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Button Books’ Great Lives in Graphics is a biographic series perfect for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.

Each title is full to the brim with fascinating facts all displayed in bright, bold and appealing infographics and images.  Within the series you’ll find lots of historic figures to engage learners in both STEM topics as well as history.

The editorial team who create the series very kindly answered some questions for us about how they put the books together and what they’ve learned along the way…

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What’s the best thing about non-fiction books?

Creating a book that not only helps someone learn about a certain subject but also looks lovely (in our opinion) is very rewarding.

Can you share the journey of a GLIG title – what steps are involved from idea to strikingly illustrated fascinating fact filled title?

We firstly research the person in question, looking to ensure we cover all of the most important aspects of the person’s life but then looking for interesting facts and trivia relating not only to the person but also to the period in which they lived. This helps to give the book context. We then plan the contents page-by-page and once we’re happy we are including as much pertinent information as possible we start on the writing and illustration process which is a close collaborative effort between our editorial and design teams.

How do you decide which way you will display certain information?

With highly illustrated books it’s a team effort utilising the skills and experience of the designer, illustrator and author to convey the information in the most appropriate and appealing way possible.

Are there any new additions on the horizon we can look forward to?

Yes! All will be revealed in due course but we feel it’s about time we added some royalty to the series!

What are some facts from the GLIG series so far that have really stuck with your team?

The longest word in Shakespeare is honorificabilitudinitatibus.

It means “very honourable” in Latin and was spoken by Costard the clown in Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Stephen Hawking was famous for his wild wheelchair driving

and once even rode over King Charles III’s toes!

Mozart kept a pet starling who was his constant companion for 3 years.

It could sing a theme from his 17th piano concerto.

Cleopatra lived closer in time to the invention of the iPhone (2007) than to the

construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza (c2580 BCE).

The face of Yoda in Star Wars was partly inspired

by a picture of Einstein.

When Marie Curie died, her body was so radioactive

she had to be buried in a lead-lined coffin.

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You really can’t look past Great Lives in Graphics for curious minds, so do have a browse of each title using the buttons below.

These non-fiction books are a source of plenty of strange and interesting information and they are great for either reading straight through or dipping in and out of for facts, dates and data.  With graphs, maps, quotes, timelines, and copy this series shares not only the lives of each subject but context for the time period in which they lived.

We love this series so much we’ve asked Button for a special schools’ discount and they’ve shared one with us!  This Summer save 40% on your choice of 10 titles!

Many thanks again to the team at Button Books for answering our questions.