Books with author Andy Davies

The good old pre-safety days—a time before seatbelts, when you could throw snowballs without filling out a risk assessment report, and children were allowed in with the animals at the zoo Protective goggles, protective gloves, safety helmets—all overrated. This hilarious photo collection looks at the glorious-yet-risky childhoods of yesteryear before the authorities said that kids couldn't do anything because it was all too dangerous. The authors have trawled through the major historic archives to find some glorious photo opportunities where the safety angle of the participants was the last thing anyone thought of. Children perch happily on lethal, limb-mangling machinery; stand all-smiles on live crocodiles; pose on unexploded munitions; cuddle vermin; and get scooped from the street by passing tram conductors! Take a nostalgic trip back to a time when children got dirty, wandered the streets on their own, and had strange pets.

More than HALF-A-MILLION Life-Size books have been sold—and kids are sure to go buggy over this new and super-sized vision of the insect world!Bugs: they’re the most successful animal group on earth and—in most cases—by far the ugliest. But that’s what makes them so compelling to look at. In this new spin on the best-selling Life-Size series, the teeming bug kingdom comes into view, bigger than ever and enlarged to staggering proportions. That’s because the book is packed with highly detailed electron microscope photographs, along with occasional real-size insect images beside them to give readers a true sense of scale. Children will get an amazing and up-close perspective on such creatures as the voraciously hungry caterpillar; the vividly colored Calleta Silkmoth, with blue-and-black spikes covering its body; a Swallowtail Butterfly emerging from its chrysalis; a bright orange Queen Hornet; and a deathly praying mantis, with its luminescent wings and killer pincers. Everything a kid loves is here: crushing mandibles, quivering antennae, hairy hooked legs, and intricate compound eyes. Plus, the back jacket turns into a 42 x 14 inch poster! You’ll feel as if you’re getting a privileged glimpse into an entirely different universe, and the scientific information accompanying the spectacular images is equally phenomenal.