Time for Kids Almanac

Great resource to browse for all kinds of interesting information. When the television, computer, Ipod, Blackberry, Smartphone, DS, Gameboy, Nintendo, Wi, Xbox, etc., are off, this book will occupy the children for some time.

A beautiful and FUN reference book for children - my niece was impressed. Wish I'd had something like that as a child !

Although this book's suggested readership group consists of those in the 8-12 age range, I think it will be of interest to anyone else - regardless of age -- who has an interest in the information provided about a remarkably diverse range of subjects. The material is organized within 28 sections that begin with a "News Recap" (i.e. of highlights in 2007 in 2008) and proceeds from Animals (e.g. "Animal Facts: Weird but True") through Movies and TV (e.g. "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards") to What's Next? (i.e. "a few of the wondrous inventions and trends that will greet us in the near future"). The lively and informative 243-page narrative is supplemented by more than 700 photographs, maps, charts, and other illustrations. As is true of most other almanacs, this is a volume in which to roam rather than read from beginning to end. Think of it as a marketplace for information on prominent display at 28 different "booths." Pause to examine what attracts the eye, then move on. Come back again in a week or a month. Curious minds will find answers to questions such as these: 1. What are the three major reasons that animals communicate? How do they do so? 2. How do various systems in the human body work? 3. What are among the most helpful Internet resources? 4. What are the ten destinations most-visited by tourists? 5. What happens at a recycling plant? 6. What is the purpose of each of the 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution? 7. What were the major developments in world history from 4000-3500 B.C. until 2007? 8. What are the basic beliefs of the five major religions? 9. What are some of the "wackiest" sports from around the world? 10. Who were among the most influential activists throughout history? This almanac also provides a wealth of detailed information about all of the U.S. presidents, all of the 50 states, the largest U.S. cities, and dozens of foreign countries as well as timelines for exploration, life-changing inventions, and the planet Earth. To sum up, as the 2009 edition clearly indicates, the Time for Kids almanacs offer content and production values of the highest quality. That is why they have won a number of awards such as the Teacher's Choice Award as "Best Children's Reference Book" from Learning magazine, the Association of Educational Publishers' award also as "Best Children's Reference Book," and ranking on "The A-list" by FamilyFun magazine.