Warriors

With its metallic embossed type and stark design, this menacing-looking volume drew gasps of admiration from a clutch of 10-year-old boys who gathered round to discuss its merits. The poster tucked inside the front cover was deemed to be ‘cool’ and the paper engineering declared an added bonus. Whether these readers will cope with the dense text and busy layout is questionable, but the illustrations proved a source of fascination and contain a wealth of information. Each spread concentrates on a different warrior, ranging from Assyrian archers, Spartan hoplites and Roman Gladiators to Zulu warriors and sinister Ninja agents. There are flaps that fold out to reveal a battle plan, mini-books that detail military formations, while a tab can be pulled to display an Aztec human sacrifice. A timeline of warriors provides a selective view of history, but there is no contents or index. The boys will just love it.