The Usborne Book of Knowledge

by Angela J on 2012-02-01
We have the previous version of this book, copyrighted 1988, which I thought was a little old when we bought it 2 years ago. Much of the information being woefully outdated. For example, the last date on the "Space Race" page is 1973! The spread on the television is downright ancient. Instead of complaining though, I used this as an opportunity to launch into more modern technologies. It's good to know where things started, lol. I hope this version is updated before we get this core again for my younger son... BTW, we also skipped over reproduction, not because of the machine analogy (which my son would understand), but because I'm just not ready, lol.

by Julie S on 2011-09-22
I give it 3 stars, as we like about half of it. We love the bird and animal sections. The sections on the human body sometimes are confusing to our children, as there are machines to represent body organs and systems with little people walking about. I was hoping for more accurateness than cartoonish. The section on reproduction is astonishing, and we are not reading that part. Once again, they are machines, but the descriptions it gives and how man and woman fit together are best left for a few years down the road from 2-4 grade IMO.

by Tosha P on 2011-09-12
I'll have to agree with Emily M... Reproduction is a lil' too detailed for my 6,7 & 8 year olds. Disturbing. We haven't had any "talks" yet. So, to expose them during science was sOoo blush worthy. Obviously, I skipped those pages. My children like to explore their school books on their own just as they do with their regular literature, but these are untouchable until their older. On top of that, all the timelines in the back are boring. They try to fit decades of inventions on a measly two pages and what you end up with is information overload that leaves your kids asking to make it stop. O_o

by Emily M on 2011-02-03
Warning about the section on the human reproduction system: The organs (and what they hold) are shown in children, then the mechanics of how man and woman work together are explained as machines (although with the names of the organs). The jump straight from images of children to the mechanics in the form of machines does not indicate that the mechanics are only appropriate for adults (married at that). I did not want my reading 6 year old to see this section, so tore out the pages. I don't think this is appropriate for a second grader either without additional context. I do not think this is an appropriate representation for this age group and their interest in experimentation. I am very surprised that Sonlight gives no warning about this book! Otherwise, the descriptions and illustrations are very engaging to kids - thus the 3 stars.

by Heather M on 2011-02-02
We own both this book and the newer internet linked version. Although this book has an "older" look about it and the pictures are cartoonish rather than photographs, we think it is great! It is much more engaging, entertaining, and appropriate for 2nd graders than the internet version (which has fairly dry text written for older kids). It also contains a lot more information and is larger than the newer version. My son says he loves it and all my children are learning a lot. I can see why Sonlight keeps this version.

by JENNIFER G on 2010-09-14
My son loves this book! He jumps up to grab it everyday and is excited to see what he is going to learn. I enjoyed the way the book flowed from animal to animal and body part to body part. The pictures were enticing to look at. We are big fans of Usborne Products, and this one is not as current as the other ones, definitely enjoyable for younger kids.

by SARAH P on 2010-09-06
I didn't think I would like this book, as the cover looked outdated. But the information is well written and I love illustrations, especially the section on animals.

by GRANT B on 2010-07-28
My older kids were so fascinated by this book and loved it so much that it fell apart! I'm going to buy another for my younger children to do the same. Just fabulous! ~MrsPastorGrant~

by CYNDI A on 2010-03-20
The book is good at presenting material to kids, but WARNING to all parents, it covers human reproduction, in more detail then maybe you would like at a young age!!! Don't let your kids read ahead on their own.

by CHRISTINE A on 2009-09-08
I have the old 1993 editon (which is used in the current curriculum) and the newer internet linked version. I would prefer to use the new version but alas the curriculum doesn't. The 1993 version is definitely out of date and a bit disappointing visually. I am trying to correlate pages with the newer book, but I don't know if it is possible. The new Science curriculum was a nice change until I realized it uses an old book. I confess myself extremely disappointed!