Series: Book of Knowledge.
Subject Areas: Science, Astronomy, Geography, Physiology,Technology, History.
Ages: 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16.
Type: Reference, Combined Volume (c/v)

Usborne's Book of Knowledge is one of the oldest and most familiar of the publisher's titles, but it's been thoroughly updated, additional information added, and Internet Links are now included. It was first published in 1979, expanded in 1988, and now we have the new version which is virtually a brand new book. You can purchase it in full size or a mini-version if you prefer, at a lower price. It's a gorgeous reference type book, but is equally useful just to read through to gain a broad understanding of many subjects. This one volume is ideal for summer reading and review. Once you finish this one, you may want to purchase the Internet Linked Science Encyclopedia which is expanded and for a slightly older age group. Younger kids would use the Children's Encyclopedia(also Internet Linked and comes in a reduced size too).

The first section is Astronomy and Space. It covers the universe, the solar system, the sun, moon, earth, eclipses, stars, maps of the night sky to use for star-gazing, famous constellations and a map of the moon. (If you just want this one section, purchase Complete Book of Astronomy and Space instead - it's virtually the same material.) The Internet Links are very helpful - for example, we took a virtual journey thru the solar system on one of the sites.

The second section is Planet Earth, examining earth's physical characteristics, bodies of water, the atmosphere, weather, and climate. Next is Plants and Animals, which includes ecosystems, life cycles, evolution and classification. The Human Body follows; it's a beautiful, detailed look at the various systems and senses. Be aware that there is a two-page spread on human reproduction! Science and Technology follows this section, which dives into the elements, energy, states of matter, color, electricity, magnetism, flight, TV, radio, telephones,computers, and the Internet. Again, there are loads of great Internet Links to explore.

The book finishes with sections on Maps, Countries and their Flags, World History Dates, and all kinds of Facts and Lists. Excellent summer reading, but also a great resource for a broad base of understanding. The photos and drawings are lavishly spread throughout the whole book.

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Awards: Today's Books named this title as a "Must Read".

Professional Reviews: The Bloomsbury Review - September/October 2004
Usborne books are the brainchild of Peter Usborne, who wanted to make educational nonfiction children’s books that would be appealing enough to compete with television and comics. Borrowing ideas from both these media and working with educational consultants, Usborne has done just that. Since 1973, his titles have covered a wide range of subjects, including hobbies, history, science, nature, geography, and more. Rich illustrations, creative layouts, and oodles of information are hallmarks of these books. And many are now Internet linked, so children can easily log on to websites that will help them delve further into specific subjects. Book of Knowledge is a terrific, all-encompassing reference that touches on everything from “Astronomy and Space” to “The Human Body.” Vivid photographs and varied subjects have made it a family favorite. Peter Usborne’s concept has given birth to an impressive body of children’s literature. The books tap into imagination, fascination, and reality; they demonstrate how these values intersect.

Of Interest To: Librarians and Media Specialists, Parents, Teachers

Thought you'd like to see how Nathan's green-haired creature turned out -- we've been calling him Wilson, since he reminds us of the "friend" of Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway.

Nate made him using the instructions in What Shall I Grow? If you'd like to find out more about the book, click here.

Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Art, Crafts.
Ages: 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-on Projects, Art Projects

After two graduations this past weekend, I'm back to wrap up a series of blogs on summer activities. This time I want to review a whole group of books made especially for girls. I have one sweet daughter in the middle of four very masculine sons, so I think that's why I loved doing these types of activities with her, and also enjoyed watching her experiment with art projects, designs, crafts, etc. As far as she was concerned, the more glittery and sparkly a craft could be, the better! Now she's in college studying Interior Design, so probably all the practice with Usborne influenced her career decision.

Usborne has three "Make and Do" titles that are delightful; each one is loaded with sparkly silvery stickers, too --
Princess Things to Make and Do -- everything from tiaras, dainty slippers and princess headdresses to chandeliers, swish bags and lacy fans. It's also available in a Kid Kit version, which includes supplies.
Sparkly Things to Make and Do -- party masks, glitter bugs, spangly butterflies and more.
Fairy Things to Make and Do -- fairy pop-up cards, fairy palaces, fairy tiaras, fairy collages, sparkly fairy wings,and loads of other ideas. This title can be purchased in a Kid Kit version, with supplies included. These make wonderful gifts. Take a Look Inside this Book

If you have a young girl in your life who loves mermaids, you'll want to check out Mermaid Things to Make and Do, which comes in a Kid Kit also.

My favorite among this series (probably because my mom used projects like this to teach me the beginning basics of sewing) is Fairy Things to Stitch and Sew. I was fascinated with miniatures, too, so I would have adored the tiny tooth fairy purse, the fairy pillows and fancy stuffed hearts. Directions are very easy to follow, and the last section of the book goes into great detail about how to do all the pretty types of stitching and how to sew on buttons -- very practical stuff.

Another beautiful title is How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas. There are step-by-step instructions for a wonderful collection of lovely, graceful figures, using all kinds on media -- pastels, pens, pencils, paint, tissue paper for collage type pictures, and as with the others, stickers (this time of various shapes and colors) are included in the book. There is one project called Swan Lake which is especially floaty, and looks like a fantasy picture.

Finally, there is Fairy Cooking. It's gorgeous and yummy, perfect food for little girls' get-togethers, or moms and daughters tea times. Mini meringues, tiny fairy cakes, pink confetti cookies, and darling marzipan toadstools. You will want to try them all. Working with recipes helps children to learn fractions and measurements, too.

Purchase

You can purchase any of these titles and more (including ones for boys like Pirate Things to Make and Do) by going to my Usborne website and using the Search feature.

Of Interest To: Parents, Scout troop leaders, Teachers, Librarians and Media Specialists.

Subject Areas: Arts and Crafts.
Ages: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 adult.

I want to interrupt myself to make sure you know about a product that my kids, and our friends' children have LOVED to play with. If you haven't already discovered it, you need to try Crayola's Model Magic -- it's a very lightweight modelling compound that has a delightful feel and texture -- very different from Playdoh. One of my friends uses it to keep her her children's hands busy while she reads to them. She says it makes them "hear" better! Our family fell in love with it when we tried it, and it's easy to make all kinds of fun creatures or people. It will air dry and can be painted also. I thought it only came in white, but have since discovered that there are colors too.
Click here to see Crayola Model Magic.

I'll be back next week with more Usborne ideas-- We're graduating two of our children this weekend!

Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Art, Crafts.
Ages: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-on Projects, Art Projects

Here is a very useful and unique book. At our house, creative ways to bless Dad, and especially ones that don't break the bank, are always a dilemma. With Mom, it's always easy: chocolate, nice soap or lotion, a scented candle, flowers, (and did I mention chocolate... ?)

Recently, for my husband's May 10 birthday, the entire family did 10 days of surprises. One of his favorites? A card from our youngest with all the reasons he loves his Dad written inside. Amazing how these little things mean so much, especially as we get older.

Father's Day is coming up June 18th, too. Get this book now and you'll have a variety of creative things for the kids to make; both boys and girls will enjoy making these projects that have a more masculine look to them. One of my good friends and a fellow Usborne consultant, Cathie MacKenzie-Carey, e-mailed me excitedly when she received this book, and she especially noted the idea called "Dad Heads". It's very funny -- you use foil, tissue, glue and paint to make your own version of Dad's head and face, complete with glasses, beard or balding head if applicable. There's a great set of containers for the top of his dresser or work bench, a couple of collages, a photo frame, a do not disturb sign, pop-up cards, coin box and more. 200 stickers come with the book, too.

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Awards: American Bookseller's Pick of the List Award for What Shall I Paint? in this series, Lifeworks Real Life Award given for Christmas Activities from this series

Of Interest To: Art Teachers, Parents, Librarians and Media Specialists

Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Art, Crafts.
Ages: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-on Projects, Art Projects

Children always seem eager to paint, but then when everything is out and ready to go, they freeze! This book is the solution to the question of what exactly to paint, and the ideas lead to lots of further experimentation.

Like the other books in the series, you'll find step-by-step instructions that produce very nice finished projects. At the bottom of each page is a suggestion for another similar painting idea, so they get to use what they've already learned plus some imagination to do another type of painting. There are creative ideas about adding texture to your paintings (using clingwrap, crumpled paper, sponges, blowing paint thru a straw); I like all the sensory experiences included in this book.

My favorites are "sheep in a field", "penguins on ice", and "fish in a waterfall". The book concludes with other ways to make special patterns with paint.

Take a Look Inside a Book from This Series

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If you like this book or the one I reviewed (below) on drawing, take a quick look at Usborne's activity deck called 50 Things to Draw and Paint. The projects are easy and fabulous!

Awards: American Bookseller's Pick of the List Award
Of Interest To: Art Teachers, Parents, Librarians and Media Specialists

Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Crafts, Art, Science, Botany.
Ages: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-on Projects, Science Experiments

It seems like all children want to grow things once the spring season arrives. Over the years, our five kids have each done projects found in What Shall I Grow?, and have really enjoyed doing them. This book is a natural lead-in for learning about plants, seeds, propagation, and photosynthesis, and we regularly integrate these types of activities into science class. (I've used these growing projects along with the plant section of First Book of Nature.) As with all the other titles in this series, the items you will need are probably lying around your home; you might have to buy some specific seeds or small plants for a few of the activities.

I love the way Usborne books walk a child through the steps of a project. The instructions are very easy to understand but not too simple -- expands their vocabulary. The photos and drawings are a perfect complement to the directions. I've said it before, but will say it again -- learning to follow directions is great for improving reading comprehension. If you do it right, it works! If not, you'll know why.

Here are a few of the fun projects included:
- Grow a green-haired creature (we are starting one of these today -- I'll let you see in a week or two how it turns out! Go see Nathan's Green-Haired Creature)
- Grow a giant sunflower -- we love doing this and we use the results to attract birds
- Make a miniature yard, add tiny furniture and animals -- adorable!
- Grow potatoes in a bucket - very cool
- Propagate new plants from stems or leaves
- Sprout bean seeds for salad
- Grow herbs on a windowsill to use for cooking
- Grow an ivy "tower" in a pot, decorate it for holidays

We love them all!

Take a Look Inside a Book from this Series

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Awards: Lifeworks Real Life Award given for Christmas Activities from this series
Of Interest To: Librarians and Media Specialists, Parents, Science Teachers

Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Arts, Crafts, Drawing. Ages: 5 6 7 8 9 10.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-on projects

Every time my one son sees Usborne's What Shall I Draw?, he says "I love this book." Two of my older children felt the same way about it.

This is a book that gives your child confidence by making even their first drawings successful. Each drawing project is broken down into step-by-step illustrating and that makes it manageable. The end results are quite nice, and even very young children get the hang of it quite easily. It's mostly cartoon-style drawing, and includes various animals, space rockets, submarines, helicopters, circles, clowns, ballerinas, castles and trucks.

I like the shading, blending of colors, and the suggestions of things to do with your drawings when they are finished. My children went through it multiple times and still pull it out when they are in the drawing mood, or to entertain young children that visit us. You can also purchase this book in a Kid Kit version, which includes a batch of materials - nice for a gift.

Take a Look Inside This Book

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Awards: Book with Kid Kit received the Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products Award; Lifeworks Real Life Award was given for Christmas Activitiesfrom this series.

Of Interest To: Parents, Teachers, Art Teachers, Librarians and Media Specialists, Activity coordinators

Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Art, Crafts, Drawing.
Ages: 5 6 7 8 9 10.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-On projects

The Usborne Activities Series is a large and varied collection of fun things to try. We've been testing some of them and plan to highlight a number of them over the next week or so. First, we'll look at Amazing Magic Tricks, which is also available in a Spanish version or in a Kid Kit version. (I highly recommend any of the Usborne Kid Kits. They provoke children to read by pairing a book with an activity they’ll love. You can find loads of other kid kits by clicking on the "About Usborne Books" link in the sidebar, and typing kid kits in the search box.)

Most of the tricks are done with ordinary items found in your home -- paper, tape, coins, cards, string, etc. My 10-year-old likes the card tricks the most, and I love having him do them because of what it accomplishes aside from keeping him busy! Learning to follow step-by-step instructions improves reading comprehension skills, since you have to understand what you are reading to make the tricks work, and learning to follow directions in an orderly fashion builds test-taking skills too. I have him read through all the steps first, practice by himself until he feels comfortable with the trick, then he tries it out -- usually on me, his dad, and his older brothers and sister. After it's perfected, he'll do it for friends. I have found it's valuable to do activities like these to help kids get over being shy and learn not to take themselves too seriously when they make a mistake!

There are many other sleight of hand tricks in the book, some are easy and some are more challenging. My favorites are: the banana that is already sliced when you peel it, the jumping rubber band, and the finger in a matchbox trick (sort of gross!). At the bottom of each page is a silly joke, too, which kids in this age range love.

The book includes 180 stickers that can be used on projects. The last page gives a few tips for putting on a show. If you purchase the Kid Kit version, you'll also get a wand, deck of cards, matchboxes, string, balloons, paper clips and rubber bands. This would make a great birthday gift!

Take a Look Inside This Book

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Awards: Lifeworks Real Life Award was given for Christmas Activities from this series.

Of Interest To: Parents, Teachers, Spanish Teachers, Librarians and Media Specialists, Activity coordinators