(Part 2) Best children reference books according to redditors
We found 210 Reddit comments discussing the best children reference books. We ranked the 89 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
i got this one just last week, are they the same?
Edit: damn, mine was released in 2011, yours in 2016.
Seriously. I spotted the Relativity one when shopping for a friend's daughter's 2nd Bday.
I was pleasantly surprised with how well they were able to explain the concept in language that a toddler would understand. Bought her the whole set.
Bill Bryson wrote a shorter version of his book that is aimed at kids. I did not read it, but I read his other work and it is fantastic, and the amazon reviews are very positive.
[A Really Short History of Nearly Everything](http://www.amazon.com/Really-Short-History-Nearly Everything/dp/0385738102/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1290524524&sr=1-1)
I would also recommend a simple children's encyclopedia like:
DK's First Encyclopedia
Scholastic Children's Encyclopedia
Although what I recommend is you get a nice little experiments book, and do experiments with him, that is simply the best and the most fun way to get a kid hooked on science. I suggest a chem kit, and you help him out and do experiments with him. Examples:
The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science
Theo Gray's Mad Science(WARNING:SERIOUSLY dangerous but really cool)
You can also look at this website and do experiments with him. I highly recommend this:
The Naked Scientists Kitchen Science
National Geographic's Big Book of Why is good. They also have other great science books. So it Time's Big Book of How.
Time, National Geographic and other companies do kid's almanacs that are great. My kid and his friends still devour them.
The Magic Schoolbus books are a good place to start.
Girls Think of Everything is a great book on women inventors.
The Way Things Work is great.
Sick Science Kits are neat. But I think younger kids might need a little oversight.
What's the best celebratory and informative DC book? I mean, there are plenty, DC Encyclopedia, 75 Years of Mythmaking, Visual History, Chronicle Year by Year, Character Guide etc. Do you have anyone? Do you like it?
Is there any equivalent to that but only of comicbook covers or only art? I am most specifically looking for the equivalent to this
Here you go.
Here you go again.
This.
I had this when I was a kid, might be older than what you're looking for, but from your description this is what I thought of.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Usborne-Childrens-Encyclopaedia-Encyclopedias/dp/0746000316
Hello fellow Canuck. To be honest, there aren't a lot of actual telescope shops in Canada. You might find something at a hobby store that sells things like model airplanes and RC cars and the like, though. I bought my first telescope at London Drugs of all places. Relatively local telescope stores would be Focus Scientific and KW Telescopes. My preferred vendor is All-Star Telescopes, but they're all the way over in Alberta.
Anyway, for a 6 year old, I would recommend something like the Celestron Firstscope. Runs about a hundred bucks at Focus Scientific.
I have one of these myself (it was my first telescope), and it's pretty decent for the price. It's small (less than 5 pounds), easy to use, and pretty tough, so if your kid knocks it over, it won't be a big problem. You can see things like Jupiter's moons, the rings of Saturn, and the Orion nebula with it. and it would be good for the moon, too. Lots of star clusters and the like should be easily visible. Really won't be much good for galaxies, though.
It's really hard to find things in the sky if you don't know where to look, so you should also consider getting him a book like Find the Constellations; I have this book and it's an easy friendly read and he should be able to follow along with it.
Another book that comes recommended but I don't have any experience with is this Astronomy book by Rachel Firth.
Also buy him an eyepatch.
This.
It is written by the same author as the Curious George books, in 1952. While it is aimed at children, remains an excellent and enduring introduction to the night sky, and has introduced generations to astronomy.
EDIT: Look up the date if of publication
Any books in the Dorling Kindersley series are great.
http://www.amazon.ca/Science-Encyclopedia-Dorling-JOANNA-Kindersley/dp/0756642965/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332634566&sr=1-2
www.amazon.ca/Dorling-Kindersley-Science-Encyclopedia/dp/0751356417/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332634566&sr=1-4
http://www.amazon.ca/Cool-Stuff-Exploded-Dorling-Kindersley/dp/0756673267/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332634605&sr=1-1
Any other books with exploded views are great.
More for when they're older but these books were amazing when I was a kid:
http://www.amazon.ca/Handy-Science-Answer-Book/dp/1578593212/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332634709&sr=1-2
Horrible science books are great too:
http://www.amazon.ca/Horrible-Science-Blood-Bones-Body/dp/0545993245/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332634757&sr=1-4
Big book of experiments are fun because you can read about them together at night and do them the next day. Definitely gets kids excited to do science and puts it in their head a little longer:
http://www.amazon.ca/Great-Science-Experiments-Dorling-Kindersley/dp/0756619181/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332634816&sr=1-1
There are bunch of other great resources too but I always found the best types of books are ones that are either very pictorial and visual, or ones that break complex subjects down into quick question and answer blocks. It's a great opportunity to learn, and to learn how to read, which I personally believe is the biggest key to being a great learner later in life.
My almost 4 year old loves the First Science Encylopedia It has a whole section on atoms, really nice photography and is fun to just flip through.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Use-Dictionary-Thesaurus-Activities/dp/1892859467/
There are a lot of elements to scouting that can translate into necessary tools for you to be a successful individual in your personal life. If you can, I'd recommend buying an original copy of this book but I suppose that a more recent edition could also do the trick.
I have a couple friends who are scouts, PM me if you want their information.
Also, the book The Ultimate Book of Vehicles is AMAZING. I love looking at it as much as my son does.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/2848019425/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_s0sjDb6FJEA0H
"The Stars: A New Way To See Them" by H. A. Rey.
Children's book my ass.
I recommend you start your study of astronomy here. Understanding what you can actually, physically see is very important if you want to understand that which you cannot.
https://www.amazon.com/Minecraft-Collection-Exploration-Creative-Redstone/dp/1984818341
This one looks especially relevant.
My oldest one is just from December 20th, 2013.
Item.
http://www.amazon.com/Britannica-Encyclopedia-Encyclopaedia/dp/1593392923/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280280636&sr=8-2
The colours of the current German flag originate with the flag of the Holy Roman Empire from c. 1400-1800. I don't know what the basis of the colours in that flag were, though likely the black comes from the actual colour of the bird depicted.
Similarly, the Belgian flag's colours come from a combination of the Coat of Arms of Flanders and the Flag of the Duchy of Brabant
According to my Firefly Guide To Flags Of The World the black in Estonia's flag "represents the peasantry and Estonia's historical suffering"
I agree about the purple, as well. Very regal. There's a minimal list on wikipedia of flags with purple.
Don't bother Googling Scouting for Boys though, all you'll get is this boring old book.
Could be a version of this (not a red cover)
https://www.amazon.ca/Discovery-Kids-Awesomely-Gross-Disgusting/dp/1472346459
batman lego
book
year one
sticker
MY PARENTS ARE DEEEEEEEAAAAAD!!!!
anything new here? =)
If you want to observe the sky, get The Stars: A New Way to See Them and a good pair of binoculars. Buying a telescope as a first step in astronomy is like buying a microscope as a very first step toward becoming a zoologist.
My father got me started in astronomy. When I was five we moved to the high dessert in California, a small town no one ever heard of named Ridgecrest. At the time, the skies there were great, and the last time I was back, in 2008, they still weren't too bad. Soon after we moved into the house and my dad had gotten a lawn going in the back yard, he'd take me out at night, lay out a blanket or sleeping bag, and we'd lay out and he'd show me the stars. I learned my first constellations that way. He'd also often bring out his 7-15x50 binoculars and we'd use those to look at various bright deep sky objects, mostly open clusters.
My dad always wanted a telescope, but never got around to buying one. He thought anything less than a 14" wasn't worth getting. Honestly, I don't think he really even knew anything about Dobs, just the Celestron and Meade SCT's of the day.
When I was six or seven (six, I think), PBS's NOVA aired the original run of Carl Sagan's Cosmos over 13 consecutive weeks. He let me stay up past my bedtime to watch it with him (though, honestly, I fell asleep during most of the episodes). All through growing up, I remember us watching astronomy programs together on TV. For a while, we had a subscription to Astronomy magazine and would both dig through it every new issue. Astronomy was a deep interest we both shared and bonded over.
We lost him in February of 2008. Not long after, I purchased my first telescope, joined the Houston Astronomical Society, and became more active in the pursuit. For me, it's been a way to commune with him, even though he's gone. When I'm out under the stars, I feel closer to him and his memory.
Physics tells us energy is neither created nor destroyed, only changes forms. I like to think about the fact that, regardless of one's religious beliefs, the energy that animates a human body, that makes us alive and active, still exists - it has just changed forms, let loose into the cosmos in another form. It comforts me to know that that energy that was my father's, for lack of a better term, spirit is still out there.
As for your scope and your son...
At his age, I don't think he's going to have the attention span to really do much other than glance at things like Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon. Most deep sky objects are going to be lost on him. However, this is a great age to start prepping him, like my dad did with me.
Take him out under a clear sky and point out the constellations and bright stars. If you don't know them yourself, well that's just a good reason to learn them. To that end, there's two books I'd definitely recommend, both by H.A. Rey, the same author who wrote the Curious George kids books. Rey was an amateur astronomer as well and wrote The Stars: A New Way to See Them in 1952. One of his reasons was to re-draw the traditional constellation lines which he felt were not very intuitive. His re-imagining of the constellation lines for several constellations such as Gemini and Leo have been widely adopted by others and are now often found in other publications.
I would start with Find The Constellations, which is a simplified editing of his book and great for getting kids started. The original book The Stars: a New Way to See Them is a bit more in depth and may be too much for a young child to digest.
I would also strongly consider looking for a local astronomy club. Most likely there is one near you. He may be a bit young for it, but that won't last long and this way you can get a head start so you can teach him even more. Most astronomy clubs have regular star parties, and when he's in his older grade-school years, these will be great events to take him to.
In the meantime, you might well want to consider upgrading your telescope. it's a bit large for him right now, but he'll definitely grow into an 8" Dobsonian. Several people in my club have 6" and 8" Dobs for their kids, and they're one of the best starter telescopes I can think of. A 12" Dob like the one /u/theattackpanda mentioned is even better, but also much heavier and harder to move out to the yard. By the time he's 10 or so, an 8" Dob should be no problem for him.
And I'd also definitely recommend renting/buying a copy of the DVD series for Cosmos by Carl Sagan. The newer version with Neil Degrasse Tyson isn't bad, but the Sagan one is simply amazing. I re-watch it every now and then and always seem to get more out of it. It's not just about astronomy... it's science in general, philosophy, history... it's a lot of great stuff all in one. He won't understand it all now... but in time he will.
Good luck and clear skies!
You can start by giving him a copy of children's encyclopedia, such as this one. I was given a whole series of children's encyclopedia (in my native language, that is), which made me be inquisitive.
I will definitely do the same to my kids if I ever have one. I think this country needs to raise a lot more kids who are willing to question.
I highly recommend the book "Find the Constellations", by H.A. Rey.
http://www.amazon.com/Find-Constellations-H-A-Rey/dp/054713178X
You may recognize his name as the author of the Curious George books (he was an avid amateur astronomer as well). While this book is not about astrobiology, it is an amazing introduction to finding, classifying and naming stars as well as how to find certain nebulae and planets in the sky with her eyes or binoculars. It was written for her age group (2nd-3rd graders) but in that 1960s style where they used to not assume children were idiots. You'll know what I mean if you read it, I can't imagine an average 3rd grader today being reading this, more like a middle schooler, but your daughter sounds bright so I think she will be fine.
A friend got it for me to read to my son. He's only 20 months old so he isn't ready for it but I have read it and learned a ton and it has gotten me further into astronomy (it has star charts for the seasons assuming you live in the Northern Hemisphere).
Holy shit, I remember this exact fact in the first few pages of my Junior Encyclopedia. I used to love reading through that book as a kid.
It's from 1986, so it's pretty out of date, plus it was also for children so a lot of it was dumbed down. I'm not surprised the fact turned out to be nonsense.