Tag archives for National Geographic
Posted by BOOK NAME: Weird But True! Stupid Criminals
AUTHOR: National Geographic
Stupid Criminals was one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. I couldn’t
stop laughing out loud as I read, and my family and friends kept asking me what
was so funny. In fact, I don’t even have the book right now because one of my
friends has it. After he’s done with it, another friend wants to read it too!
Stupid Criminals is about people trying to commit crimes but making dumb
mistakes at the same time–stupid criminals, get it? Just like it’s hard to do the
right thing sometimes, I guess it’s hard to do the wrong thing correctly! My
favorite story was probably about a bank robber who called the bank and
said, “Hello, we are robbing your bank at 1pm, bye!” Another favorite of mine
was about a robber who was burglarizing a house. He got hungry and had a
snack. He was caught because he left greasy fingerprints on the refrigerator door!
Duh.
Well, you get the idea. It is hilarious! I guarantee that if you have a sense of
humor, you will love this book. I hope you read and enjoy it!
BOOK NAME: Are You Normal?
AUTHOR: Mark Shulman
Hi again, blog readers. I just finished reading Are You Normal?, published by National Geographic. You may be tired of me saying this, but this is one of the best books I have ever reviewed! In fact, my whole family likes it, from my little sister who is almost 5 to my Grandma who is 73! It’s really that good!
Anyway, Are You Normal? was written based on the results of surveys of tons of kids. The authors asked kids questions on just about anything you can think of. The kids are from all over the world which makes it extra cool. And the questions are just the kind of things that kids are interested in. For example, “What do you like to do in your spare time?” and “What is your favorite subject in school?” It’s really cool to see what most kids like or dislike and see how similar and different you are. The book also has a test to take while you are going through it to determine how normal or weird you are. I took the test and am happy to say I am normal. Phew! And just to show how different we are, my 8 year old younger brother took the test and is very proud of the fact that he is undoubtedly WEIRD!
An awesome thing about this book is that you can read a little bit and put it down for a while and then come back to it and it’s not like you have to re-read or do anything special to plunge right in. Another great feature of Are you Normal? is that it’s a perfect social book. You can look at it with friends during lunch period or with siblings in the car or whatever. In fact, it’s especially fun to read it with someone rather than by yourself! I definitely recommend that you try the book and find out the answer to this: Are you normal?
Posted by A team from National Geographic and The North Face, including National Geographic contributing writer Mark Jenkins, reached the summit of Mount Everest on Friday, May 25. Team leader Conrad Anker reached the summit on Saturday. He did not go with the rest of the group because of exhaustion.
What did it feel like to be on top of the world’s tallest mountain? “It was awesome,” said team member and The North Face athlete Hilaree O’Neill. “There is a 360-degree view of the Himalaya, and you could see over into Tibet, all of Nepal, and the mountains. It was amazing just being able to stand up there, and experiencing that made the whole thing worth it.”
Read more about the expedition on National Geographic News.
How much do you know about Mount Everest? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph by Emily Harrington
Posted by BOOK NAME: How To Survive Anything
AUTHOR: Rachel Buchholz
How To Survive Anything is a unique book that conquers not only day to day
problems (think middle school), but also problems you wouldn’t want to encounter every
day (think volcanic eruptions). This handbook provides information on how to survive
anything in a compact, fun filled style. You’ll find it chock full of interesting facts and
hilarious illustrations that never fail to impress. This book is handy and could possibly
save your life, or your social life at least. It contains real advice on how to handle
perilous situations such as shark attack, lighting, falling through ice, or maybe the most
dangerous of all, embarrassing parents. The book is split into different categories so
you can find what you need almost instantly.
Another bonus is that it also contains fun quizzes to see if you could really
survive anything including one of my favorites, popularity contests. It is rare to find
something so fun and educational in the same book. I was astonished to find myself
laughing and learning at the same time. This book is now my go to for everything, but
hopefully I won’t have to use it when I’m adrift at sea. The most fickle reader will love
this sure-to-please book. This is a book for all ages to enjoy and share and would
make a great gift. I recommend it for anyone who wants a change of pace or if you’re a
magnet for trouble.
National Geographic is teaming up with NASA and Angry Birds to create a book called Angry Birds Space that will be a companion book to a new Angry Birds game. The book will be available starting on March 20 and the game also called Angry Birds Space will be out on March 22! In an update to the familiar gameplay, players will have to deal with zero gravity, different space objects, and more.
(AD) Find out how to get your copy of National Geographic Angry Birds Space.
How will the game stack up against real space? Find out on National Geographic News Watch.
See pictures of different planets on National Geographic Kids.
Can’t wait to go into space? Explore the solar system with Nat and Geo in Pluto’s Secret.
National Geographic Adventure editors have chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers is 19-year-old Carissa Moore (pictured above). She is the youngest ASP (the Association of Surfing Professionals) women’s world champion!
Carissa says that you can learn lessons about life from surfing. “Surfing has taught me how to adapt. Things are ever changing in the ocean, which is much like life. You have to be able to change your plans on a moment’s notice. Nothing is ever going to go your way, so you have to be able to take the losses with the wins and pick yourself up quickly.”
What was your best adventure in 2011? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Follow Aubrey’s around-the-world adventures in the Passport to Roam blog.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Hands-On Explorer blog.
Photograph by Simon Williams, Red Bull Photo Pool
BOOK NAME: Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem
AUTHOR: Rosalyn Schanzer
Do you have any warts or moles? If so, just be glad you didn’t live in the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts! Back then, these were considered to be the marks of a witch.
This book is about what happened during that time. It started when two young girls, cousins named Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, started having mysterious “fits”. Fits were when the girls would twitch and contort their bodies into strange shapes. This was very frightening to their family, and so they took the two girls to see a doctor. The diagnosis was that they were bewitched! During the fits, the girls would claim that a witch’s spirit was poking and hurting them. These stories seemed believable at that time because some respected men had written books about terrifying stories of witchcraft and the terrible things that witches do. Since almost everyone had read these stories, they were certain that witches existed.
The townspeople had never thought that a witch would threaten them, so when the news of the bewitched girls spread, there was mass hysteria. The two afflicted girls were pressured into naming who was the witch. The girls finally came up with three names and the accused women were put on trial. The accused had to pay the jail for every day they were locked up! Even if you were found innocent, you wouldn’t be released until all the fees were paid. And the hysteria didn’t stop there. In all, dozens of people were accused of witchcraft. They ranged in age from 4 to 90 years old and 19 of them were eventually hanged.
This non-fiction book gives you a lot of facts about the trials of the witches and what happened to them and their families afterward. If you love reading about history, then this is a good book for you. I would recommend this book for ages 10 and up because of the topic. I found this to be a very interesting book, so you may want to read it too.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Treasury of Greek Mythology
AUTHOR: Donna Jo Napoli
Mythology is a fascinating genre with classic stories about gods, villains, and heroes. National Geographic’s Treasury of Greek Mythology takes you to the world of the Greek gods and goddesses. The book shows the birth, the different qualities, and the significance of the mythological figures in the Greek world.
From the king of the Olympian gods to the strong, enormous demi-god, the stories of all the Greek gods are being retold in this book. The prophecy states that Zeus will overthrow his father, Cronus, and take over the throne. Zeus fights his father and his uncles successfully and the prophecy comes true. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, sprung out of Zeus’s head because she was the daughter of Metis, one of Zeus’s wives whom he had swallowed. Heracles is a strong hero who is driven insane and for the crime he commits has to perform twelve labors in order to be forgiven. These are just a few of the many enchanting stories in this book.
Treasury of Greek Mythology is an intriguing mythological book appropriate for all ages. The stories are simple to understand and are very engaging. Each story has an interesting fact which makes it more fun for the reader. The illustrations are beautiful and use vivid colors, bringing out the splendid atmosphere surrounding the Greek gods. Also, the lush family tree and the cast of characters helped me understand each Greek god and their relations with other gods.
BOOK NAME: Ultimate Weird but True
AUTHOR: National Geographic
Hi Everyone! It’s me, Hunter. I just read a cool book named Ultimate Weird But True. It’s published by National Geographic Kids, so I knew it would be awesome. I just didn’t know how awesome!
The subject of the book is basically what the title says; it’s about stuff that’s weird but true. For example, there’s a real Spider-Man guy who has climbed up the tallest skyscraper in the world. It took him over 6 hours to do this. He just wanted to prove he could do it. My favorite weird but true thing is a dog owner who built his dog a 2-story house. There’s a picture of it in the book, and it’s unbelievable!In fact, all of the photographs are pretty cool.
This is the kind of book that you can pick up and read for a few minutes or for hours. There’s a lot of interesting things to learn about and just about anyone would enjoy it. My grandmother was looking through my copy of Ultimate Weird But True also, and we talked and laughed about some of the neat stuff in it. I usually don’t enjoy nonfiction as much as fiction books, but I thought this one was really cool and exciting. I DEFINITELY recommend this book!
Things got a little shaky at National Geographic headquarters yesterday! A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. East Coast, shaking Washington D.C., New York City, and beyond. The earthquake’s epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia, which is near Richmond. Earthquakes are rare in this part of the country, but their effects can be felt farther away than ones that strike the West Coast.
Humans weren’t the only ones shaken up by the quake. Animals at the National Zoo exhibited unusual behavior before and after the earthquake.
Read more about Tuesday’s East Coast earthquake on National Geographic News.
Read facts about the United States of America on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Justin Lane, European Pressphoto Agency
Two new Explorers-in-Residence were named at National Geographic’s 2011 Explorer’s Symposium: Dr. Enric Sala and James Cameron. Enric Sala is a marine ecologist who studies ocean environments. He was formerly a National Geographic Fellow. James Cameron is a filmmaker who is passionate about exploring.
Read an interview with Enric Sala on National Geographic Kids.
Get to know the National Geographic explorers in the in this interactive mural.
Posted by BOOK NAME: National Geographic Kids Almanac 2012
AUTHOR: National Geographic
Did you know that the smallest bone in your body is smaller than a grain of rice? Did you know that a lunar eclipse lasts about one hundred minutes? Did you know that there is a big annual celebration in Brazil called “Carnaval?” Did you know that the people of the Hindu religion celebrate a holiday called “Diwali,” which in English means “Festival of Lights,” that is also the meaning of the Jewish holiday called “Hanukkah?” You can learn all of that and so much more in the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2012!
In the book, there are different sections. You can read about amazing animals, going green, different cultures, the world billions of years ago, and even about how the world will be in the future! There’s also a game section, where you can play the same kinds of games that are in the magazine. I loved the quiz to stump your parents.
I would recommend this book to anyone. I flipped every page, always interested to know more. I had a lot of fun playing the games, too. Overall, I think the almanac is just like a great big issue of the magazine!
On the back of the book, it says “Dare to Explore!” That’s exactly what the almanac does; it makes you want to explore and discover new things.
Want to learn more about the almanac? Check out the video and get a sample of the amazing facts you’ll find inside!
Posted by Awesome Animals is a fun book. It has lots and lots of posters and fun games to do.
When I was doing the games, some were hard, so every once in a while I’d have to look in the back of the book to find some of the answers. And I love how it has all of the animals pretty much. There’s these little animals mad libs which I really like too.
Other kinds of games are finding games…like finding different kinds of things that are hidden in a picture. There’s also the game where you have to find the differences in two pictures, which are ALMOST the same.
My favorite part of the book is the animals on the posters. The posters all fold out from the book and each has different information about each of the animals. There are 10 posters in all, including dolphins, pandas, jaguars, elephants, koala bears, sea turtles, frogs, lions and penguins. I just really love them.
I would recommend this book to maybe 5-10 years old. I loved and I just think you would too. Adios!
A little yellow house like the one seen in the Pixar movie Up actually went up in the air on Saturday, March 5 as part of the upcoming National Geographic Channel series “How Hard Can It Be?”. Scientists, engineers, and balloon pilots worked together to launch a life-sized model of the Up house using 300 helium balloons! Not only did the team prove that a house really could be lifted by balloons, they broke a world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted.
How far did the floating house get? It rose to a height of 10,000 feet and was in the air for about an hour.
Watch a video of the floating house on the Inside NGC blog.
Want more balloon fun? Watch this video of a dog popping balloons!
Photograph by Stewart Volland
BOOK NAME: Cats vs. Dogs
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Carney
Cats vs. Dogs is about which pet is the best. There are a lot of contests in the book like Senses, Diet, Communication, and Behavior. The book tells you what each animal can do or is like. At the end of each little chapter, there’s a box that tells you who’s the winner–cats, dogs, or a tie.
Cats won a lot and dogs won a lot. It’s really a tie, so in the Final Showdown it shows that there’s not really one winner, there’s two…it’s a tie.
The books tells you some interesting facts like if cats have a twitchy tail, it means the cat is ready to pounce. Some other facts about cats are when “cats sweep their tails from side to side when they’re feeling excited or aggressive.” We looked at our cat Archie and his tail was straight up which means he was happy.
This is what dogs do about their tails: “Happy dogs wag their tails from side to side or round and round like a propeller.” Also, “when dogs are scared they tuck their tail between their legs.” “Dogs hold their tails still and upright when they sense danger.” We couldn’t really see our dog Jibber’s feelings…mostly because she doesn’t really have a tail; she only has half a tail.
And that’s what Cats vs. Dogs is all about. I would recommend it for ages maybe 5 through 10. I’m in second grade and it was a really easy book for me and I think everyone would really like it.
BOOK NAME: Wheels of Change
AUTHOR: Sue Macy
As I read Wheels of Change, the newest book from National Geographic, it really started moving the wheels in my mind. This book takes you through how the bicycle began a chain of events in which women and the general public came to realize that women’s rights, freedoms and expectations were in need of change.
The book starts with a basic history of the bicycle itself with many intriguing facts, images, and short biographies of ladies who led the way. A woman riding a bike back in the late 1800s wasn’t that big of a deal, but when they wanted to become competitive, they realized that the long skirts had to go. Many felt that if women got to wear pants or divided skirts, the whole social system would collapse. Maybe women would even compete with men! In fact, in a race in which a woman challenged a man-she won! This behavior was considered scandalous at that time.
The bicycle aroused wide-spread thinking about women’s rights and their place in society. It opened the way for actions toward equality and women eventually gaining the right to vote. The new freedom that the bicycle gave them opened up the way for different kinds of thinking, a sort of symbol of independence.
I would recommend this book to older readers due to the vocabulary and the topic itself. This book lends itself to have you think about women as activists and their place in society. A pretty heavy topic, but told in an attractive, easy to follow format.
And yes, a big change started with something as simple as a bicycle!
(AD) Check out Wheels of Change in the National Geographic Store!
Posted by BOOK NAME: 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System
AUTHOR: David A. Aguilar
I’ve read a lot books about the solar system, but this one is not at all like any of the others. While they teach in most schools that there are eight planets in the solar system, this book takes a look at 13 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (the rock planets), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (the gas giants), Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris (the dwarf planets).
This book doesn’t only talk about the planets, it also talks about the moons of each planet, the Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt (a larger version of the Asteroid Belt). It also explains which planets and moons might have water and even how the solar system likely will end someday. (The good news is this won’t happen for another seven billion years, so don’t be too freaked out.)
I like how the book also tells the mythology behind every planet’s name. My favorite planet is the dwarf planet Haumea. It has the shape of an egg and rotates like a football being kicked off for a field goal. It is named after a powerful Hawaiian sorceress whose name is pronounced “Hah-oo-MAY-ah.”
The inside front cover of 13 Planets also shows what each planet would look like if you saw it through a 100x-power telescope, with the Earth’s Moon filling up the entire lens and Neptune barely appearing as the size of a speck of dust.
I would definitely recommend this book because it is a very fun and interesting way of learning about our solar system.
(AD) Check out 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System in the National Geographic Store!
Beginning in February, when you visit NG Kids website you’re going to find an amazing new design. You’ll see more animals, bigger photos, and all the great games, videos, and news you expect–plus more facts and fun at your fingertips! And we’re making it super easy to navigate to cool areas like NG Kids My Shot, blogs, Animal Jam virtual world, NG Little Kids, and our Shop.
So stay tuned and get ready to explore the fresh new look of kids.nationalgeographic.com and let us know what you think!
Photograph by rosella, NG Kids My Shot
Posted by BOOK NAME: National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011
AUTHOR: National Geographic
Hey guys! Nice to see you again. I hope you enjoy my review on the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011. This book has some of the most amazing pictures ever, and great details.
You can read about all sorts of different animals…from polar bears to green sea turtles and everything in between. There’s information about endangered species and some of the most awkward animals I’ve ever seen. For example, the horse-zebra named Eclyse. It’s solid white in the middle and on the legs. But on the head and near the butt it’s brown with black stripes. You can find a section about albino animals…which are white animals with red eyes-there’s a picture of an albino alligator, and a wallaby.
They have a section on Going Green-by helping the environment. For example, the book has information on conserving electricity and planting trees which gives us more oxygen.
At the end, you can read about future possibilities like a 3D magazine, a hotel in space, and robots.
The other chapters include Your World 2011, Super Science, Geography Rocks, History Happens, Culture Connection, Awesome Adventure, and Wonders of Nature.
There’s no sports section, which disappoints me a little bit. I liked the animal pictures the most, and I would definitely recommend this book.
BOOK NAME: Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas
AUTHOR: National Geographic
This is a book that I like. It’s called Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas. I think it’s cool because it has lots of animals and tells you about the earth: where animals live, what continents they live on, and all kinds of maps.
The book tells about animals ecosystems which are ice caps, mountain, grassland, desert, forest, wetland, tundra, and coral reef.
In this book, it also tells what forest produces the most amount of oxygen–which is the Amazon rain forest in South America. The Amazon rain forest has spotted leopards, blue-and-yellow macaws, red-bellied piranhas, and green anaconda snakes which kill their prey by squeezing it to death.
In Africa, some of the animals you learn about are giraffes, elephants, hyenas, and wildebeests.
This book also tells about which animals are endangered and which are not. It also tells about which ecosystems are in which parts of the world.
The book shows a lot of pictures of animals, what they eat, and what they do. My favorite part of the book was looking at the maps of the continents to see which animals live where. This book would be good for ages 4-10.
BOOK NAME: The Big Book of Fun
AUTHOR: National Geographic
This is a good book because you can take it anywhere if you don’t have anything to do like on an airplane, or if you’re going to the beach during summer vacation.
There are lots of games and activities that you have to figure out. My favorites are mazes. The games have different themes like oceans and jungles. Another one of the games takes animals heads and swirls them around and you have to guess what it is. There’s another activity where there are pictures of animals in different places, but they’re in the wrong place, so you have to find where they belong.
There are also look and find pages, and Funny Fill Ins, which are just like Mad Libs. I like those because they’re funny.
This book is good for maybe ages 4-8; Kindergarten through 2nd grade. I needed my dad to help me read some of the harder instructions. It’s a lot of fun.
Interested in seeing The Big Book of Fun for yourself? Enter the giveaway for a chance to get your own copy!
BOOK NAME: Oceans
AUTHOR: Johnna Rizzo
Hey guys, sorry I haven’t written a blog lately. I’ve been busy visiting Mrs. Obama at the White House. But you’re gonna see a lot more books out of me. I’ve been reading a lot more books than ever. And exercising more than ever too!
I like this book because of the great photography and all of the fun facts that they put into the book. They have all types of animals: from jellyfish to stingrays to sharks.
For an example of some of the great photography, there’s a picture of a bunch of manta rays opening up their mouths getting ready to chomp on a snack of krill and plankton, and you can see right into their mouths and see their ribs.
They also have fun facts of all the types of the animals. For example, for the whales they tell you all about these different whales: the narwhal, minke, sperm, blue, right and bowhead. I never knew that the male narwhal had the long horns on their heads and their horn is actually a tooth!
People will like this book if you love nature and photography and beautiful fish and sea creatures. This book is great if you want to be a photographer someday.
(AD) Find out how to get Oceans at the National Geographic Store.
BOOK NAME: Weird But True! 300 Outrageous Facts
AUTHOR: National Geographic
Weird But True! really goes with its title. For example, the book says there are some ants that can make themselves explode when attacked and melons shaped like pyramids grown in Japan. This book is full of facts that will amaze you, like that bumblebee bats weigh the same as two M&M candies and some fish can actually walk on land. The freakiest fact in the book was that a chicken named Mike lived for 18 months without a head. How is that even possible? The most shocking facts are that some fish can change from female to male and slugs have 3,000 teeth and four noses. (With that many teeth, a trip to the dentist could last all day.)
I really liked this book because it was fun reading all 300 facts and sharing them with my mom, dad and friends. They couldn’t believe most of it. This is a good book to take in the car on a long trip and read out loud. Let me give you one more fact from the book: People report the most UFO sightings when Venus is closest to Earth. I guess we know where all the aliens live now!
Learn how to submit your fact to a future Weird But True book!
