Book review: *National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011*

National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011

Back-of-the-book blurb:  In true National Geographic Kids magazine style, this is a book to excite kids about their planet: its fun-filled pages are packed with everything from how to decode your dreams to the excitement of underwater pumpkin carving to the fascinating powers of the human brain. Geography, history, science, and adventure—it’s all here to explore in one single volume. This is the reference book that gives young minds MORE…

She Is Too Fond of Books’ review:  My kids fight over this book.  They argue over who was reading it before dinner (and who should be able to return to it after dinner), who removed the dollar bill that was being used as a book mark, and who used PEN to answer some of the fun quizzes in it.  In other words, the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011 is a big hit at our house (I probably shouldn’t use the phrases ‘my kids fight’ and ‘big hit’ in such proximity … I don’t mean to imply that they’ve actually come to blows over it … yet).

The almanac is divided into several sections:

• Your World 2011
• Amazing Animals
• Going Green
• Super Science
• Geography Rocks
• History Happens
• Culture Connection
• Awesome Adventure
• Wonders of Nature
• Future World

Your World 2011 looks at a dozen or hot current topics.  Our favorite is “First-Class Recycling” which is a four-paragraph article discussing an extreme repurposing project – a resort in Costa Rica that uses retired airplanes as hotel space!  It’s not just a fun fact, the article explains why they’re a viable base (they’re sturdy and well-insulated, aside from being unique), and is accompanied by a full-color photo of the renovated plane.  This article shares the double-page layout with three other articles, all have attention-getting headline fonts, cover interesting topics, and include appropriate illustrations.

Book-ended by Your World and Future World, the other sections are loaded with short articles, graphics, quizzes, reference guides and “cool clicks” pointing to online resources.  Geography Rocks shows various types of maps, physical geographic features, and an overview of the seven continents.  It also contains a great reference section with information about the 194 independent countries recognized by the National Geographic Society – statistics like area, population, capital, currency, religions, and languages, as well as a graphic of the nation’s flag.  Pop-outs break up the potential monotony with headlines such as “5 cool things about Israel” and “Climbing Mount Everest.”  I was (am?) a map geek, and was especially pleased to see my kids poring over this section, trying to stump each other with spontaneous quizzes asking them to identify on which continent a particular country would be found.

Kids’ view – Lots of fun information and interesting pictures (even The Little Guy, not yet a reader, invents stories to match the illustrations).  “It will take a really long time to completely read this book, and you don’t have to read it in order” is the assessment of our 8-year-old.

Mom’s view – Lots of fun information and interesting pictures.  ”It will take a really long time to completely read this book, and you don’t have to read it in order” (why reinvent the wheel?  she said it all!).  I was concerned that the paperback cover might not stand up to repeated reading, but my fears have proven unfounded (it’s also available in hardcover!).  The National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011 is all the best we’ve come to expect from National Geographic publications – not just fun facts, but a reference that can be returned to again and again.

The bottom line – Great for home reference library or pleasure reading; compact to fit in a back-pack or travel activity bag.  My middle kids have asked me to buy a second copy so they can each have their own (how can I deny them?!).