Kids can ponder facts at the library—December 26, 2008
Children can come up with questions that adults find difficult to answer, and they are also fascinated by what adults consider trivia. There are quite a few books in the children’s department of the library that can answer some of these questions and also provide lots of interesting facts to ponder.
“How Come?” by Kathy Wollard answers many science questions for kids, such as why bubbles are round, why the sky is blue, and why neon glows. “How Come?: Planet Earth” and “How Come?: In the Neighborhood,” also by Wollard, provide more answers to science questions such as why cats purr, how fish breathe underwater, and why our eyes turn red in flash photos.
In the book “Facts and Records: Amazing Achievements,” the achievements are divided into categories: Civilization, Culture, Science and Technology, Engineering, Sports, and Exploration and Endurance. The “Book of Firsts” by James Buckley, Jr. includes information about people who did things first, such as the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound or the first kid to win an Academy Award.
Did you know that human vocal cords vibrate at 6,000 times a minute during speech? Or that a minute on Pluto is equal to 248.5 Earth minutes? You can find these and many more interesting facts in “Every Minute on Earth: Fun Facts that Happen Every 60 Seconds” by Steve Murrie and Matthew Murrie. The “Scholastic Book of Lists” by James Buckley, Jr. and Robert Stremme contains “fun facts, weird trivia and amazing lists on nearly everything you need to know.”
“Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know” presents fun information about history, science, nature, geography and culture. You can start reading anywhere in the book if you like, but if you are looking for something specific you can look it up in the index or the contents pages. Each entry includes links to other related entries, which demonstrates how everything around us is connected, often in surprising ways.
John Farndon’s book “Do Not Open” presents a collection of unusual facts, secrets and unsolved mysteries from around the world. Want to read about the curse of Tutankhamun or the alleged flying saucer crash at Roswell? Then this is the book for you!
One of the more “fun” things about this type of book is that it’s not necessary to read it cover to cover. Just open it up and read a little here, a little there, as you have time. But the facts you read may intrigue you and send you off looking for more information in other books.
Satisfy your curiosity with these and other books from the children’s department of the library!
