Gift Focus - May/Jun 2019 (Issue 113)

113 BOOK REVIEWS CRAZY PLANT LADY by Isabel Serna RRP: £9.99 Format: Hardback ISBN: 9781523505371 Plants have exploded in popularity. For plant-obsessed women of any age, this little illustrated book celebrates the delightfully quirky habits that accompany botanical passion. From covering every exposed surface in succulents, ferns and pileum to planning vacations around who will be available to water your plants, the book is full of humorous quotes such as “I don’t need therapy. I talk to my plants,” sweet puns like “Aloe you vera much” and quizzes such as “are you a good plant mum?” Author-illustrator Isabel Serna’s charming art is as bright and vibrant as the pops of colour that plants bring to your home. The book makes a perfect housewarming present and a great add-on to a gift of a potted plant or a new ceramic planter. For more information, visit workman.com THE LITTLE BOOK OF PHILOSOPHY by Rachel Poulton RRP: £6.99 Format: Paperback ISBN: 9781786858085 The Little Book of Philosophy: An Introduction to the Key Thinkers and Theories You Need to Know is a whirlwind tour of the highlights of philosophy, including primers on the early Ancient Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, key schools of philosophy and their impact on modern life, insights into the main questions philosophers have explored over the years and practical applications of the theories of Descartes, Kane, Wollstonecraft, Marx Nietzsche and many more. This illuminating little book introduces readers to the key thinkers, themes and theories needed to understand how human ideas have evolved over time. Rachel Poulton is a writer, photographer and philosophy teacher who writes about philosophy, music and messy hair and loves to explore life’s mysteries. For more information, visit summersdale.com IT’S A GIRL & IT’S A BOY from Summersdale Publishers RRP: £6.99 Format: Hardback ISBN: 9781786857880/9781786857897 A perfect gift for new parents, It’s a Boy and It’s a Girl are adorable gift books full of wise words and memorable experiences from parents across the ages. Beginning this incredible adventure, the books contain some of the finest expressions of love and wisdom to prepare parents to celebrate the arrivals of sons and daughters. Presented in hardback, the books make lovely keepsakes. For more information, visit summersdale.com WRITERS AND THEIR PETS: TRUE STORIES OF FAMOUS AUTHORS AND THEIR ANIMAL FRIENDS by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Violet Lemay RRP: £11.99 Format: Hardback ISBN: 9781947458529 Writers and Their Pets is a follow-up to the successful Artists and Their Pets published by Workman. The book contains fun stories of writers and their pets, like Edgar Allan Poe writing with a cat on his shoulders and Mark Twain’s cat, Bambino. With full- colour illustrations and chirpy narrative the book will delight literary buffs, history lovers and animal enthusiasts alike. Kathleen Krull is renowned for her innovative, award-winning non-fiction for young readers, which includes the successful Lives of… series. Violet Lemay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose children’s books include 100 Pablo Picassos, My Foodie ABC, Artists and Their Pets and The Local Baby series. Her illustrations have been published by Penguin, Holt, HarperCollins, Scholastic and more. For more information, visit workman.com