Education | Page 10 of 39

National Geographic Kids: Brain Candy, a rabbit hole of fun and learning

Our 11-year-old used to obsess over books like these from National Geographic Kids. He’d grab one from his collection and regale those in the car who were lucky enough to be near him. It didn’t matter who was in the car either. It could’ve been just the driver, his brother, or friends with him; he loved sharing those tidbits of information. National Geographic Kids Brain Candy is a square book that’s jammed with the kind of vibrant, emotive photographs that make books like these stand out from the crowd.

The book is called Brain Candy because the pages have factoids of knowledge that will make elementary school ages feel intelligent. Ironically, those same facts will make their parents or teachers think to themselves that they used to know these things and or why is it that kids are so much smarter nowadays.

Nat Geo Kids education and fun, or vice versa

50 Maps of the World, breeds curiosity for young minds

‘Young minds’ is relative when talking about 50 Maps of the World. As a kid, I remember scouring over the world atlas our family had. It was an atlas in the truest sense of the word. There were brown patches for mountains, greens for the valleys, tan for the dessert, and varying blues for the vast amount of water. It was a cold, serious atlas and I loved it. 50 Maps of the World takes that innate curiosity that kids have about the world, enlarges it on brightly colored engaging maps, and amps up the wanderlust.

Open only if prone to wanderlust or desire to learn about other cultures

Mayflower: The Ship That Started a Nation, successfully sails and more

The first Thanksgiving was a good 399 years ago. It’s one of those holidays that elementary kids know the basics, but may not the reasons or its history. They know that they’re eating at the small table, part of the extended family will gather in one location, crafts are done, and sometimes football is watched. Our kids know the main vocabulary words like pilgrims, Indians, the Mayflower, and maybe where they landed. Mayflower: The Ship That Started a Nation is an illustrated book that can change that to some degree.

Mayflower: The Ship That Started a Nation is a historical, illustrated book that combines gorgeous art and age appropriate text for ages 9 and up.

An illustrated book about more than eating turkey on the fourth Thursday in November

The Constitution Decoded, a readable, fun reference book

At one point in time, I knew most of what the government of the United States does. I know that when our nine or eleven-year-old asks me questions about this or that regarding the government it all sounds familiar, but nailing down the precise answer is challenging. For situations like this, you need The Constitution Decoded: A Guide to the Documents that Shapes our Nation. This is a reference book for The Constitution. It presents the preamble, all of the articles, amendments, The Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of the Confederation. It has these documents in their entirety, and on the page opposite, it explains it in simple English.

The Constitution Decoded, a reference book that’s readable, fun to engage with, and educates for middle school & up

Middle school USA government doesn’t get better than this

Hello Numbers! What Can You Do?, is rhyming, math fun

Young children are smart. At their core they want to learn, it’s just up to the older people who are taking care of them to get fun, educational materials in their way. For the sake of this review, young children is referring to those kids who are between two and six. These are the crawlers and first-grade kids who have nothing better to do than learn, so hop to it parents. That is where Hello Numbers! What Can You Do? An Adventure Beyond Counting can hardwire these kids for math brilliance, with a little assistance.

A smart counting book for crawlers-first grade that makes math a rhyming adventure

Everything You Need to Ace Geometry High School, gets to the point

Everything You Need to Ace Geometry In One Big Fat Notebook is a high school academic’s dream. It’s from the Big Fat Notebook series of books on Workman Publishing. If you have a middle school student then you might be familiar with these books. They’re incredibly helpful, present information in a way that’s fun to read, and makes the content stick. The books are loaded with color, faux notebook paper, and real test examples of the subject that they’re covering. What you may not know is that the series has some books that skew older to those high school students.

The Complete High School Study Guide, Everything You Need to Ace Geometry in One Big Fat Notebook is required practice for age appropriate review and mastery.

Advanced geometry-approachable and not intimidating

Alice Across America is a non-fiction story on women, driving and history

It’s fascinating to imagine the picture books that could come out in 100 years. They’ll imagine a time when cars didn’t fly and there weren’t teleportation devices to get us around the globe. Those books will innocently look back at the people who invented them, as well as, the first barriers that were broken by those who used them. Alice Across America, The Story of the First Women’s Cross-Country Road Trip is a very fun and informative illustrated book that tells about a very different time in the United States.

This is fun non-fiction that kids won’t believe

History Comics, The Roanoke Colony is a top notch graphic novel

:01 First Second produces one of the highest quality book series that you’ll find for middle school readers on science. Science Comics tackles any science concept topic, natural wonder, astrological body, animal or plant species and creates a graphic novel around it that captures the imagination and desire to learn that upper elementary readers and up innately have. Now, :01 First Second has taken that same approach, but shifted the focus to history in a new series appropriately called History Comics. One of the first books in this series is The Roanoke Colony, America’s First Mystery by Chris Schweizer. The Roanoke Colony is a great example of graphic novel storytelling; perfectly blending illustration and text in a way that makes middle grade students laugh, smirk or otherwise enjoy themselves as they’re learning.

History Comics, making history engaging for ages 9 and up