The Magic of Books: “The History of Fun Stuff”

April 16, 2016

Hi everyone! Today I am dropping by to share one of my new favorite nonfiction series that will become a favorite of your young readers. “The History of Fun Stuff” is full of facts and details about things that kids love – pizza, video games, ice cream, phones, and so much more. These books are on about a 5th grade level but these would make great read alouds for younger kids or independent reads for advanced readers.

Let’s start with pizza. This book focuses on where pizza was created and the history of some types of pizzas. I love the engaging manner of these stories plus there is some geography, science, and math thrown in at the back. Kids can learn about the geography of Italy, the science of smell, and math with fractions.

And now for some dessert – ice cream.What kid doesn’t want to learn how ice cream was created and even about those ice cream novelties? I loved that this book includes some geography by talking about weird flavors in different countries. There’s also a section about the science of ice cream.

Kids love fireworks so they should love learning about them too. Fireworks date back to long ago and this book is full of fun facts. There are also sections on bamboo, independence celebrations around the world, and the color wheel.

My students are obsessed with phones so this book is really popular.Although this book is focused on the history of phones, some science is included too. Kids can also learn about pie charts, greetings from around the world, and the science of sound.

Okay, so what kid doesn’t love video games? This book is highly engaging for them. There’s also a focus on charting the popularity of video games and a section on the geography of Japan. I don’t know about you but I never found geography that exciting but it is in the context of video games.

I had no idea that hot chocolate had such a history. This is a really interesting read even for adults. I love the section on the layers of the tropical rain forest, foods from the Americas that changed the world, and money from around the world. Lots of fun facts!

Kids love to learn about space but it can be very technical reading. This book breaks down the facts in a way that is easy to understand by kids. There’s also a science focus on day and night plus stars in the sky. Kids will also love reading about science fiction stories that came true.

Halloween has quite a history that your kids would love to learn. There’s also sections on festivals around the world, how pumpkins grow, and animals of Halloween.

This cookie focused book comes out in July and I know it will be a hit. I don’t know exactly what’s included but I’ve already preordered my copy from Amazon.

I’ve decided to give away some of these books. Enter the Rafflecopter below to win your choice of five “History of Fun Stuff” books.  Also, be sure to stop by tomorrow. I’m creating a few freebies to go along with this series.

Amazon affiliate links included in this post.

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