Books with author Dr John Townsend

Physics deals with energy like heat and sound, forces such as gravity, what's in a lightning flash - and why planes crash. Physicists risked their lives with dangerous experiments and some blew themselves to pieces. In this book, read about the monk who tried to fly like a bird, how bath time proved a gold crown was fake, and why electric shocks were measured by how high they made people jump.

"Freestyle" is a new, fully accessible range of books tailored for 11-15 year old pupils with a reading age of 8 years. The range uses a simplified version off the Freestyle layout, making it easier for the less confident reader to follow. It presents the key features and characteristics of various groups of animals, such as body systems, feeding, reproduction and defence. Each title focuses on a variety of weird and wonderful examples of unique creatures and how they have adapted to their environment.

Leaders and people in power have always had to ask a big question. “How do I make sure everyone obeys me?” For hundreds of years there was one answer. Pain. Or the threat of pain. History was full of the screams of criminals and others. They were made to suffer for doing wrong – or thinking the wrong things. But many laws were different then. You could be put to death for crimes that do not seem serious today. And many of the screams came from people who had done no wrong at all.

Find out all about reptiles in this unprecedented exploration of the incredible creatures in the world around us. The series is divided according to animal classifications in order to establish a firm scientific basis for each title. This differentiates the series from other ‘animal attack/weird animal’ series and cover aspects of the curriculum in a more comprehensive way. Each title focuses on weird and wonderful examples of creatures that are not the norm after an introduction describing the animal’s normal characteristics. The titles also include predatory behavior, but not as the main thrust of the book. A variety of text types such as newspaper reports are used to represent real life stories about the creatures covered. A conservation angle is also included to demonstrate how animals are in danger from humans and our activities and to stress what needs to be done to protect them and their environments.