Reviews (84)

Very Very cool book
My son loves dinosaurs but had outgrown alot of the kids books out there. This is a great book for older kids and adults will like it too.

Great eye candy for your inner child, and for your other children if you decide to share
This book produced much glee in my house the day it arrived, gasps of joy and amazement, awe and delight. One of these days I'll let my kids look at it, too. I enjoyed it so much that I promptly bought Sabuda's "Alice in Wonderland," "The Wizard of Oz," and another Encylopedia Prehistorica volume, "Sharks And Other Sea Monsters." They're all sensational.
Awesome gift for kids and adults alike!
This book is just simply amazing. When you open each page you cannot stop but to wonder how on earth do they figure out how to not only design and engineer its illustrations but also how to implement it and still manage to sell it at a reasonable price. The content is very informative and educational. Definitely something that one can re-read with interest for many years. It also works great as a reference book for children and it could very easily be helpful for one of their school projects. Speaking of school, instead of getting a mug as an appreciation book for your kid's school teacher, consider offering this book. It is money well spent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures    2. Children's 9-12 - Nature / Guide Books    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 1-2    5. Dictionaries    6. Dictionaries, Juvenile    7. Dinosaurs    8. Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures    9. Fossils    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. Specimens    12. Toy and movable books    13. Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Dinosaurs   

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Reference    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children's encyclopedias and d    4. Children's encyclopedias and dictionaries    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Encyclopedias and dictionaries    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias    10. Reference | Subject area reference   

Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / General   

Reviews (2)

Oh, Yikes! Oh, Yes!!!!!
This is a book kids have been waiting for. As a school librarian, I can testify that copies of Oh, Yuck! are never on the shelf. Now there is a waiting list for Oh, Yikes! as well. Masoff writes in the most entertaining manner. She fully understands the mind of a child. Kids are so wildly amused by the subjects and the illustrations that they don't notice she's managed to include more facts than most text books. This is a wonderful book!!!!

Awesome!!
We thought nothing could top "Oh Yuck!", but my son cannot keep his nose out of this book!! It is fascinating, educational and most of all...fun and hilarious. What better way to learn?? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    5. History    6. Juvenile General And Reference Works    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Encyclopaedias & reference works    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias   

Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Children's 9-12 - Animals/Pets    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Juvenile General And Reference Works    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile Zoological Sciences    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / General   

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    2. Encyclopedias    3. History - Military & Wars    4. History - Military / War    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Military Science    9. Military history    10. Reference - Encyclopedias    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. World - General    13. BCE to c 500 CE    14. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    15. Reference works    16. Revolutions & coups    17. War & defence operations    18. World history    19. c 1000 CE to c 1500    20. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE   

Reviews (3)

Interesting...
I was roommates with the author at the 2004 National bee, and while he was away getting interviewed, I managed to sneak a peek at his book. I was overwhelmed by the information presented in just the first few pages I read, and while I have yet to read the actual published work, I can definitely say that this book is an asset to any geography classroom or geobee contestant, and that the author deserved his win (well, maybe I deserved it more :-P).

I Love Wojo!
This book really is great. If you are looking for a reference book for ANY type of social studies, geography, history, area studies or just any class at all, this should make your wish-list. It is laid out well in an appealing format, and the information is all there. The author compiled it to study for the National Geography Bee, and then went on to win both that competition and even the International Geography Competition. I know him personally, and he put a ton of work into this book. It truly shows, and this book is definitely worth waht is charged. This book is a must for schools, as it will help anyone to study anything at all pertaining to geography or world cultures. I enjoyed reading this book, and I wholeheartedly believe you will too.

AWESOME!!!
This book is crazy awesome! It has all the information that one would ever need about geography.Everything from basic facts to unique details about an assortment of countries is neatly compiled into an easy to use guide.Anyone remotely intersted in geography should buy this book.Also anyone that needs to know anything about geopgraphy for a class or report should buy this book.It is worth much more than it costs! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Science    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Encyclopedias    5. Geography    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Reference - General    8. Science & Nature - Earth Sciences    9. Science & Technology - Earth Sciences    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Study Aids / Test Preparation   

Editorial Review

This encyclopedia can make anyone feel like a scientist! Not only does it have fascinating facts on everything from atoms to zephyrs, it also shows how scientists work--describing, measuring, and asking questions about the world. Filled with detailed, sharp illustrations and eye-catching photographs, this book could keep a curious kid (or adult!) occupied for weeks. The one- and two-page entries are thematically organized--much more useful than alphabetical entries for making connections and thinking about whole systems. Some of the best categories are "Reactions," "Materials," "Weather," "Space," and "How Living Things Work." But Read more

Reviews (7)

DK Science Encyclopedia
This book is great.It gives many pictures and illustrations.It helped me immensely with my science class.

The Fragility of Science
DK makes some of the world's best books for kids; that is indisputable. It's easy to nitpick, of course. The precision photography of the DK books, and the very attention to detail can render the technology information obsolete fairly rapidly. But for the here and now, DK books have no rival. However, they may well not last beyond the now. Here's my pet peeve with this particular book: It is so big and heavy, that if your kids love this book as much as mine do, the cover will quickly separate from the book, leaving the whole thing vulnerable to unravelling. We've lost our contents and index already, now we're losing our science history pages! I'm so sad about this! This book literally falls apart under its own weight, when handled by children. I will attempt a hold-together fix with some duct tape, but I'm not sure how long that will last.This book is such an incredible resource, and kids will spend hours reading it to themselves or dragging it over to you for an explanation of this or that, but its construction is not sufficiently strong for its weight and target age level. A tough paperback binding would have been a far better thing. Kids need strong, strong books. If you want to keep this book in spiffy condition, then by all means put it up on a shelf, defeat the purpose of buying it in the first place, and then your kids can sell it on e-bay in 50 years or so as an antique curiosity. If you're some hyper-organized size-5 perfect freak of nature, you can keep it on your special shelf of fragile books that you personally take down and read to your children for 25 minutes every day after Yoga, and then you can do the same for your grandchildren, if your kids ever let you see them. If you let this book just get enjoyed and learned from freely, you can expect that a: Your kids will love it and learn a lot, and b: The book won't last two years, unless you only have girls, who tend to be less destructive little beasts. I don't think girls will attempt to place this book as a bridge between couch and coffee table, then jump on it. Boys might. Punks.

Every Home Should Have This Book
and I truly mean this. For adults, adolesents and kids as young as two years old, this is a great resource and highly enjoyable book for all ages. My 3 year old LOVES it, my 5 year old LOVES it, and when flipping through it with them together as a bedtime book, I almost always wind up reading and adding to my own knowledge-base myself. This is a book that you would expect to retail for $50 and at this Amazon price, it is a real deal. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Encyclopedias    5. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Reference - Encyclopedias    8. Science    9. Science & Nature - General    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Science & Technology / General   

Editorial Review

Ever wonder what a tardigrade might have looked like? Or what tree wetas eat? Now you can find out, because this great nature encyclopedia answers these questions and a jillion more. Organized into sections ("The Natural World," "How Living Things Work," "Ecology," "Classification," "Plants," and "Animals"), the Read more

Reviews (3)

Wonderful book on nature for all ages
Primarily bought as a gift for my 5 yr old nephew, I spent a considerable amount of time pouring over this book. A neat thing about this book is the wealth of information coupled with attractive, colorful pictures opening up the world of nature.

Rekindling Our Respect for Nature!
This book has succeeded in describing the great diversity of life on earth in such an interesting way with colorful photographs and new information that one can't help but stand in awe of our great planet.The chapters discuss : How living things work,ecology, classification, plants and animals. I was afraid that the animal section in this book would be a repetition ofDK's Animal Encyclopedia, but thankfully it wasn't, I found new information everytime. For those who are not familiar with DK's encyclopedias one should know that the superior photography and layout of these books really captivate children's attention and fascination with this world.

love of nature grows the more we know
I am delighted with this encyclopedia which I ordered as a present for my six year old.This handsome book has beautiful pictures and lots of information covering many aspects of nature.Attractive and accessible, it provides great rewards for the young reader whose love and respect of nature will grow as their knowledge expands. I expect it to be used in greater depth as my daughter grows older.For now, she loves to open it up and see what she finds-and becomes engaged immediately.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Nature / Guide Books    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Encyclopedias    6. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Natural history    9. Nature    10. Nature - General    11. Reference - Encyclopedias    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / Science & Technology / Earth Sciences   

Reviews (1)

"Disney A to Z" is a "Must Own" for any Disney Fan
I can safely say this book is a "must have" for any fan of Disney. Read more

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Film & Video - Reference    3. General    4. Performing Arts    5. Performing Arts/Dance    6. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    7. Reference - General    8. Television - Reference    9. Cinema industry    10. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    11. Films, cinema    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / General    13. USA   

Reviews (6)

Where are the Black contributions to American History?
I am a homeschooling mother, and this is my first year teaching my sons American History.As an immigrant, this has been a learning experience for me as well.I bought the Children's Encyclopedia of American History as a pictorial supplement to the excellent curriculum we are using. It took just a few minutes of glancing through this book to become very disappointed with my purchase. There is little or no reference to key African-American figures in American History.The discussion of the Spanish exploration of the South and West mentions every member of the party except Estebanico, the Moorish slave who actually led the expedition to what is now California.We are currently learning about George Washington Carver, and were surprised to find not even one sentence dedicated to this man's great contributions. Booker T. Washington is mentioned in one sentence, and shares a brief paragraph with W.E.B. DuBois.The entire Civil Rights movement is summed up in one paragraph.Surprisingly, a significant amount of space is dedicated to a picture of Bill Clinton hugging Monica Lewinsky, and a discussion of their relationship. The book is packed and ready to be shipped back to Amazon.

A Great Resource for Young Learners!
An excellent resource for elementary-aged kids who are interested in history. Lots of photos, illustration, and color keep my daughter interested. Written very well. Divided into decades. One of the best resources I have found for my daughter!

Well balanced presentation, beautiful pictures
I am a conservative Christian looking for the right history book to homeschool my kids.I read this DK Children's Encyclopedia from beginning to end, and I find it acceptable over all in content presentation.Another reviewer here says the book is too liberal, but I disagree; I think Mr. King clearly strives to present an unbiased view of American History.Now everybody has his own view of history, and a history book is bound to reveal somewhat of the author's bias.However, it is obvious that Mr. King kept his own opinions well under control, making this book excellent read for people of every view point.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Encyclopedias    4. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    5. History    6. History - General    7. History - United States/General    8. Juvenile General And Reference Works    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Reference - Encyclopedias    11. United States    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / United States / General   

Reviews (1)

An important mainstay for either high school or college-level literary holdings
The Harlem Renaissance was a broad movement of the 1920s and 30s in America which involved all genres of the arts in a vivid spurt of creative growth, and charting the literary movement's works and major players is Encyclopedia Of The Harlem Literary Renaissance: The Essential Guide To The Lives And Works Of The Harlem Renaissance Writers. Over six hundred A-Z entries detail the history of the movement and explain how the writer and their works helped influence and change the face of American literary achievement. From historical studies to literary criticism, primary source materials and quotes throughout make the Encyclopedia Of The Harlem Literary Renaissance an important mainstay for either high school or college-level literary holdings.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. African American authors    3. African American intellectuals    4. African Americans    5. American - African American & Black    6. American - General    7. American literature    8. Authors, American    9. Biography    10. Biography & Autobiography - Cultural Heritage    11. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    12. Encyclopedias    13. General    14. General And Reference Works (Young Adult)    15. Intellectual life    16. Juvenile Nonfiction    17. Literary Criticism    18. Literary Criticism & Collections    19. Literature (Young Adult)    20. Literature - Classics / Criticism    21. Reference    22. Reference - Encyclopedias    23. English    24. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    25. Reference works    26. USA   

Subjects:  1. Reference - Encyclopedias    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    4. Reference    5. Fine Arts (General)    6. Biography & Autobiography - Art    7. Art & Architecture    8. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Art    9. Artists, Architects, Photographers    10. Art    11. Encyclopedias    12. Biography & Autobiography    13. Artists    14. Biography   

Reviews (7)

Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
The book has wonderful pictures and graphics. However - each subject is merely glanced over with little in depth coverage. It isn't very useful as a study resource unless you like to look at pictures.

Homeschoolers need this book
For homeschooling (and indeed for any child who loves to learn), there are two names to look out for: Kingfisher and Usborne. Like the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, the Science Encyclopedia forms a core study guide for homeschoolers. The book is divided into ten main sections, which gives you the option of concentrating on a broad topic, and picking out individual subjects within that topic. So there are 48 pages under 'Planet Earth' for example, and each subject is a manageable one or two pages long. That's perfect for the homeschooling family - the subjects are never too long to become tedious, but if your child wants to learn more, pick out another equally manageable subject and extend that day's science lesson a little.
Pretty book, marginally acceptable science, appalling writing
This book only gets two stars because of the gorgeousness of the pictures.The actual science content is shoddy, and the writing is horrific.Don't be fooled:Kingfisher is owned by a public school curriculum company, and it shares all the same flaws that a text book has.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Encyclopedias    4. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    5. Juvenile General And Reference Works    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile Science (General)    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Science    10. Science & Nature - General    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (3)

Good artwork but it isn't worth the money.
This book is okay, but there could have been a little more information in it on (the pictures are huge and take up most of the page space). That being said, the artwork is great, but it doesn't compare to books like the Spiderwick Field Guide and Dragonology. If you're looking for something a little more complete, and something that is worth 25 dollars, don't buy this book.

Excellent for fantasy fans!
This book has beauitful pictures, great amount of information that is easy to understand and read. I highly recommend this book to every and any fantasy fan! Myself, I've been looking for this type of book for a long time but never knew what to search to find it. One day I got the idea to type in my search "Fantasy Encyclopedia" and that is when I found this book.
Amazing!!!
This book is spectacular! With color pictures on every page, it illustrates nearly every creature of fantasy imaginable, from the Baba Yaga to the Cockatrice. Kids and adults of all ages will treasure this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals, Mythical    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    7. Fairies    8. General    9. Juvenile Folk Tales / Mythology / Fables    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Literary Criticism & Collections    12. Reference - Encyclopedias    13. Social Science - Folklore & Mythology    14. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Children's encyclopedias and d    3. Children's encyclopedias and dictionaries    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Encyclopedias and dictionaries    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Reference - Encyclopedias    8. Reference - General    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (5)

The best for preschoolers
I checked out 4 animal encyclopedias for children.They are all great, but three of them were classified by the kinds/habitat/class.The Kingfisher's animal encyclopedia is organized alphabetically and dedicates one or two pages maximum on one animal.My 4 year old likes it the best.When he wants to look up shark, he goes, 'sh, sh,... letter S!' and he can find it easily.In one page, this book sums up what preschoolers and kindergarteners want to know about the shark.This is truely the best first animal encyclopedia for children.

Nice, but not as good as DK's Animal Encyclopedia
We bought this book after already purchasing the Animal Encyclopedia from DK.If I had it to do over again I would have just purchased the book from DK.The real photos and minimum of two to three page spread on each animal make it so much more informative.

Fabulous!
My nephew, 4 years old, loves this book! He loves "reading" all the pages, and looking at all the pictures. It's tremendously colorful, and interesting even for the adults. I definitely would recommend it for any child with an interest in animals, or for any adult who hopes to foster such an interest. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Animals - General    3. Children's 4-8 - Reference    4. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    5. Children: Grades 1-2    6. Encyclopedias    7. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / General   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. History - General    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. People & Places - General    6. ASIA    7. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    8. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / General    9. Reference works   

Reviews (3)

Greatfor Science
This book is easy for my 6 yr old to understand. We are using it for our science book and she is loving it!!

Most excellent purchase!
I actually first looked at this book just because it only had a one star rating and I wondered why.When I learned that, it was because it had children's level sex ed I bought it immediately.My 5 year old was trying to figure out what a birthday was for and I needed a little visual assist to help him understand that he came from my belly on that day. Really, the sex ed of this book is perfect for small children.It shows a big blow up of an egg surrounded by sperm.It has two basic anatomy drawings of what is in a woman and what is in a man with no deep detail; they are small and dull in comparison to the Sperm and Egg multicolor blow up of a microscope picture.It shows on the next two pages a baby developing in the womb.It's just drawings and it has an ultra sound of the profile of a baby's head.Nothing about how the baby gets in there, nothing about how it comes out, just very basic things a small child can understand (I highly recommend it for the 5 year old set). It is very colorful and shows much of the anatomy in relation to children's bodies.
Reproductive chapter is way to descriptive
My 9 year old son, a forth grader, brought this book home from his school library. If you could have seen his face and then mine as he read aloud the chapter on reproduction. I would not have to say anymore about the book. Let's just say I now have to have "The Talk" with my nine year old son, when this should have waited until he was at least 11 or 12. I thought it was completely inappropriate, very explicate and way to descriptive to put this info in a childs book. The front cover is very misleading, it makes it look like just another fun human body book that he likes to read. It also should not be called the "First" Human Body Encyclopedia, it should say the "Middle School Childs" Human Body Encyclopedia. This would have been a great book, full of great information for any child to read if not for that one chapter. I'm very upset.
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Subjects:  1. Body, Human    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Encyclopedias    5. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    6. Human anatomy    7. Human physiology    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Science & Nature - Anatomy & Physiology    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / General   

Editorial Review

From water "woodlice" as big as a platter to Diplocaulus withboomerang-shaped heads, from the colossal titanosaur to Neanderthal "cave people," the world of prehistoric animals is mind-boggling. Budding young paleontologists will find everything they need to know to begin their studies with Dorling Kindersley's impressive Read more

Reviews (8)

wrong name for an excellent book
I originally bought this book for my grand children who love dinosaurs,and ended up keeping it.This book is not just about dinosaurs but it is about the evolution of life from the beginning.As usualDorling Kindersley produced an excellent book superbly illustrated.I highly recommend it for people of any age.It is now part of my library.

Fantastic!!!
My four year old loves dinosaurs!This book along with the other books I have purchased have been a great help with him and they are very informative.Some of the best books I have read on dinosaurs.The pictures really help with distinguishing the difference between some of the species.Highly recommended for anyone of any age!

Beyond bedtime stories
My boys, ages 7 and 5, LOVE this book!!We've worn out the first copy, and have to buy another.The boys were just not satisfied with cutesy bedtime stories, they want to know details about animals, and the dinosaur age fascinates them.So we got this book, and they just soak in all that the pages have to offer.This really jumpstarted their interest in nonfiction and our collection (and their knowledge) grows by leaps and bounds daily. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures    2. Children's 9-12 - Nature / Guide Books    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Dinosaurs    6. Encyclopedias    7. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    8. History - Prehistoric    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Miscellanea    11. Prehistoric animals    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Dinosaurs    13. Children's Reference