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Collected works

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CHILDREN like story books, not because they want to learn about Cinderella or get the facts on Charlie's adventures in the chocolate factory, but because a well-written story is a pleasure. Children's science writers should aim to create books that give similar pleasure. It's not enough to produce text that "accurately simplifies complex ideas" or illustrations that are "clear and easy to understand".

Reading and enjoying Wild Technology by Phil Gates (Kingfisher, £12.99, ISBN 1 85697 324 7) has helped me to put my finger on the reasons I find science pleasurable. With the help of beautiful photographs and illustrations, Gates shows how a wide range of engineering problems have been solved. And he demonstrates that living organisms have often evolved identical solutions when faced with similar problems to human engineers. Armour used by knights looks and acts like the tough plates that woodlice have on their backs. Teachers who ...

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