Richard Platt’s Followers (25)

Richard Platt

Born

Northumberland, England, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.richardplatt.co.uk/

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(1953–)

Richard Platt is the author of more than sixty informative books for young readers, and he also writes for innovative multimedia projects. Some of his most popular works have been collaborations with illustrator Stephen Biesty on the "Cross-Sections" series. After a failed attempt to forge a career as a photographer, Platt discovered that he had a knack for writing. "I started writing about photography: first magazine articles, then books," he explained on the Walker Books Web site. "I got a job editing children's books, then went on to write them."

In the 1990s, Platt teamed up with popular juvenile illustrator Biesty for several books, beginning with Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections Book, published in 1992. The following (1953–)

Richard Platt is the author of more than sixty informative books for young readers, and he also writes for innovative multimedia projects. Some of his most popular works have been collaborations with illustrator Stephen Biesty on the "Cross-Sections" series. After a failed attempt to forge a career as a photographer, Platt discovered that he had a knack for writing. "I started writing about photography: first magazine articles, then books," he explained on the Walker Books Web site. "I got a job editing children's books, then went on to write them."

In the 1990s, Platt teamed up with popular juvenile illustrator Biesty for several books, beginning with Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections Book, published in 1992. The following year, a second volume in the series, Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Man-of-War, proved equally interesting for late-elementary-age readers, especially those enchanted by seventeenth-century battleships. Alongside Biesty's cutaway illustrations, Platt provides explanatory text that indicates the purpose and activities in each section of the ship. The hardships of life aboard such vessels for their often 800-member crews are not overlooked, either, and the drawings depict food rations crawling with maggots and a doctor's pail containing severed limbs. Ellen Mandel, writing for Booklist, asserted that Platt's "intriguing text" serves to make "this meticulously presented book a treasure of factual content and visual imagery."

For Stephen Biesty's Incredible Everything, Platt provides informative paragraphs to accompany the illustrations for many everyday products, such as athletic shoes and compact discs. Much of the text revolves around the manufacturing process. Stephen Biesty's Incredible Body is a lesson in human anatomy, with sections on each of the body's systems and several major organs; the digestive system alone takes up four pages. Platt has also worked with the illustrator on Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Castle and Stephen Biesty's Incredible Explosions.

Working with publisher Dorling Kindersley, Platt has authored several titles in their "Eyewitness" series, some of which have appeared in the United States under the Knopf/Borzoi imprint. Pirate details the world of corsairs, privateers, and crime on the high seas throughout history. A reviewer for Science Books and Films, Richard B. Woodbury, praised the work as "a veritable miniencyclopedia or minimuseum" and "a pleasure to look at." Spy chronicles the history of espionage and the decisive role intelligence-gathering triumphs have played in history. Of particular emphasis are the code-breaking endeavors by Allied intelligence networks during World War II. Shipwreck, also part of the "Eyewitness" series, investigates famous sea disasters and rescues. Like the other books in the popular series, Shipwreck is lavishly illustrated. Chris Stephenson, writing in School Librarian, called it "an excellent source of historical evidence and nautical information."

Platt has also written several books about inventions. His The Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions, which appeared in 1994, won praise from reviewers for its comprehensiveness. Platt divides the development of technology throughout the ages into five sections, including agriculture, conquest, and communication. The timeline begins at 600,000 BCE, around the time humans likely began using fire, and includes predictions for innovations that may occur in the near future. Cathryn A. Camper, reviewing The Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions for School Library Journal, praised Platt's skilled use of illustration and text, which the critic felt "teaches a sophisticated form of literacy similar to" that provided with multimedia learning tools—an area in which Platt already had a great deal of writing experience. "Readers will delight in the colorful pictures and the text, which gives just enough information to satisfy curiosity," opined Voice of Youth Advo ...more

14 posts
Richard Platt's Blog

Richard Platt isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

Schools on the Cote d’Azur

I know, I know….it sounds like an author’s dream gig. I’m spending a week in the south of France, talking to groups of school kids, all expenses paid. However, I am not a good traveller, and spend days fretting that something will go wrong. Nor indeed am I a relaxed and confident speaker, so addressing four groups of 80 or so kids in the course of a day leaves me wrung out like a limp dish-rag.

Combine Editions
Richard Platt’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 6,131 ratings · 742 reviews · 288 distinct works • Similar authors

	Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess (A Middle Grade Historical Fiction About Castle Life, Knights, and Medieval Adventures - For Kids Ages 9-12 in Grades 4-6) by Richard Platt, Chris Riddell (Illustrator) 3.74 avg rating — 1,787 ratings — published 1999 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections by Richard Platt, Richard Platt 4.45 avg rating — 463 ratings — published 1992 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona of Mytilini: Captured and Sold as a Slave in Rome - AD 107 by Richard Platt, David Parkins (Illustrator) 3.97 avg rating — 355 ratings — published 2009 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections: Man-Of-War by Richard Platt, Stephen Biesty (Illustrator) 4.57 avg rating — 281 ratings — published 1990 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	As One Devil to Another 3.93 avg rating — 258 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pirate (DK Eyewitness Books) 3.94 avg rating — 236 ratings — published 1960 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Egyptian Diary: The Journal of Nakht by Richard Platt, David Parkins (Illustrator) 3.79 avg rating — 240 ratings — published 2005 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter by Richard Platt, Chris Riddell 3.98 avg rating — 169 ratings — published 2001 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Crime Scene: The Ultimate Guide to Forensic Science 3.88 avg rating — 151 ratings — published 2003 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Germ Lab: The Gruesome Story of Deadly Diseases by Richard Platt, John Kelly (Illustrator) 4.06 avg rating — 111 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Richard Platt…

Series by Richard Platt

DK Eyewitness Books (164 books)
by

Richard Platt

4.02 avg rating — 17,208 ratings

The Diary Series (4 books)
by

Richard Platt,

David Parkins (Illustrator)

3.80 avg rating — 2,551 ratings

Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections (14 books)
by

Richard Platt,

Stephen Biesty

4.33 avg rating — 1,881 ratings

Quotes by Richard Platt (?)

“The Reeve collects the rents and taxes which those who dwell on the manor must pay to my uncle regularly for their housing and farms — and for other privileges such as the right to collect firewood in the forest.”
― Richard Platt, Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess, Page

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Richard Platt’s Followers (25)

Richard Platt

14 postsRichard Platt's Blog

Schools on the Cote d’Azur

Combine EditionsRichard Platt’s books

Series by Richard Platt

Topics Mentioning This Author

14 posts
Richard Platt's Blog

Combine Editions
Richard Platt’s books