Awesome 8: 50 Picture-Packed Top 8 Lists! (National Geographic Kids), by Jen Agresta & Sarah Wassner Flynn, (May 2016, National Geographic), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1426323379
Recommended for ages 7-12
I love lists. I make them, I read them, it’s just a fun thing that people do. It gives you some cool insight into people, like when you read lists of their favorite books, foods, or things; it can make short work of a project, when you have a list of best books or coolest science fair projects. Bottom line, lists are helpful and fun. NatGeo Kids has taken that idea and run with it, giving us Awesome 8: 50 Picture-Packed Top 8 Lists!
This book is loaded with lists of the wildest things, from the most hair-raising roller coasters (that new Joker one at Six Flags Great Adventure may have to be in an updated version, tho’) to the the most bodacious buried treasures. Lists cover wild nature, history, food, and fun. Plan a trip to see some ridiculous roadside attractions (there really is a giant ball of string) and travel in the wackiest of ways, like on a monster school bus. Fun facts pop up throughout the book, as do extended features on some of the lists, like the spread discussing how icebergs flip, following Eight Awesome Things in Antarctica.
Icebergs can flip! Who knew? (from NationalGeographic.com)
I’m a huge NatGeo Kids fan, with good reason: the kids embrace the books, which are fun, factual, and contain beautiful photographs of the world around us. Know a kid who loves cool stuff? Consider this book. Looking for a summer program to put together on the spot? Maybe a spot the camouflaged creature game – there’s an Awesome 8 list dedicated to Coolest Camouflage, including this picture of three toads – can you find them?
photo from NationalGeographic.com
