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A Compendium of Curious Contraptions

£14.99

Guess what some of the most unusual objects from history were used for in this book by archaeologist Anna Goldfield!

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ISBN: 9781916745032 Category: Children's - Non-Fiction Tags: Children's / Teenage general interest: General knowledge & trivia, Children's / Teenage general interest: Machines & how things work, Educational: Social sciences, social studies
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Description

An illustrated guide to some of the most bizarre objects from history by archaeologist Anna Goldfield, including a guessing game for kids to play!

Each page contains a mystery item from the past, with a set of clues as to what it was used for. Readers can take a guess before unfolding a giant flap to reveal the answer. Without giving too much away, the book contains Inuit snow goggles, designed to protect eyes from the blinding glare of the ice, an ancient Chinese earthquake detector featuring several metal frogs, and err.. the Royal fistula – an item used to perform delicate surgery on the rear end of King Louis XIV of France.

Kids will delight in trying to work out the purpose of the beautiful objects, brought to life by Mexican illustrator Paula Zamudio, and will learn a lot about the cultures that created them – from ancient Rome to Polynesia, and Mesopotamia to Viking Scandinavia.

Additional information

Weight 0.68 kg
Dimensions 28.8 × 23.6 × 1.8 cm
Author

Goldfield, Anna

Publisher

Neon Squid

Imprint

Neon Squid

Cover

Hardback

Pages

64

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

909 (edition:23)

Readership

Children – juvenile / Code: J

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🧟Looking for books for your little terrors his halloween? Look no further! 🧟

We have some beuatiful (and spooky!) picture books on offer, so whether your little bookworm is more of a shy ghost or guilty of stuffing your cat in a pumkin we have something for them! 👻

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Our autumn menu has arrived! Come in and enjoy our range of cozy drinks, inlcuding a Pumpkinstein Latte, Miss Maple Mocha, Cinnamon Cappuccino and an Iced Maple Matcha. Biscoff Biscuits are included in select seasonal drinks 🍂🎃

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House of Books & Friends would like to invite you to Chapters by Candlelight, our first charity 'read-in', sponsored by gunnercooke. We will be fundraising for the charity Once Upon a Smile, based in Greater Manchester.

Tickets are in our bio 🎟️

Join us in a candle-lit bookshop for an evening of reading, relaxing, and supporting those in need. Get in the festive spirit with our offerings of mulled wine and minced pies. Enjoy performances from local poets, learn about the incredible work of Once Upon a Smile, and settle down for an hour of reading together; no screens, no chatter, no pressure from the outside world. Closing the night, enjoy some festive songs from a local musician, and letting the warm glow of the night carry you home.

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Though completely different to ‘Lessons in Chemistry’, this novel is a worthy successor and is as brilliantly life-affirming and enjoyable!
Batter Grey is a fantastically flawed and witty protagonist with a passion for all things poetry, which leads him to apply for a role at the prestigious and illusive Peck and Peck poetry journal in New York City.

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We are at the Lowry this week selling copies of Tim Key's poetry books: 'Chapters' and 'LA Baby'! 🖊️

Tim is signing copies of his books after each show - so be sure to pick yours up to meet the man himself. @timkeypoet

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House of Books & Friends is overjoyed to welcome author Marta Perez-Carbonell to discuss her book, ‘I Made You Up Inside My Head’. The event will take place on Wednesday 11th November and will involve a discussion, a Q&A, and a chance for you to get your book signed by Marta. Marta will be in conversation with lecturer Luis Castellví Laukamp.

This event is in partnership with Instituto Cervantes. 

📕About the book:
On a sleeper train from London and Edinburgh, a woman and two strangers pass the time by telling stories about their lives.

One man reveals the true story behind the novel he wrote: the young man, Hans, who trusted him with intimate details about his life, and whose confidence he betrayed when he converted Hans’s life into fiction for his own gain.

As her cabin-mates reveal that Hans has since disappeared, with foul-play suspected, Alicia becomes gripped by the question of what really happened between the two men. She begins to re-examine her own memories, to try and discern what brought her to this point – and her involvement in the story told that night soon goes beyond a mere observer.

✏️About the author
Marta Pérez-Carbonell was born and raised in Spain and now teaches contemporary Spanish literature at Colgate University in upstate New York; she has also worked as a translator and interpreter. I Made You Up Inside My Head is her first novel.


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