Encyclopedia of the Ordinary Things by Stepanka Sekaninova

Encyclopedia of the Ordinary Things
by Stepanka Sekaninova

ISBN-13: 9788000061283
Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: Albatros Media
Released: October 5th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
We use them daily, pass them by, and it never occurs to us to stop and think about where they came from. Shoes, umbrellas, toothbrushes, toothpicks, socks, dolls, and so on and so forth. How did they come to be? Who invented them? How did they develop and change over time?


My Review:
Encyclopedia of the Ordinary Things is about the history of ten common items and is targeted at ages 6-12 years old. The author covered skates, umbrellas, glasses, dolls, perfume, horse toys, toilets, toothbrushes, beds, and tights. Each item had several pages describing how the item changed throughout history and appeared in different cultures. It's not a lot of information, though, since illustrations took up half of the page space. These illustrations were stylistic rather than highly accurate. Each section concluded with two pages of related items, usually focusing on the inventor of the item (Velcro, zippers, skies, etc.). These were very brief so that several items would fit on each page.

I was disappointed that the author put in speculation when I would have preferred facts. For example, when explaining: "The soles of some prehistoric shoes were made from bear skin....Our ancestors believed that bear skin would give them the strength of the feared animal and protect them." How do we know what they believed? We don't. Prehistory means they didn't leave writing saying this. It's just a guess. I felt like it was misleading to call this book an encyclopedia due to how few items were covered, the speculation included, and the stylistic illustrations. The items weren't even listed in alphabetical order. If you just want a brief overview on these objects, though, it did have some interesting trivia.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Social Skills for Kids by Keri K. Powers

Social Skills for Kids
by Keri K. Powers

ISBN-13: 9781507215753
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Adams Media
Released: June 15th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Help your children develop essential social skills—including groups, one-on-one interactions, and virtual communication—with these 150 easy, fun activities to teach your kids how to socially succeed.

From taking turns to making eye contact to staying engaged during conversations, developing appropriate social skills is an important factor for kids to be able to succeed in school and life in general. But how can you tell if your child is really making progress while you read the same stories, have the same conversations, and chaperone the same playdates? The answer is to add some variety to your child’s daily activities with these 150 exercises specially designed to keep your child (and their friends) entertained, all while teaching them effective social skills.

In Social Skills for Kids, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how social skills develop in children and what you can do to support their growth. In this book, you’ll find games to encourage them in group settings, activities that you (or another caregiver) can do alone with your child, and ways to make the most of virtual interactions for social skill development.


My Review:
Social Skills for Kids describes fun activities that teach social skills like active listening, understanding body language, and effective communication. The author started by explaining what social skills are usually present at different ages. She then described some activities suitable for young kids (3+) and worked up to activities for progressively older kids (6- or 7-year-olds). There were also a few things suggested that you can do with 1-2-year-olds to help them develop. There were activities like teaching how loud to talk in different situations, using descriptive language, and giving affective instructions to someone else. For each activity, the author explained the purpose, targeted age, how many people were needed, how to do the activity, and some questions to ask afterward to help the child process what they learned. The directions were easy to understand. These activities were either fun games or interesting activities that kids will probably be willing to try and aren't too tricky to do. Overall, I'd recommend this book to people wanting creative ways to teach social skills.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Human Anatomy for Kids by Kristie Wagner

Human Anatomy for Kids
by Kristie Wagner

ISBN-13: 978-1648768637
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Released: May 25th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Learn what makes our bodies move with the Junior Scientists series for kids ages 6 to 9

Are you curious about what your body looks like under your skin? Do you wonder where your food goes after you eat it? Check out what’s happening inside your body with this kid’s anatomy book. You’ll take a tour of your tissues, organs, muscles, and bones, and find out how they work together to help you move, think, and grow.

Explore a kid’s anatomy book that includes colorful pictures and diagrams show you the names of all your body parts, how your body fights off germs, how snacks become energy, and more. This kid’s anatomy book is packed full of fascinating tidbits, like why your body grows hair and what causes freckles. Try hands-on activities like pulling the DNA out of strawberries!


My Review:
Human Anatomy for Kids provides basic information about human anatomy at a level suitable for kids. It covered various systems in the body (respiratory, digestive, reproductive, etc.). At the start of each chapter, it had a nice photo of a human anatomy model. In the chapter, there were simple diagrams showing the location of the various organs in that system. There were also some activities for the kids to do relating to anatomy. The information didn't get very in-depth. For example, the book listed some different tissue types but only gave a brief, one sentence description of what they did and how they differed. This book was more of a nice introduction to the topic rather than actual teaching text (like for homeschooling).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.