A wonderful portable edition of Millie Marotta’s Curious Creatures from the the Sunday Times and international bestseller Millie Marotta.

Lose yourself in the fascinating world of Millie’s Curious Creatures. Millie has researched beasts of all shapes and sizes from all over the world, and illustrated those with amazing survival skills, intriguing behaviours and – of course – beautiful plumage and patterns. 

Millie’s intricate style of illustration encourages you to make your own mark, whether it’s adding colour to a mandarinfish or adding feathers to a kiwi. There’s the mimic octopus and the giant squid, the sleepy sloth and the long-eared jerboa, even the otherwordly narwhal – all waiting to be brought alive with glorious colour. Now in a handy pocket size, this book is perfect for anyone looking for a creative outlet or a mindful and relaxing activity on the go.

A celebration of outdoor swimming – looking at the history, design and social aspect of pools.

The 1930s architecture of the pools is often sleek and elegant, evoking speed and efficiency. And the pools themselves are great social levellers – a public space where everyone is stripped down to a bathing suit.

The book begins with a history of the pools – their grand beginnings after the buttoned-up Victorian era, their falling popularity in the 20th century, and the newfound appreciation for the outdoor pool, or lido, and outdoor swimming in the 21st century.

Journalist and architectural historian Christopher Beanland picks the very best of the outdoor pools around the world, including the Icebergs Pool on Bondi Beach, Australia; the 137m seawater pool in Vancouver, Canada; Siza’s concrete sea pools in Porto, Portugal; the restored art deco pool in Saltdean, UK, and the pool at the Zollverein Coal Mines in Essen, Germany. The book will also feature the lost lidos and the fascinating history behind the architecture of the pools, and essays on swimming pools in art, and the importance of pools in Australia. In addition there are interviews with pool users around the globe about why it is they swim. The book is illustrated throughout with beautiful colour photography, as well as archive photography and advertising and a map with the pool locations.

A showcase of London’s street nameplates – from the curious to the ornate.

All around London, you can find a remarkable public archive of lettering in the city’s street nameplates. A unique collection of styles and forms that stretches back to the 17th century, these little labels hide in plain sight – we use their information daily, but too often fail to really notice them. And they aren’t just visual anchors, telling us where we are; but temporal anchors too, telling us where we’ve come from.

This expertly curated collection documents the most significant, beautiful and curious street signs, from enamel plates to incised lettering, the simplest cast iron signs to gloriously ornamental architectural plaques.

It’s a visual and typographical journey through the history of a great metropolis. Along the way, the fascinating stories behind these unassuming treasures are uncovered, revealing where they came from before being affixed to brick or stone for decades to come. We’re introduced to the iconic nameplates of the City of Westminster, the stunning tiled signs of Hampstead and the revival nameplates of Lambeth, as well as the ghost signs of the no-longer existent NE postal district.

London Street Signs is a striking visual record of our collective history that will appeal to design and history enthusiasts alike.

A rich collection of Millie’s best brilliant beasts from her five bestselling colouring books: Animal Kingdom, Tropical Wonderland, Wild Savannah, Curious Creatures and Beautiful Birds and Treetop Treasures. A menagerie of animals that dazzle with their presence or sometimes because of their cleverness and ability to carve out a life in a hazardous world – but all brilliant beasts. From the amazing giraffe to the astute anteater, from the proud lion to the slow but thoughtful sloth.

This bumper edition has 120 illustrations that showcase the most wondrous creatures in Millie’s inimitable decorative style. With 8.5 million books sold, Millie Marotta is one of the most popular colouring book illustrators in the world. This is an essential edition for all Millie Marotta fans, and for those looking to discover her much-loved illustrations for the first time.

Enjoy a whole year of the very finest nature writing, with one carefully selected piece to savour every day.

This beautifully illustrated daily anthology brings you the very best of nature writing from around the world and through the centuries, from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History to modern authors such as Helen Macdonald and Robert Macfarlane. Encompassing fact and fiction, essays and field guides, letters and diaries, it’s a rich banquet of prose, the perfect companion to help your mind escape into the world of nature every day.

It contains descriptions of nature in all its guises: Virginia Woolf on snails, Kenneth Grahame on the charms of a riverbank, Willa Cather on the rolling American prairies, and, via L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables on Octobers. David Attenborough pops up to talk about our responsibility to the natural environment, Edith Holden provides evocative descriptions from The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, and Henry David Thoreau, of course, sends dispatches from Walden Pond. We meet Rudyard Kipling’s jungle animals and Jack London’s wild dogs, and Mark Twain explains why a camel is not jumpable.

Keep this wonderful celebration of nature by your bedside and it will become the perfect start or close to each day of the year.

A wonderful portable edition of Millie Marotta’s Beautiful Birds and Treetop Treasures from the the Sunday Times and international bestseller Millie Marotta.

Enter Millie’s wonderful world of treetop treasures and discover the birds nesting and flying high up in the treetops, and the myriad creatures found among the branches.

The enchanting illustrations to colour in range from Major Mitchell’s cockatoo and rose robins, to the magnolia warbler, silver-eared mesia and whiskered treeswift. As well as the beautiful birds of the world, Millie’s intricate designs show the more unusual creatures residing in the treetops, such as the Amazonian milk frog, the sugar glider or the tree-kangaroo.

Millie’s inimitable style is treasured by thousands around the world and in this  exciting book there are all sorts of creatures and fauna waiting to be coloured in, from tiny insects to winged beasts and scaled reptiles to buds and blossoms. The world’s rainforests, woodlands and thickets are teeming with life and this book guarantees hours of relaxation and colouring fun.

A wonderful portable edition of Millie Marotta’s Tropical Wonderland from the the Sunday Times and international bestseller Millie Marotta.

Lose yourself in a riot of colouring in and drawing as you bring the exotic creatures and plants in Millie Marotta’s tropical wonderland to life. Millie’s intricate style of illustration encourages you to make your own mark, whether it’s to add to the fine lines on trees or add a splash of colour to the feathers of a tropical parrot. Explore the rainforest further and you will find extraordinary flowers, birds, butterflies and reptiles, including a rainbow boa with shiny scales crying out for a touch of colour. This book will bring enjoyment to anyone who is looking for a creative outlet or a mindful and relaxing activity.

A wonderful portable edition of the Sunday Times and international bestseller Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom. 

Millie Marotta is a hugely popular illustrator and her idiosyncratic drawings of the world’s wonderful creatures will draw you in. The international bestseller offers a range of beautiful illustration to colour in, personalise and make your own.

The artist’s intricate style of illustration will get you itching for pencils and pen to colour in or add a touch of your own illustration, whether it’s patterned birds, the flowing tendrils of a jellyfish, or the composite of flowers that make up a grizzly bear.

You can colour her work or add your own line drawings to make it special to you. Add your own patterns to the lively forest scene, choose your own birds to add to the branches, or make a pattern with your colour choices. The images are guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing.

c. 600 words

Today, Alan Turing is a well-recognised name, but it was not always so. Until the last few years of the 20th century hardly anyone had heard of him or his achievements.

All that changed when the British government permitted the story of Bletchley Park during the Second World War to emerge.We learnt that Alan Turing had had a pivotal role in breaking the Enigma cipher, used by German forces.This was so significant that it helped to shorten the length of the war.

Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years other careers besides secret codebreaker: he was also a mathematician, computer scientist and biologist. For example, with Tommy Flowers he built the first computer. A man ahead of his time, many of his theories and calculations are still relevant today.

In this guide to a truly remarkable life, recent research by Alan Turing’s nephew, Dermot, has unearthed a fresh perspective and made entirely accessible this story to the modern reader.

An illustrated biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59), the foremost engineer in an age of great engineers, when the Industrial Revolution was at its height and Britain, its birthplace, was the vibrant hub of a world empire. It presents the story of this perfectionist, the setbacks and challenges he faced, and the results of his work. 

A vivacious, dynamic perfectionist, Isambard kingdom Brunel drove others hard and himself first of all. Learn how he constructed the world’s first underwater tunnel, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Great Western Railways and even steamships the size of which the world had never seen before.

Much of his work is still part of British infrastructure today.His splendid legacy makes it easy to think that Brunel’s life was throughout one of golden achievement. However, disaster, failure, ridicule and death were never far away – which makes the story of this clever, charismatic, driven man all the more fascinating.

An illustrated guide to the Normans – the invaders of 1066 who changed English life forever

The 1066 Norman conquest of England, led by William, Duke of Normandy (“the Conqueror”), was the single greatest political change England has ever seen. The Normans brought with them a new culture, which included law, architectural style and methods, and leisure pursuits. The old aristocracy was stripped of their assets and denounced, and in its place a new French aristocracy began to run the country – even bringing their language with them. The guide examines the impact the new Norman rule had on the English way of life.

Look out for more Pitkin Guides on the very best of British history, heritage and travel.

Step behind the scenes of the biggest mystery of the British Isles

Loch Ness is one of the most popular visitor sites in the world. Its stunning beauty draws many, but far more come to experience the mystery of the monster that may lurk in its waters. Known affectionately as ‘Nessie’, this elusive creature has been chased with great zeal for over a century (it has been seen by over 1000 people) and this enthusiasm shows no sign of diminishing.

A new edition, rewritten and with fresh new images, of a Pitkin classic that examines the evidence and the various sitings on this perennial mystery.