Everything You Need to Know: An Encyclopedia for Inquiring Young Minds
This wonderful first encyclopedia is the perfect one-volume book of knowledge for young readers. Arranged thematically in ten fascinating core topics, this book will interest knowledge-hungry young minds, with subjects such as dinosaurs, the human body, machines, and space. The lively text is clear, simple, engaging, and enhanced by more than 2,000 illustrations. Every page is filled with story boxes, glossary words, Web links, and illustrated activities to keep young readers turning the...
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This wonderful first encyclopedia is the perfect one-volume book of knowledge for young readers. Arranged thematically in ten fascinating core topics, this book will interest knowledge-hungry young minds, with subjects such as dinosaurs, the human body, machines, and space. The lively text is clear, simple, engaging, and enhanced by more than 2,000 illustrations. Every page is filled with story boxes, glossary words, Web links, and illustrated activities to keep young readers turning the pages.Plus, children will feel a sense of achievement with the full-page "Now You Know!" summary at the end of each chapter, making them feel that they have really learned "everything they need to know"!Children's LiteratureWell, not exactly everything! In this beginning encyclopedia for young readers, ten topics of interest to kids are presented in double-page spreads packed tightly with illustrations of examples that have been rather arbitrarily selected. While the text will be difficult for the youngest readers, browsers will be attracted to sections on plants and animals, dinosaurs, the human body, and machines. Capable readers are more likely to be interested in topics like ancient civilizations (e.g., Sumerians, Greeks, Egyptians, Mayas, Chinese, Vikings), people and places of the world, science, and space. Although the book is hefty, so much information in one volume results in many puzzling omissions; the sports section, for example, does not show baseball, volleyball, or ice-skating. Kids may enjoy some extra features scattered through the pages: objects to find in a picture, vocabulary words, "Creative Corners," and (signaled by an open book) references to related literary sources (e.g., legends, folktales, children's books) that adults can locate and share with an interested child. Parents and teachers should also be on the lookout for mistakes—to mention two, a horse chestnut is labeled as an acorn and ballet is defined incorrectly. While the gaudily-colored pictures are meant to capture a child's interest, artwork by many different artists (listed at the end) often results in a mismatched melange of styles on a page, making the overall design less attractive than it might be. Still, the encyclopedia could be fun for browsing and choosing topics to explore more fully. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft
\ Children's Literature\ - Barbara L. Talcroft\ Well, not exactly everything! In this beginning encyclopedia for young readers, ten topics of interest to kids are presented in double-page spreads packed tightly with illustrations of examples that have been rather arbitrarily selected. While the text will be difficult for the youngest readers, browsers will be attracted to sections on plants and animals, dinosaurs, the human body, and machines. Capable readers are more likely to be interested in topics like ancient civilizations (e.g., Sumerians, Greeks, Egyptians, Mayas, Chinese, Vikings), people and places of the world, science, and space. Although the book is hefty, so much information in one volume results in many puzzling omissions; the sports section, for example, does not show baseball, volleyball, or ice-skating. Kids may enjoy some extra features scattered through the pages: objects to find in a picture, vocabulary words, "Creative Corners," and (signaled by an open book) references to related literary sources (e.g., legends, folktales, children's books) that adults can locate and share with an interested child. Parents and teachers should also be on the lookout for mistakes—to mention two, a horse chestnut is labeled as an acorn and ballet is defined incorrectly. While the gaudily-colored pictures are meant to capture a child's interest, artwork by many different artists (listed at the end) often results in a mismatched melange of styles on a page, making the overall design less attractive than it might be. Still, the encyclopedia could be fun for browsing and choosing topics to explore more fully. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalGr 2-5- This unbiased browsing encyclopedia covers a wide range of subjects under headings such as "Plants," "Animals," "People through Time," "Science," and "Space," with the suitability of the entries varying by age. Some, such as "Clothes," will be accessible to second and third graders, whereas others, for example "South America," may be more suitable for students who have already had some global studies. The visually rich work presents inset blocks of facts, vocabulary, related stories, questions, and ideas for crafts. The story boxes will assist in creating literature connections to topics (though some, such as a summary of "The Three Little Pigs" in the chapter on materials, will not appeal to the older end of the grade range). The vocabulary "notepads" throughout are helpful, but there is no comprehensive glossary or pronunciation guide. "Can You Find?" questions will engage younger readers. Web sites are listed as footers without titles or annotations, limiting their utility. The use of bright colors, small blocks of dark text, an adequately sized typeface, and numerous illustrations make the book easy to read, and a comprehensive index allows for the access of specific bits of information.-Sara Rofofsky Marcus, Yeshiva Har Torah, Little Neck, NY\ \ \
