Most of us can remember books from our childhood that we returned to again and again. They were fun but also taught us something about the world around us. Here are five new ones that might fill the bill for kids today.
Brick Shakespeare: The Tragedies — Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar, Constructed and Photographed by John McCann
What a weird but wonderful idea — an abridged version of Shakespeare’s four tragedies with the characters constructed entirely out of Lego bricks, giving enterprising kids a taste of some of the most arresting prose and poetry in the English language while learning that there is no end to what can be built out of rectangular plastic bricks. McCann, we learn, has two decades’ experience with Lego and is pursuing a masters degree in bioengineering.
Mind Benders: Brain-Boggling Tricks, Puzzles, and Illusions, Jemma Westing
There is much fun — and brain-stretching frustration — to be had for your pint-sized smarty pants in this book of mindbenders, optical illusions, physical tricks, word and number games, and more. What’s great about these puzzles is that adults and children can solve them together. Some rely on logical thinking, others on lateral thinking, and learning the difference between the two will stand kids and adults in good stead whatever path they take.
It Can’t Be True!: The Book of Incredible Visual Comparisons
I’m just going to list the amazing facts that I learned by reading the front and back covers of this educational (in a good way) book: The weight of the Great Pyramid is equivalent to 16 Empire State Buildings. The moon is the same size as Australia. Russia is 10 times as wide as France. Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1,000 times.
Make Your Own Skeleton, Smithsonian
This instructive book — perfect for the child 7-plus who aspires to be a healer later on — includes a 30-page illustrated book on bones, joints and how they fit together. The really cool part is constructing a 57.5 cm human skeleton — about one-third the height of the real thing — out of the 67 pieces in the kit. Putting it together will certainly be a useful parent-child activity. If you can erect a skeleton you can certainly put together even the most challenging Ikea furniture.
Marvel: Year by Year, A Visual Chronicle, Marvel
This nifty book is a chronological look at the popular superhero title, beginning in 1939 when Marvel Comics #1 introduced its first creations with exceptional powers — Human Torch (who was actually a renegade android) and Sub-Mariner (a half-human who hated mankind) — elemental creations who were quite unlike Action Comics’ Superman. Chockful of panels, anecdotes and commentary over the years. Lively and fun.
Sarah Murdoch, email@example.com