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Weird But True 2: 300 Outrageous Facts by National Geographic

Reviewed by: Dad of Divas

About the book:

Did you know that a great white shark can weigh as much as 15 gorillas? That meteorites the size of basketballs land on Earth about once a month? Kids will devour more than 300 wacky facts in Weird but True! 2—the second installment in a lively new spin-off series from the award-winning National Geographic Kids magazine.

Straight from the pages of the magazine’s top-scoring feature, this little book is chock-full of tremendous fun. It’s packed with even more of the wild-n-wacky facts, whimsical designs, and all-out reading fun that made the first Weird but True volume an early success.

This book’s compact size makes it easy to handle and fun to browse. Eye-popping photos and bold, colorful graphics nab kids’ attention and entice them to read. Brain-bending facts cover a broad range of topics, from science to foods to pop culture and just about everything else under the sun. Kids will have so much fun that they won’t even realize they’re learning.

My take on the book:

This delightful book will not only help your child to learn some fun facts about their world, but I believe adults will enjoy it also. To me this a book the entire family will like to read. The book is set up with short snippets of information on each page. Some pages have one fact and other pages have several facts. It is easy to read ,and I found I wanted to read the entire 300 facts in one sitting. This book could easily become a springboard for you and your child to search out other amazing, little known facts that you could share with others.

I would like to give you a sampling of the book’s contents:

• Animals that lay eggs do not have belly buttons.
• The average dreams lasts 20 minutes.
• Men get hiccups more often than women.
• Snow leopards cannot roar.
• If the longest blue whale could stand on its tail, it would be as tall as a ten story building.
• Some butterflies have ears on their wings.
• Chewing gum makes your heart beat faster.
• The first e-mail was sent in 1971.
• Mt. Everest grows 1/8 of an inch each year.
• Russia is only two miles from Alaska.

This is just a small sample. Dads, just think about all the conversations you can begin with your kids, using this book.

National Geographic Kids World Atlas by National Geographic

Reviewed by: Dad of Divas

About the author:

National Geographic is a recognised authority in mapping excellence. For 119 years the Society’s maps have helped spread geographic knowledge to people around the world. A multi-million-dollar database allows National Geographic to combine the latest data gained by space-age technology with innovative digital mapping techniques to create state-of-the-art political, physical, and thematic maps. Meticulous research and attention to detail have established a standard of achievement that is second to none.

About the book:

In this new, reduced trim size edition, we’ve punched up the content with the very latest maps, data, and essays about the world and all that is in it. More than 200 color images transport kids to intriguing places, and 115 pages of full-size National Geographic maps help them locate countries, cities, regions, and more.

Created by the most trusted name in cartography, these colorful maps have been custom designed for middle-grade students. Boundaries, place-names, and data reflect the most current information available, and every map appears in the context of surrounding areas to ensure that a full picture of the world develops. Same-size physical and political maps make for easy comparisons and help youngsters understand how physical features influence patterns of human settlement and economic activity. Locator globes and color-coding make it easy for kids to keep track of where they are and quickly navigate from one region to another.

Stunning images from space draw visual links between real-world scenes and cartography. Plus, an interactive Web feature links kids to the Society’s vast archive of maps, articles, photos, videos, music, languages, crafts, quizzes, and more. With a dynamic reference like this, homework has never been so fascinating.

My take on the book:

I have seen so many children’s atlases and they have all had excellent qualities but I need to say that this atlas is not only for children but for the entire family.

I found many of the sections worthy of mentioning: there is a web site offered which will give you to access to more information than the book offers. The book offers excellent maps not only of the countries but of the vegetation, the physical aspects of each continent, land formations, natural disasters, the oceans of the world, world politics, world population, languages of the world, religions and economics of the world, food and water resources, mineral resources, and more.

The book illustrates each continent in so many detailed ways. Lots of photos enhance the text.

It is a book that can be used at all grade levels especially knowing you have the web site of information available to you. Help your children to know the world they live in. We are in a global

National Geographic: Face to Face With Wolves by Jim & Judy Brandenburg

Reviewed by: Dad of Divas

About the Book

The Arctic wolf inches towards you. Like you, he is torn between fear and curiosity. His instinct leads him towards the scent of your leather boots. Your instinct is to reach out to this curious white canine, but he snarls, and you’re face to face with a wild animal!

Come face to face with wolves through this book’s photos by Jim Brandenburg. For years, he’s photographed wolves leaping onto ice floes, hunting and foraging for food and surrounding his house in Minnesota.

In the “Face to Face With Animals” series, National Geographic experts take you into the wild! Go behind the scenes with the people who research and photograph wild animals.

Each book includes “Tips from the experts”, a “facts at a glance” reference section, a scientific experiment, a glossary, and a “find out more” section all stimulate participation.

My Take on the Book
This photographic journal begins with Jim telling us that wolves are his favorite animal. He traveled to the high Arctic, far north in Canada where white wolves live so he could study them. After three summers of study, he returned to Minnesota where he and his wife continued their study of wolves.

The second section of this book gives us information about wolves. There are many details and excellent photographs and along the margins there are “fun” facts about wolves. Jim explains how wolves were hunted so much that there was decline in numbers to the point that they were place on the Endangered Species list. He shows the reader how that recovery for these animals is taking place now.

The last section of the book has pages of additional information about wolves, but also has information on how the reader can assist in reestablishing the wolf population in the United States. The photographs are amazing and the information keeps you engaged in this beautiful book. It is worth sharing . Enjoy!