National Geographic consistently puts out some of the best books for kids, and they hit that mark again with three titles that help kids explore their curiosity about the world around us. Featuring National Geographic’s trademark spectacular photography, each book is written in a fun yet informative style that proves engaging for everyone. Let’s take a look at these three great Nat Geo Kids titles that our kids loved:
Ultimate Predatorpedia
The Ultimate Predatorpedia, written by Christina Wilsdon, is a great kids’ reference for all things predator, introducing kids to some amazing animals from all over the world. Featured, of course, are popular predators like big cats (African lion, cheetah, jaguar), birds of prey including the bald eagle (my daughter’s favorite) and peregrine falcon, and even fearsome fish like the great white shark. But the book also profiles less well-known animals such as the aardwolf, secretary bird, cane toad, and green tiger beetle. Over 100 predators are featured inside, grouped by type of animal: mammals, birds, reptiles & amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.
The predators’ pages are all detailed with brief informative descriptions of their hunting habits and habitats, alongside beautiful photographs and facts lists that identify scientific names, sizes, and ranges. The section on invertebrate predators was particularly fascinating to us, as it showcased several smaller-sized predators like the army ant and magnificent spider that we really didn’t know much about. Before diving into descriptions for individual animals, the book outlines summaries of what exactly predators are, how they use different techniques to hunt, and how climate change is affecting various typed of predators. Filled with fun tidbits that kids are sure to remember for repeating at random times (Did you know that a wolverine can smell an animal in 20-feet-deep snow? Or that one of the biggest bald eagle nests ever was as tall as a two-story building? Or that an Asian giant hornet can kill 40 bees in just a minute?), the Ultimate Predatorpedia is a book that any kid interested in zoology will enjoy.
Why Not? Over 1,111 Answers to Everything
Nat Geo Kids’ Why Not? Over 1,111 Answers to Everything is a great resource for facts and trivia to amuse the most curious of kids (and adults). Author Crispin Boyer, who answered 1,111 “Why?” questions in a previous Nat Geo Kids book, takes that premise and flips it for this book, answering a multitude of “Why Not?” questions that kids ask about their world. The subjects range from obvious and curious topics kids pose, like “Why don’t cats and dogs get along?” or “Why aren’t dinosaurs alive today?”, to more obscure questions that kids may not even know they have, like “Why can’t I hear someone eating without getting annoyed?” or “Why can’t I tickle myself?”.
Split into seven chapters, Why Not? delves into questions about animals, our planet, the universe, history, the body, technology, and pop culture in easy-to-read snippets that inform and entertain. My daughter and I especially liked the accompanying sidebar features that debunked common myths (“Myths Mashed”), profiled scientists and pioneers who helped provide the answers to all these questions (“Persons of Interest”), and provided sincere, science-based answers to seemingly-goofy queries like “Why don’t trees scream when we cut them down?” (“Silly Question, Serious Answer”). Full of beautiful photos and accessible yet entertaining information, Why Not? is sure to capture kids’ interest for hours.
Weird but True! 10 – Luke Forney
My stepdaughter is a huge fan of weird facts. We’ve been checking out a lot of the special collections from this series, like Weird but True! Food, but we had somehow never managed to dive into the main series. Luckily, we corrected that error with Weird but True! 10. National Geographic Kids continues to cram an unbelievable number of fun, kid-friendly facts into their books, and with this new collection, they have more pages and more facts than any of their previous books.
Weird but True! 10 made for excellent bed time reading, and my stepdaughter was stoked to get back to it each night. The only downside might be that the crazy facts and excellent photography I have come to expect from National Geographic Kids occasionally left us way past bed time discussing science, nature, and society. This book lends itself well to conversation and further discussion and research, which I value extraordinarily.
I loved how National Geographic Kids presented such fascinating information in a manner accessible for kids. My stepdaughter loved that she got to read about science and see pictures of animals every night. She asked me to let everyone know it is “the best fact book ever!” Weird but True! 10 earns that endorsement.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received copies of these books for review purposes.
