Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know...

With gorgeous, full-color spreads and hip, vivid design, this "un-cyclopedia" for the Internet generation gives fresh and fascinating contexts for classic information--making looking up information easier than ever!

"This attractively designed, airily laid out volume — a departure from DK's signature look, but every bit as inviting — will be a hit with kids, especially those who love record books and almanacs. Organized randomly like the popular 'miscellany' books of the 19th century, the eclectic contents merge pop culture — music, fashion, movies, technology — with school topics such as nature, math, politics and geography. Thus, readers discover a book that asks the burning question — what would the blog of an 11th-century Viking contain? — and provides an answer, too, with a mock web page from Hilde Torfadottir, age 13, born during 'corn cutting time AD 988.' Yet nearly every brief essay includes a reference to a related topic on another page, simulating hyperlinks in book form. In addition to fun trivia, the resource includes useful instructions on how to make a sling, as well as provocative topics, such as a quote from Abraham Lincoln ('The ballot is stronger than the bullet'), followed by a single word in all caps: 'Discuss.' Full-color photos and eye-catching graphics give this 'un-encyclopedia' an engagingly fresh look, but the best feature is the tone of the writing, which winks at its audience and respects kids' intelligence. A timeline charting evolution notes three billion years of nothing but small complex cell organisms: 'All this time and still no fish.' Instructions on how to make a map begin: 'A map is a way of telling a story. What the story is about depends on who the map is for.' The title is an invitation; the challenge will be putting the book down. Ages 8-up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)