National Geographic Kids Almanac 2018
2017 (National Geographic Kids)
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher
It’s a blob. It’s a ball. It’s a pleurobranch! A mysterious purple orb discovered in the Pacific Ocean has stumped scientists.
This is like a candy store for informational text. Instead of the barrels being filled with chocolate and peppermints, they contain facts from around the globe and about a wide variety of subjects. You start with a preview of 2018. Did you know the Winter Olympics are coming up? In February, the quadrennial frozen sports extravaganza will be hosted by South Korea. Photos of ski cross and luge will get you ready. In the following section, Awesome Exploration, you meet adventurers who explore high and low and you can participate in the Newsmaker Challenge including choosing a shark for inclusion in next year’s almanac. The teacher in me appreciates the More for You feature at the end of each chapter. This feature focuses on activities that will help students with skills like writing an essay, a letter, and presenting an oral report. I also like the variety of chapters in this almanac. The authors are people who know what students want. A chapter about animals includes information about wild cats and dinosaurs. You can’t go wrong with a photo of a cat wearing a tiara. Kids also care about the world around them so when you have chapters about taking care of the environment, the wonders of the natural world, and space, that’s going to be a winner. Today’s students are also fascinated by technology, so why not have a chapter with robots, cars that sail, and an underwater plane. Hot topics like drones and 3-D printers are also spotlighted. It’s great that there’s also a nod, in the form of a timeline flow chart, to the life and work of George Washington Carver. My favorite part of the almanac may be the last chapter, Geography Rocks. The world map and the maps of the continents are superb. You also get brief fact overviews, complete with flags, of all 195 countries and the 50 states.
A big reason why I would want a copy of this almanac? Think about reluctant readers. The student who can’t seem to find anything to interest them. What better chances would you have to find something for them than with a book that has such a wide variety of subjects like this? Plus, it could serve as a gateway to further reading if a student finds an interest. You could also use this book to work on differentiating between fact and opinion. If you like informational text, having the Almanac 2018 is like being a kid in candy store.
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