Everyday Journeys Of Ordinary Things

"Yes, it’s called The Everyday Journey of Ordinary Things. This is something that used to—and still—fascinates me. I love it if there’s a show on TV about how something is made. There was one recently on yogurt, how it’s made and put in cartons. I just find the whole automation stuff fascinating. This book is really, really good. It’s got lots of interesting facts, and it’s explained really nicely. I’m just looking at a page here, “Where do clothes come from?” It’s the journey of a pair of jeans and there are little facts—like where the word denim comes from, ‘de Nîmes’ in France—and then the whole process, from growing the cotton right through to shipping it to shops. Sign up here for our newsletter featuring the best children’s and young adult books, as recommended by authors, teachers, librarians and, of course, kids. The book looks at how the internet or GPS work, how electricity works when you turn on your lights. The book is just raising awareness that everything we do, at any moment in our lives, has a big knock-on effect: somebody, somewhere in another part of the world has done something, has grown something, something has been burned to provide electricity. It gives us a better understanding of our context in the whole natural world which I think, often, even as adults we don’t fully appreciate. Here’s another one I like: “The journey of milk.” It sounds pretty straightforward, but actually it’s not, it’s very interesting. I also like the page on how you get fuel into your car. If you drive anywhere you need to have fuel, but it has an environmental impact. It’s much better to understand the whole problem. It was really pleasurable though. The Royal Society is so well organised. I’m really happy that they run this prize. I’d also like to thank my fellow judges—Cressida Cowell, Konnie Huq, Gail Eager and Rosalind Rickaby—for their hard work. Everything was done over Zoom, but we had a really good time chatting and arguing."