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Weird But True! 4: 300 Outrageous Facts (2012)

by National Geographic Kids(Favorite Author)

4.33 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

142631020X (ISBN13: 9781426310201)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

National Geographic Children's Books

review 1: I don't enjoy slamming books but this is everything I DON'T want to see in children's nonfiction. It does not support critical thinking in any way, shape, or form, and presents "facts" without much substantiation. For example, "A rainbow looks different to every person who sees it" (145). This may be a novelty to 6 or 7-year-old readers, but rather than spouting rapid-fire "didja know?" statements at its audience, this book should explain WHY a rainbow looks different to different people (if that is, in fact, a scientific fact). Further, the book states that the world's longest beaver dam is as long as 60 school buses placed end-to-end. Children should be encouraged to push further and ask deeper questions: how long IS a school bus? Can't different buses be different sizes... more? This book does not incourage such inquiry. It's a rapid-fire explosion of "believe it or not" statements that have connection to the hard science behind them. I'm disappointed to see the National Geographic seal on this, especially after the awesome publications I've seen from them as of late (NatGeo Little Kids magazine, for example).
review 2: Crazy, but absolutely true facts like..."The world's most stolen food is cheese." "A Narwhale uses its tusk to detect changes in the weather.""There is an eel in New Zealand that can live for more than 100 years.""There are more than 700 versions of the Cinderella story.""A Blue Whale's largest veins are so big that you could swim through them.""Mail is still delivered by mule to the remote town of Supai, Arizona, U.S.A."Seriously, I could go on and on! They are SO fascinating! Once you start flipping through it, that's it! You're hooked! You end up reading the whole thing! My thoughts: These are a great price and are SO darn fun! This was my purchase for me after picking out books for classrooms and 2 each for my daughters at their school's Scholastic Book Fair Thursday! I think I read the whole thing aloud to whomever was listening while waiting for an hour in between parent/teacher conferences for my girls. Love these! I don't know that it's useful information but it sure is cool! These would make a great addition to any classroom, or even a bathroom! :) They would be great stocking stuffers for people who are hard to buy for. less

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