Ripley Publishing builds on its worldwide success with the launch of a new annual in its multimillion bestselling series. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Strikingly True is an all-new collection of the strangest stories from around the globe. An eye-catching red and silver holographic foil cover with lenticular ensures that the book stands out on the shelf.

A mind-boggling array of incredible and bizarre facts, stories, interviews, lists, and features are all presented in a bright new design. Look out for a special section on weird Olympic facts, and some stunning features on tattooed ladies, ancient mummies, and walls of death, among many others. Fascinating interviews with some of the planet’s most extraordinary people explore their motivations, while the popular “Ripley Research” boxes explain the science behind some of the most unbelievable tales in the book.

Strikingly True also includes a dramatic 8-page gatefold pullout that celebrates the sideshow performers who appeared at Ripley’s first ever Odditorium—at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. With something strange to entertain and shock every member of the family, Strikingly True is sure to continue the massive success of the expanding Ripley’s book brand.

It is a happy day in our house when a new Ripley’s book arrives. I do have three boys, ages 13, 12, and 9, after all. But, to be honest, it’s not just the boys who find themselves poring over the pages, marveling and exclaiming over the astonishing pictures. Natalie and I are just as fascinated by the crazy, weird, and sometimes disturbing – but all true! – stories presented in these books.

One of the things I love the most about these books, is that it gets even my most reluctant reader excited about books – and that is always a good thing. The fact that the three boys will crawl into one bed before sleep at night and read the pages out loud to one another, often asking for “just a few more minutes” before they have to retire to their own beds and shut off the light is something that makes this mother’s heart happy.

The holiday season is just around the corner (I know, I know – it’s not even officially autumn yet, but you know as well as I do that once school starts back up, we just snowball to the end of the year!) and this book would make a fantastic gift for any of the kids in your life.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: children's non-fiction, non-fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Each fantastic annual in the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! range contains completely new material. Every book is full of bizarre facts, incredible photographs, crazy stories, revealing interviews, and fun features – every one guaranteed to amaze.

Seeing is Believing also features icons throughout that direct you to live action clips on the Ripley’s website, as well as a cool 8-page gatefold section showcasing sideshow performers from the past.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Seeing is Believing! is just like the Ripley’s annuals I remember checking out from the library when I was growing up – only with new and more amazing facts, and much better graphics and photos. This book has provided hours of entertainment to my sons – and the rest of the family, as they read aloud to the rest of us the most freaky and wild and unbelievable of the facts they find.

This book would make a terrific Christmas present for the curious kids in your life. Thank you to Carolina Dominguez from Wellson Communications for the review copy.

Kids ask the darndest things… and here are the answers – all in one helpful book! Anyone who has ever been a kid, raised a kid, or spent any time with kids knows that asking questions is a critical part of growing up. Kids have curious minds and they come up with some very interesting questions. But the truth is adults don’t always know the answers. The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) comes to the rescue. It addresses nearly 800 queries with enough depth and detail to both satisfy the curiosity of persistent young inquisitors and provide parents with a secure sense of a job well done.

Written with a child’s imagination in mind, this easy-to-understand book permits kids to help themselves because it’s organized by simple topical chapters: Outer Space; Planet Earth and Our Moon; Creatures Big and Small; Plant Life; People Around the World; Politics and Government; How Things Work; Math, Measurement, and Time; All About My Body; and Daily Life. Each question posed is given a complete and satisfying answer, going beyond “because” and “it just is” and “I don’t know.”

Where the Ripley’s book is full of fun but mostly useless facts, The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu is full of fun and useful facts. Questions like “why is the sky blue” and “what is government” and “what is a jiffy” and “how do cell phones work” and “why do I have to be a good sport” and “how many bones do I have” – all of these and so many, many more important questions are gathered in this book. Noah, my 11-year-old has been dipping in and out of this book, telling me all the fascinating things that he’s learning. He did say he wished there were more pictures, but that hasn’t kept him from picking it up again and again. As a homeschooling parent, this is the kind of book I love to have around the house.

Thank you to Lisa Roe from Online Publicist for my review copy.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: children's non-fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh