There is more than one almanac for children on offer on the
Bookazine shelves, but the helpful shop assistant at the Big C Extra store
steered me to this one, the Time for Kids publication (ISBN
978-1-60320-921-2, Time for Kids Books, 2012) as her pick of the
genre.
If the promise on the back cover is anything to go by,
the credits for this book included that it was the winner of the Learning
Magazine’s Teacher’s Choice award, winner of the Association of Educational
Publishers award and the A-List pick by the Family Fun magazine. Impressive
qualifications indeed.
It is up to the minute as far as today’s technology is
concerned, a technology that your children have probably a better handle on
than you, ‘smart phones’ being an obvious example.
The various sections in the almanac include What’s in the
news, Animals, Body and Health, Calendars and holidays, Computers and
communication, Countries, Dance and drama, Energy and the environment, Food
and nutrition, Geography, Government and law, History, Inventions, Language
and literature, Mathematics, Money, Movies, Music, Science, Space, Sports,
Transportation, Weather and What’s next (and more that I skipped on).
In each section there are questions related to the
subject, and at the back of the book are the answers, so the reader is not
left wondering! As well as the answers, there are photo credits and an
Index, so it is compiled correctly as an almanac should be.
I am quite sure that there will be details which have
escaped your memory over the years, for example, did you know that a
Coleopterist is someone who studies beetles (I didn’t).
One area where I believe this book falls down is there is
no indication of the age group of the prospective readers, or at whom the
publication was angled. This book will not be bought by children, but by
parents and grandparents, and for those groups it is difficult to know what
is suitable or otherwise. I know my own children were well in advance of
myself comparatively at their stages in life. I think that the age group
that will get the most out of this almanac would be 12-16 years old - I
think!
The 240 pages have masses of detail, though there are
some omissions. Queen Elizabeth II is mentioned for her amazing duration on
the throne, but no mention of Thailand’s King Bhumibol, who is the longest
serving monarch.
Another area which I thought could have been smartened up
was some of the results of sporting competitions. To put 2011 results in a
2013 almanac, for example. Most competitions would be over by printing time,
such as Wimbledon 2012. However, I suppose they had to make a cut-off
somewhere.
It is not cheap at B. 523, but it is certainly crammed
with facts and information to interest young adults. There is an unfortunate
preponderance of Americana, but with this book having been compiled by the
American Time magazine, this is understandable. Provided you can get the age
group of the reader right, this is an excellent buy and would be an ideal
Xmas present.
