Weird But True! USA: 300 Fascinating Facts About the Fifty States

My son loves these books. We started reading National Geographic Kids books when he was about six (he's nine now) and I can honestly say that these books have been instrumental in teaching him to read. His favorites are those from the "Weird, But True" series. We own the first five books in the series and have the ones not yet published on pre-order. One weekend last spring, our son actually read one entire 300 pg. book from this series to my husband and I over the course of two days - 50 pg.s three times a day until he'd finished. I mention this because last year my son was sent to a reading specialist because his teacher was concerned that he was reading below his age-level. Although I was happy for him to receive the extra attention from the specialist, I always doubted that he had any real problems reading because he read the Nat'l Geo books to us constantly. Thankfully, I was right. He no longer sees the reading specialist, reads above his grade-level, and even reads out-loud to his classmates at lunchtime. Why is this so important? Because kids are often labeled as poor readers when it's not that they can't read, but rather that they simply aren't interested in what they are being given to read. My teen-age step-daughter grew up thinking that she was a poor reader, too. That all changed when I gave her the Twilight Series. She read the last book, "Breaking Dawn," (756 pages) in less than 48 hours! There are several elements that make the Nat'l Geo Weird, But True series so appealing, particularly to elementary aged boys. The layouts are very simple, not cluttered. Each fact is only one or two sentences long. The font is much larger than what you would find in a typical chapter book designed for this age group. And the visual images are excellent - exciting, funny, interesting - they immediately draw the reader in, curious to find out more. As a parent, teacher, library volunteer, and chairperson of my son's Scholastic Book Fairs, all of the books in this series are ones that I have and will continue to recommend for lower elementary-aged children!

Great reading for passengers in a car on a long ride. Fun read.

My kids LOVE these books! Bright colorful writing and pictures and interesting facts. We have about 6 of these and my kids still read them over and over. Great for a busy bag/quiet bag.

My 6 & 8 year old love these books!

This is a rare case of "you CAN judge a book by its cover". Every fact presented in this entertaining and fascinating book IS weird and true. Many pages will leave the reader shaking their heads saying things like, "No way..." or just "Whoa," often wanting to learn more about the amazing statement. One often wishes there was accompanying explanations for the astounding facts, but that'll just have to be research for another day. There are a few facts per full-color page and the graphics and design are engaging but not distracting. There are a couple of facts more gentle readers might find "gross", but they'll be largely palatable for the average elementary schooler's curious mind. If you've got a budding explorer, scientist, adventurer, or trivia buff, this would be an excellent and entertaining way to perk their curiosity.

My kids really enjoyed reading fun and wacky facts out of this book. The page designs are also colorful and delightful. I also found myself reading through this as well. This would make a great gift to give to a child anytime or even just to own. In my opinion it doesn't disappoint. It keeps my kids entertained while still learning something new without them really realizing it's educational! Win/win in this house. I hope you will consider buying this book, it's fun!

Got this for my 7 year old granddaughter and she read over a hundred pages in two days !! Course she wanted to read it to us throughout our dinner out too :) but I think it's given her the science bug and we're all very happy about it...it is a fun, fascinating book

I bought this book for my 8 yr old son for Christmas. He loathes reading. I have tried many books and had the hardest time keeping him interested past the title page. He couldn't put this book down. If there were words he didn't know he would come get me rather than guess or skip over them as he does with every other book. I know he is actually comprehending what he's read because his little brain is full of random trivia. He is constantly amazing us with his seemingly endless supply of outrageous facts. The only regret I had is that I didn't get more in the series because I have 2 girls eleven and six year that are equally astounded.

Big hit for my 7 year old grandson - he's curious, a good reader and loved the interesting facts! Created some parent/child discussion as they looked up/googled more information once reading the "fact".

This is a good book in lots of ways - its really interesting (did you know that peanut butter can be made into diamonds?!) but also its easy format is great for younger readers who have a short attention span or reluctant older readers - it doesn't feel like you're reading, it feels like you are being amazed by every page by brilliant facts. My daughter (7) who loves reading fiction books loves this, but so does my 11 year old son who does not like reading at all.

Superb book, Must buy for all the little curious children out there. Can be really a good gift also for little ones

This book is fulled of fun facts. It is simple reading and develops the kids lateral thinking. We love it.

Amüsant und lehrreich, in englischer Sprache, verständlich für Sprachanfänger und all jene, die den kuriosen Dingen des Lebens auf den Grund gehen wollen. Meine Kinder mögen diese kleine Serie sehr, deren Inhalt für manch ein Aha! sorgt.