Book review--The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu

I received this book to read and review from Lisa Roe, Online Publicist.

This is a great book! It is organized in chapters by topics such as:  Outer Space, How things Work, Daily Life, etc.  It is in a question and answer format.  Basically, you can bet that every question your child has ever asked you will be answered in this book!

The first week I received it, we used it as a reference for my son's project on the planets.  He had to draw each planet as it is positioned in the solar system and then pick his favorite and describe it.  On page 5, there is a picture showing the line up of the planets in relation to the sun and on subsequent pages are questions and answers about the different planets.  It was a very "handy" tool for this homework assignment!

I have chosen a few topics with their Q & As as excerpts to show you the great informative nature of this book.

Chapter:  Creatures Big and Small

Dinosaurs and Ancient Life (if you have kids, especially boys, then you have probably been asked this question!)

When did the dinosaurs live?

Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 to 250 million years ago, during the Triassic Period.  Their large size and vast numbers meant that they dominated animal life on Earth for millions of years.  Dinosaurs became extinct around 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period.  Earth was much different when dinosaurs roamed the planet.  Several hundred million years ago, instead of there being seven continents, or large land masses, there was just one giant mass of land that was surrounded by ocean.  This land mass gradually broke apart into separate continents.  Areas that are now covered with tall buildings or mountain ranges were once beneath the sea, and scientists believe the climate was fairly warm throughout the year.  By the end of the era in which dinosaurs lived, temperatures had cooled and distinct seasons had developed.

Why did dinosaurs become extinct?

Scientists do not know for sure why dinosaurs became extinct.  They have many different theories, some of which explain the extinction as something that happened gradually over a long period of time.  Other theories suggest that a single catastrophe, such as a fallen asteroid from outer space, caused the dinosaur population to die off rather suddenly.  And some scientists believe the dinosaur population had been gradually getting smaller and then was finished off by some dramatic event.

Chapter: Daily Life

Tough Questions:  Divorce, Death and God

Who is God?  (a tough one...this is one my kids have asked me recently)

It is believed by many people that God is the perfect spiritual being who has always existed and who created everything. (Although having no physical form and therefore no gender, God is usually referred to as a male.) Believers feel that God made the universe and all that is in it.  God is thought by many to be all-knowing and all-powerful.  In many religions, it is thought that the souls of people who have led good lives on Earth join God after they die.

While many of the world's most widely practiced religions--Christianity, Islam, Judaism--teach of the existence of a single supreme being (called God in Judeo-Christian religions and Allah in Islam), some religions teach that there are many gods.  Hinduism (practiced by many people in India and elsewhere) teaches that there are many gods, but all are part of one divine being, called Brahman.  Some people feel that God is everywhere and part of everything--the universe itself, and all life, and all natural occurrences, are divine.  Others, called atheists, do not believe a supreme being exists in any form. 

I highly recommend this book.  It's great if you have kids, but it's also great for adults.  As I was reading through it, even I found out some things I otherwise would not have known.

Happy Reading!



**FTC disclaimer:  I received this book for review from the publicist.