The Secrets of Stonehenge

by Mick Manning, Brita Granström

Why was this amazing monument erected? How did our Stone-Age ancestors bring such massive stones to the site from so far away? How did they raise the enormous stones to their upright positions? What was Stonehenge used for, and who lived around the site? With captions and pictures, and using up-to-the-minute research discoveries, Mick Manning and Brita Granström tell the incredible true story of this awe-inspiring monument—one of the greatest ancient sites in the world.

Genres: Picture Books, History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Ancient History, Historical

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2013

About the author

Manning went to school in Keighley and then studied at at Bradford College. He studied illustration and graphic design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now the University of Northumbria) 1979 - 82 and then illustration and animation at the Royal College of Art London 1984-87 . Later he devised and ran the BA honours Illustration option at the Glasgow School of Art while maintaining a freelance career. In 1998 he resigned to concentrate on writing and illustrating children's books full-time. British artist-illustrators Xavier Pick, Helen Stephens and Mark Hearld number among his ex-students. Manning's first book A Ruined House was chosen by Quentin Blake in The Laureate's Party (Red Fox) as one of his personal top 50 children's books of all time. Manning is known for his collaborations as author and co-illustrator with partner Brita Granström. Books from their young non-fiction series "Wonderwise" won the TES, Silver Smarties and English Association Awards and were also shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prizes (then called The Rhone Poulenc) on three occasions. They won The English Association award again in 2005 with Voices of the Rainforest and again in 2008 with Greek Hero. Their book Yuck! is referenced in the Mike Leigh film Happy Go Lucky. Tail End Charlie, a picture book about his father's Second World War experience as an RAF air gunner during 1944 was shortlisted for, and televised on, the Blue Peter Book Awards 2010. It was also shortlisted for the ALCS Award and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2010. Manning is a direct descendant of 18th Century Italian artist Bonifacio Musso, and Musso's London-born son Charles Muss who was himself, among many other things, a British illustrator. In 2011 Mick and Brita won a fourth English Association Award with the follow up to Tail-End Charlie; Taff in the WAAF a fascinating book about his mother's war including her experiences as a Chicksands 'Y' station listener for Bletchley Park. In 2011 he was elected a Fellow of The English Association.

Manning's other children's non fiction picture books include science titles such as: How Did I Begin? (this book looks at the amazing development of a human baby from fertilised egg to birth and was shortlisted for the Rhone Poulenc Prize in 1996) Woolly Mammoth (with the NHM, London), Dino Dinners (with the NHM, London), Nature Adventures and 'What Mr Darwin Saw, (this book about the life of Charles Darwin and his discoveries was shortlisted for the Royal Society's science book prize in 2011.)

Reviews

[Linn J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this cute non-fictional book when I visited Stonehenge years ago, like a good momental or as a souvenir. The text and the story is nice for the eyes. It represents the story of England and how the Englishmen can have developed the society, weapons and of course some insights of the Stonehenge. People aren't really sure how Stonehenge was built or for what purpose, theories exist but no exact conclusion has been giving, yet.

I love children's book and especially non-fictional ones, they are so easy to read and are very educational.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve read a couple books about Stonehenge. This one was very informative and fun.

[Sophiedimmock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations and layout, some information is harder to understand and could be explained or simplified. Great use in English lessons to produce non-fiction texts such as a ledger.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting bit of history in here

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, informative, non-fiction picture book about Stonehenge. I (as an adult reader) absolutely enjoyed learning about Stonehenge through this book, for sure more so than if I had read the Wikipedia page on Stonehenge, just getting the dry facts. Sure, a lot of Stonehenge's history and past usage/significance is speculative, but I enjoyed this all the same. I didn't love the art (sketch style with watercolors), so this only gets 3 stars from me.

I imagine this book of prehistory and facts could be pretty dry for a child reader on their own...Where, I think this could be really fun to read with a child right before a trip to Stonehenge, a little jumping around the pages or skimming might be necessary.

Surprised also that there was no real picture of the site included the book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely need to read this to the children - 4.5*

It is non-fiction and very informative but the style it is written in makes it perfect for children. I have learned so much about Stonehenge that I did not previously know about.
It is told in such an exciting fashion. Yep definitely looking forward to reading this to my class when we are on Stonehenge week as part of our Stone Age topic.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Good explanation in timeline form. Explains different aspects with good side notes. Has fun little speech bubbles with the illustrations. The illustrations are very cartoony, but enjoyed by children.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly delightful way to introduce early European cultures and one of the most interesting relics remaining from that mystery civilization. At the end of the book, my 4 year old daughter asked if we could go see it - I would call that a successful book!

[Zoe Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative with good illustrations and a helpful glossary

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to make the history easy to understand for the children. I’ll be using this with my Year 3 class when we learn about the Stone Age.

[Chrissy Shea Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the making and time line of Stonehenge along with a few theories about its purpose.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about Stonehenge geared towards children. My 3rd grader liked it better than my kindergartner, but they both did listen. I liked the artwork/illustrations and the character's commentary. I like that the author mentions multiple times that we don't know why Stonehenge was built. I also like that a "henge" is defined as it's something I didn't know myself.

There were a few things I wasn't a fan of in this book. I understand putting it into a timeline concept, but timelines are difficult for children to understand, so I don't know if that was the best approach for a children's book. I was also was confused why the author made the point of saying we don't know why Stonehenge was built, but then talked about how they built Stonehenge as certain fact. It was my understanding that they don't know how they built it either, but only have very educated and practical theories. It would have been nice to have seen that mentioned.

Overall, this is a nice book to read to children about Stonehenge.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an ancient history junkie, I loved the illustrations of Neolithic Northern European island dwellers.

My one quibble is on the page explaining the Sarsen Stones, where the author ends with the exclamation "This proves how clever and resourceful our ancestors were." ***!***

Wait, who's ancestors?

This total got in the way of my reading. Like I was once again being asked "Why aren't you white?" "Please explain your ethnicity." Can't I be left alone to objectify these ancient people who seem (to me) seem quite exotic?

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's an ideal example of the power of picture books to provide concise, complete, compelling non-fiction materials that are highly interesting and engaging to kids of all ages and reading "levels", regardless of how arbitrary those levels may be.
Informative text and illustrations combine with entertaining and expansive sidebars, diagrams, back matter, accurate terminology, and extensive history, including mythology.
Set this one on any counter or table and it will quickly make the rounds!

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, not great. I've pleased that rather than winding stories it says flat out when we don't know something.

But the illustrations and words don't seem to match. The writing is more mature and less whimsical than the illustrations. Even in a picture book it's good to have some indication of sources used, and the book itself would be more useful if it have even a small suggested further reading section.

[Amy Whipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational Text
Copyright Date: 2013
The mystery of Stonehenge has always intrigued me. I loved this nonfiction book that described how Stonehenge was built using interesting and ingenious methods. The book used several text features that added so much information on each page. I felt like I learned a lot and have a better understanding of how Stonehenge was erected.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Great introduction to the mysteries of Stonehenge. I spoke to the authors at ala and they mentioned that this book includes the newest theories. So I was disappointed by the lack of backmatter explaining their research or giving titles for kids to read next to learn more.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the illustrations we nicely done. A good, VERY BASIC introduction to Stonehenge. Some further reading recommendations at the end would have been nice. This could lead into a child wanting a more detailed book for sure.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice introductory book for elementary/middle school students learning about the Stonehenge. I appreciated the timeline layout that the author took in presenting the material as well as side notes about the people doing the work at the various phases.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay introduction but there is no back matter citing sources or recommendations for further reading.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reconstruction of what might have happened was a bit sketchy and difficult to follow. The art was adequate.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very comprehensive look at Stonehenge. I enjoyed every bit of it!

I would have enjoyed it better with more defined illustrations.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really child friendly book especially with the large illustrations covering the page.