What's Under the Bed?

WONDERWISE

by Mick Manning, Brita Granström

Prize-winning non-fiction picture books with lively narrative text

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published September 25, 1997

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

[Becky Sparkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really good book to link to lower KS2 science. This book is about children who go on an adventure to find out what’s really under their bed. This story follows them as they travel through the soil and fossils all the way to the centre of the earth.
This book is a good hook for teaching about fossils and geology.

[Frances Coe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recommendation from our science seminar with an appealing cover and title. The first page made me feel quite gaggy!! However I am sure that reinforces that children love this book!! What’s under the bed... oh just some dust and floorboards, the things we see and think about and then a couple of little sketches with detailed information on mites and bed bugs!! A fun way of uncovering facts and new knowledge (or cementing knowledge) with imagery and a story-like layout. I particularly enjoyed the colony of ants and magma pages and imagine children will find their favourite pages too. The book is structured in quite a nifty fashion, by recapping the previous pages before introducing the new one - almost like a memory game which is how i see this being read on the carpet with all children being included. I also appreciated the last couple of pages with the glossary and all of the “layers” under the bed

[Hamza · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was nice and amazing ☺

[Emma Higley · Rating 5 out of 5]

KS1/2- perfect for geology topics to discuss the layers of sediment under the surface of the Earth- great explanations and glossary at the end

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is ideal for scientific exploration.

[Kate Butcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for science!

[Nicola Whitehouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great link to geology for young children, also good for cross-curricular within the Early Years.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘What’s Under the Bed?’ is a colourful combination of fiction and non fiction. It’s a thought provoking book which explores the ground beneath our feet; it delves further than the eye can see and opens up a can of worms for the reader to think about. This book deservingly won a ‘TES Information Book Award’ a few years ago. ‘What’s Under the Bed?’ is crammed full of facts and wonderful illustrations enabling the reader to visualise everything that is written. It also has great little definitions and diagrams at the bottom of some pages of tricky words and concepts such as ‘bedbug’, ‘insulation’ and ‘fossils’. Furthermore the book doesn’t come across as being too “textbook” – like, it’s fun yet informative and I would imagine it could provoke a lot of questions and whole class discussions if read during ‘circle time’.

From a teachers point of view this book links to many topics in science such as materials, plants, minibeasts and habitats. It could also be used for enrichment, literacy and numeracy lessons.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s under the bed shows two children investigating what is really under the bed. Firstly finding just floorboards and dust but moving onto what might be beneath that, until they reach the centre of the earth. It has interesting illustrations with labels and footnotes for children who wish to know more and ends with an illustration of the many layers the children have discovered along the way.
This book gives children a logical look at what is under their bed, an often touchy subject for some children they may invoke strong feelings of fear. By looking at the subject through an investigative slant, the book deals with the real facts rather than what children can imagine may be under their bed. It is a great resource for geography too, as it looks at the layers of the earth. It also has links to history as it shows the different eras that lie beneath the surface, with dinosaur bones and cave paintings to name but a few.
This is a fun and informative read and would be a great starting point for an earth project.

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable book to read at home with a child who is comfortable with sleeping on their own. It gives mostly accurrate factual information on what is underground as you go further and further to the centre of the earth. Illustrations are amazing, colourful and shown from many different angles. It is a book which can encourage childrens imagionation and investigations of the world around them.