVER. THE. WALL! The Egg Incident is a joyous reversal of the traditional Humpty Dumpty tale of caution that will delight middle-grade readers who are tiptoeing towards independence themselves.

Excavating four billion years of history from the ground beneath our feet Over the past four billion years, life on our planet has evolved from microscopic single-celled organisms to today's incredible array of flora and fauna. In the course of this time, layer upon layer of life was buried in sediment, turning into a fossilised record of the planet's history. This highly-illustrated, large-format book looks at all the incredible things that scientists have learned from the fossil record. The ways in which continents have drifted, merged and fragmented again. The life forms that have evolved and the great extinction events that wiped them out. Fish turned into tetrapods, turned into archosaurs, turned into dinosaurs and mammals. Eventually, a mere two million years ago, humans appeared, transforming the planet into what we know today. Clear, concise texts along with colourful diagrams and timelines can be understood by readers as young as six, and case studies of the stranger ends of the life spectrum bring incredible histories to life. A unique 'Paleontology Today' section highlights the importance of learning from the past to protect our future. Illustrations by Sophie Williams (Earth Shattering Events and Map of You) illuminate the texts with a warmth and humour that will make it a book to cherish and return to.

All guests are welcome at the Grand Hotel of Feelings, no matter how tricky they might be! Welcome to the Grand Hotel of Feelings, where all kinds of feelings come and stay. Every guest has unique needs. Anger, for example, is very loud and needs plenty of space to scream and shout. Sadness speaks in a small voice and occasionally floods the bathroom. Gratitude likes wandering about in nature; you never know when she might come and sit by your side. Some feelings are big and some are small, some are fun and some are tricky, but no guest is ever turned away. At the Grand Hotel of Feelings, there is room for everyone! A beautiful and imaginative title that brings the difficulties of emotional management to life with warmth, humour and a touch of Wes Anderson.

A beautiful, fact-filled picture book by vet and writer Cathy Evans which is the perfect introduction to reproduction in the natural world for children. This stunningly presented science book explains the facts of life by looking at sex and reproduction in mammal species. Through short, concise texts and warm, engaging illustrations, we learn about fertilisation, gestation, birth, breastfeeding and early parenting across the mammalian order. Did you know that, unlike other mammals, whale calves are born tail first, so that the mother can push them to the surface to breathe as soon as they emerge? Or that echidnas do not have nipples? Their young lick milk that seeps from pores in their chests. Easy to engage with for kids as young as four, this is a convenient, informative and enjoyable way of learning about babies and where they come from.

The Mellon family have outgrown their flat. It's time to move, but none of the houses they look at are quite right, so they decide to build their own house. Masha is an architect. She listens to all the Mellon's requests and designs a house. The house accommodates all the family's needs as well as their budget, but most of all, the house accommodates the environment. It is an eco-house. Lots of people help build the Mellons' house. Boris and his team of groundworkers dig the foundations, Mirko the carpenter helps construct the wooden frame. Penny is a plumber and Bea is the project manager. Lots of construction vehicles are also required. Eventually the house takes shape. A ground source heat pump, solar panels, a green roof and a rainwater harvester help make this air-tight construction as environmentally friendly as possible. The Mellons Build a House is hugely enjoyable picturebook that takes the reader step by step through the design and construction of a house. The environmental considerations make this book uniquely timely and refreshing. Thomas Slater's bold, bright illustrations are inclusive, warm and rich with humour. An essential read for aspiring young architects and construction-enthusiasts.

A timely and relatable tale about the importance of connecting to the introvert inside. Marjorie is a happy snail. She loves her family and friends, but sometimes she just needs a bit of alone time. At these moments, Marjorie wanders off to try to find a quiet space, but her friends and family just follow her trail of slime and find her. 'How can I find some space for myself?' wonders Marjorie, and as she wonders, she wanders, here and there, back and forth, this way and that until she is entirely and marvellously lost. But the joys of solitude are short lived, and Marjorie swiftly realises that she can't find her way back. Luckily, she stumbles on a good friend who helps her on her way and offers her some sage advice. A natural follow on from the critically acclaimed 'Pocket Chaotic', this simple, layered story is exquisitely brought to life by Christos Kourtoglou, an emerging Greek illustrator with a distinctive watercolour style. It addresses the disjunction that kids and adults feel (particularly in a post-lockdown era) between our introvert and extrovert selves.

A beguiling look at seven contemporary nomadic cultures around the world, offering a timely insight into alternative ways of life that connect us to our ancestral roots. A fascinating and beautiful survey of seven nomadic societies spread across the continents. With delicately beautiful illustrations bringing the material to life, we learn about the Sama Bajau, fishing nomads from the Philippines who spend months at sea without ever touching land. We discover the Yanomami peoples of the Amazon rainforest whose connection to their environment informs every aspect of their lives. The Nenet nomads of Siberia follow their reindeer through blasting winds to the very edge of the Arctic Circle. All these cultures face common pressures and problems. Governments want them to settle down and assimilate; local populations view them with suspicion; subsistence farming or herding is not viable in a cut-throat globalised world. This book offers a timely window on a simpler way of life, and on human traditions and cultures that connect us to our distant ancestors. Elegantly and respectfully written and illustrated, this book is a captivating contribution to the growing literature on nomadic societies, and will appeal to both the education and the gift markets.

All the branches of the animal kingdom - birds, fish, crustaceans, reptiles, mammals, insects, and even slime moulds undertake great journeys across water land or air. This is a glorious celebration of the mysteries and marvels of migration. Migration is one of the great mysteries of the natural world. With no compass or GPS devices, birds fly thousands of miles from Europe to their African feeding grounds, salmon cross oceans so that they may return to the rivers in which they were born and monarch butterflies spend their entire adult lives traveling from the grasslands of the Midwest to the forests of Mexico. This book takes a close look at how and why different animals migrate. The science of migration is broken down into clearly understood texts, and then brought to life in case studies of individual species. Simple text packed with fascinating facts and details are accompanied by eye-catching illustrations that illuminate the fragility and wonders of our extraordinary planet and the species that inhabit it.

Everything you wanted to know about climate change but were too afraid to ask! The terrifying effects of a warming planet are impossible to ignore, but sometimes it's hard to pick through the facts and to understand exactly what’s happening and how. This book of bright, bold infographics illuminates the realities of climate change in hard numbers, digestible data and vivid visualizations. How will rising sea levels affect us? What is the impact of meat on the planet? What industries create the most emissions? How do renewable energies compare to one another? What are the most effective things we as individuals can do to help the planet? Without sugar-coating or fear-mongering, this is a book that conveniently unpacks inconvenient truths in a way that is accessible to readers young and old.