Mick Manning

Develop self-sufficiency skills and explore nature with the activities in this book. Topics covered include tracking, wildlife spotting, foraging for wild food and cooking outdoors, lighting a fire safely (with adult supervision), stargazing, outdoor gaming, nature chasing, mimicking birdsong, making whistles and peashooters from elder stems, and more.

This picture book vividly dramatizes Dickens' life, beginning with his birth in Portsmouth and early childhood near the docks in Chatham, and follows the young Charles through the hardship of working in a blacking factory at the age of 10 to his years at school and his early career as a reporter. Key incidents that inspired the later novels are described, and his marriage, family life, dramatic readings and tours of the USA are included.