Tower and Town, September 2023 (view the full edition)Mini Grey - The Greatest Show on EarthMini Grey is one of my favourite children's picture book authors. Her silly sense of humour is right at my level and her brilliant cartoon-style illustrations add to the fun. She is the winner of the Nestlé Children's Gold Book Prize for Biscuit Bear, but my children and I loved Traction Man is Here - the day-to-day adventures of a toy hero and his pet Scrubbing Brush. The Greatest Show on Earth is Mini's first non-fiction book, a fascinating gallop through the major stages of life on Earth. Theatrically told by a troupe of talented insects, the story starts 4.6 billion years ago with instructions on how to cook up an Earth-like planet, and moves through stages such as The World of Microbes and The Stage of Massive Insects, until we reach The Moment of Humans (blink and you'll miss it). Each page has the facts simply but cleverly presented, with lots of detail for children to explore whilst keeping the story moving along - a fantastic introduction to evolution for all ages. Mini will be showing festival goers how to draw the characters, demonstrating a Tape Measure of Time where each centimetre represents one million years on the Earth, and looking at some of the amazing creatures that have lived on our planet. Go back in time with Mini Grey in the White Horse Bookshop at 2.30pm on Saturday 30 September.  Kate Fry |