Absolutely Everything by Christopher Lloyd

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Disclosure: I received this book for review. Post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you make a purchase, I may earn commission. Opinions shared are mine.


In my 21+ years of teaching, you’d be surprised at some of the questions kids have asked.  Thanks to Google and smartphones, it’s so much easier to answer those questions now…or at least, point kids in the right directions to find their own answers.  Still, do you remember the days when you turned actual pages in order to glean information about a topic?  Christopher Lloyd to the rescue!

You might be surprised to hear that many school systems have done away with textbooks completely.  Our school, for example, provides a Chromebook for each student.  All books and resources are online.  The kids in my life, both my personal children and my students, are not given free reign to search for information online.  In a reference book, however, they have all kinds of freedom!  Absolutely Everything takes the best of what you remember from old textbooks and encyclopedias, puts it in a kid-friendly format, and makes it relevant again.

I appreciate the exciting text features found in Absolutely Everything.  Vivid photographs of primary sources are included.  Interesting images are tucked in the corners, highlighted by informative captions.  The vocabulary is rich without being too difficult for late elementary/middle school aged children.  It would be an excellent supplement for middle school students who read below grade level, because it’s fun without looking babyish like leveled readers tend to appear.  Quotes and bar graphs help to illustrate ideas, support reasoning, and provide evidence.  This provides a great correlation between content areas like science, math, and social studies, while incorporating reading skills.

My daughter is a factoid person, and when she saw this book sitting on the counter, she honed in on it like a heat-seeking missile.  The cover is very appealing, and the topics found within are high-interest for kids.  There’s a great variety of information, details, statistics, and vocabulary words.  Kids will have fun pointing out that there’s no way for the book to truly contain absolutely everything, so challenge them to figure out what should appear in the next volume. If nothing else, having a print book is a novel way to learn in this modern era!

Absolutely Everything is a terrific resource to keep on our home bookshelf.  Note that it has a non-creation world origin theory; instead, the Big Bang is mentioned.  I’m okay with my kids reading about non-creation theories and having a broad view of scientific theories, but mentioned it in case other readers have an issue with it.

One lucky Savings in Seconds reader will win a copy!  The giveaway is open to US readers ages 18+. Void where prohibited by law.  Enter on the form below.  Good luck!

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

This fall, journalist and bestselling author Christopher Lloyd presents Absolutely Everything!: A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots and Other Things Too Numerous to Mention (10/16/2018; ISBN: 978-1-9998-0283-7; Hardcover $21.99; What on Earth Publishing) – a comprehensive look at the history of Earth, from the Big Bang to the ways in which we can shape the future, for readers ages 10–14.
Each chapter of this educational and entertaining narrative focuses on a different period and travels the globe from a legendary Chinese Empress said to have invented silk, to researchers figuring out how ancient Egyptian embalmers really got the brains out of dead people, to an African emperor on a gold-laden pilgrimage.  Then there’s to T.Rex, King Tut, Cleopatra, Genghis Khan, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, wars, climate change, conquistadors, revolutions, religions, computers, artificial intelligence, and more. Hundreds of illustrations, photographs, maps, and quotes bring the distant past to vivid life in “a riveting mosaic of exciting true stories” (Deborah Heiligman, Vincent and Theo). The perfect Christmas gift, Absolutely Everything will inspire a thirst for knowledge in even the most reluctant young historians, making connections and giving larger context to the isolated topics taught in school.
About the Author: Christopher Lloyd graduated with a double-first class degree in history from Cambridge University. He was Science Correspondent with The Sunday Times newspaper in London and is now a bestselling author of more than 15 books, including What on Earth Happened? The Complete Story of the Planet, Life and People from the Big Bang to the Present Day (Bloomsbury) and the Big History Timeline Wallbook series from What on Earth Books. A TEDx speaker, he is in great demand throughout the world at conferences, educational seminars, museums, festivals, and schools.
Thanks to the sponsor for sending me a copy of this book!

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Comments

  1. I absolutely love books like these! You’re so right in saying that we turn to Google for so many answers these days. Sometimes informative books like this also provide answers to questions that we didn’t even know we had. 😉

  2. I liked reading this about the good book; T.REX, King Tut, Confucius, Cleopatra, Genghis Khan, William the Conqueror, Toussaint Louverture, the Wright Brothers, Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Gravity, microbes, wars, epidemics, climate change, conquistadors, slavery, revolutions, religions, railways, computers, artificial intelligence…

  3. “Visit the book’s publishers! Then leave a book-related comment on the giveaway post. ” I love the large miniature painting on the page about European exploration–it’s so beautiful!

  4. “Dinosaurs!” looks like another great book of theirs, with fold-out illustrations!

  5. The “Shakespeare Timeline Posterbook” looks like it would be cool!

  6. “Magna Carta Chronicle” looks like the perfect gift for anyone who loves the Magna Carta!

  7. I think their “Science Timeline Stickerbook” has neat technology pictures!

  8. The “Science Timeline Wallbook” would be neat, with six feet of science info!

  9. “Eye Spy” looks like an amazing look at animal eyesight!

  10. Antoinette M says

    I am interested in the Science Timeline Posterbook.

  11. I used to read up to a dozen books at a time covering almost all genres except romance. I would line the books beside me when I went to bed early and read a chapter from each one. Then, for several years, I was taking prescription pain medication and could never stay asleep to read. Of course, the pain medication got to the point where it was no longer effective and I transitioned off of it. Thankfully, I am now back to reading every night at bedtime, however, since I am putting in a lot of hours as a freelance writer, I only read three or four at a time. Thanks for the super giveaway opportunity. This would be an awesome book to read with our grandson and I would enjoy it too!

  12. “The Illinois Chronicles” looks like it would tell you everything about Illinois!

  13. Antoinette M says

    They have a great selection of interesting books!

  14. “Bugs!” looks like another great book in their Explorers series!

  15. Antoinette M says

    “What on earth happened…in brief”

  16. The “Big History Timeline Stickerbook” has all sorts of historical stickers, including dinosaurs and the Taj Mahal!

  17. Antoinette M says

    Explore Dinosaurs.

  18. Molli vandehey-taylor says

    the esplore dinosuars looks awesome, my kids love to learn this way

  19. Casey Garvey says

    This sounds like a great bed time book! We like to read a few pages each night and like books you know where you left off at!

  20. LeAnn Harbert says

    My boys would love this book. They would also like the What On Earth Happened book.

  21. “The Big History Timeline Wallbook” looks like an excellent resource on the rise and fall of civilizations!

  22. Antoinette M says

    The Science Timeline Posterbook.

  23. “The Shakespeare Timeline Wallbook” would be so amazing with “more than 1,000 pictures set in the iconic Globe Theatre”!

  24. Antoinette M says

    Nature Timeline Stickerbook

  25. LeAnn Harbert says

    My boys would like the Sports Timeline Sticker Book.

  26. “The Sports Timeline Posterbook” would have everything for a sports fan!

  27. “The Science Timeline Posterbook” would be a great resource for schools and budding scientists!

  28. Antoinette M says

    The Shakespeare Timeline Stickerbook.

  29. Antoinette M says

    Explorer…Bugs!

  30. “The Nature Timeline Wallbook” promises “the complete story of natural history in 1,000 species”–that does sound complete!

  31. Nicole Lancaster says

    I like that Absolutely Everything is nicely layed out. Interesting information with pictures. I know I would enjoy this book so would my kids.

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