About.com Rating

Summary

Time For Kids Big Book of When is filled with facts - 801, according to the publisher - plus a number of intriguing experiments and other activities, all with lots of color photographs as illustrations. The book is the latest entry in the Time for Kids Big Book series. I recommend it for curious kids 8 to 14.

Organization and Content

Time For Kids Big Book of When is divided into 11 chapters, each focusing on a separate subject.

Under each chapter listing, the 5 to 10 major questions covered are listed.  Time, Animals, Communications, Flight, Energy, The Solar System, The Digital Age, Food,Transportation, Civilizations and Sports are the chapter topics.

The table of contents includes the 5 to 10 major questions covered in each chapter. Some examples include:

• When Did People Begin to Use Calendars? (Time chapter)
• When Do Sharks Breathe? (Animals)
• When Was the First Book Printed? (Communications)
• When Was the First E-Mail Sent? (The Digital Age)
• When Was the First Baseball Game Played? (Sports).

A helpful How to Use This Book page reviews the format used for the two-page spreads and some of the major categories of information provided.  Depending on the spread, these can include: Fun Facts, Try It!, People Who Rocked the World, Did You Know?, Top 5 boxes and Timelines.

While I prefer a cleaner design (more white space, not so many bright colors, and a crisper look), the book benefits from a consistent format and design throughout.

  Because it includes a great many illustrations, Time For Kids Big Book of When will be a particular treat for visual learners.

The Time for Kids Big Book Series

• Time for Kids Big Book of When
• Time for Kids Big Book of Why
• Time for Kids Big Book of What
• Time for Kids Big Book of How
• Time for Kids Big Book of Where.

My Recommendation

There is a lot of information in Time for Kids Big Book of When that will intrigue, entertain and educate young readers.  Many kids who are not that interested in fiction or reading long books, love books like this that they can dip into to find information that interests them presented in well-illustrated small bites without having to read the entire book.  Reluctant readers who  love facts particularly enjoy books like this. 

The DIY (Do It Yourself) activities are a bonus. Despite the blanket warning that "The experiments and activities in this book require adult supervision,"  I think there are a number of the activities that parents will feel quite comfortable letting their children do on their own, such as using the Morse Code to write a brief note to a friend. 

The detailed table of contents and index make it easy to find information. A three-page glossary at the end of the book provides definitions for words used and highlighted throughout the book. The format used for each double-page spread addressing a specific question also makes it easy to access information.  Time for Kids Big Book of When is not the book for the child who wants a great deal of information about one specific topic. Instead, it's designed to pique children's interest and provide a quick look at a variety of topics. While I recommend the book for ages 8 to 14, I think some younger and older kids will also enjoy it.

More Books For Kids Who Like Facts and Hands-On Activities

• JunkDrawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing is full of interesting experiments, most of which can be done with common household materials and equipment.
• National Geographic Kids Almanac 2014 provides lots of facts and color photographs on subjects that interest kids, as well as directions for some DIY activities.
  
• The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Medal winners and Honor Books are a great resources for kids who want facts presented in interesting and well-written books.
  
• The Scientists in the Field series, nonfiction books about scientists and their field work, is a series I highly recommend.  Among the many book in the series are Digging for Bird-Dinosaurs and Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot and The Snake Scientist.
  

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.