Eyewitness books were a staple in the school library when I was small. I remember the big white hardbacks with eyewitness books l across the top, and I would know straight away that I would enjoy browsing through them. Now fast forward a few, ok then quite a few, years and I am no longer a twelve year old but I still have fond memories of the hours spent looking at the pictures and learning from the text. One of my favorites was the eyewitness books edition called “Rocks and Gems.” I loved the pictures of the precious stones and reading about where they were found.

The NEW & IMPROVED Eyewitness Books

When DK offered asked me to review some of their new eyewitness books, I jumped at the chance. The new books are completely updated, inside and out, so they remain relevant to today’s readers. The updated look includes new cover art and, most strikingly, a soft back format replaces the old hardback.

I was sent copies of “Hurricane & Tornado” which I requested for Gabe, “Dog” for Evey and the new “Crystal & Gem” for myself. I hadn’t even got the envelope fully open before Gabe reached in and grabbed the top book. His speech is really developing, and he jumped up and down with the book, calling out “Nado Nado!”. This was an excellent demonstration of how user-friendly the paperback format is. He might have struggled with the heavier, hardback edition, but he carried and browsed through the paperback with ease.

 

Evey was less excited than I expected her to be. She liked the dog book but once she had seen the “Crystals and Gems” she was smitten. We sat down together straight away and looked through. With each page, she became more excited and asked more questions. It was like sitting next to myself at that age!

The book itself is, as you would expect, packed full of the DK trademark photos and text. They lend themselves very well to browsing, but they are also easy to use text books. The comprehensive index allows you to find what you need quickly and easily. It took us no time at all to identify the crystal Evey bought at the Britannia Mine Museum. It was a lovely experience, to spend time with Evey, looking through an updated version of a book I loved as a child.

 

The whole family learned a great deal by reading ‘Dogs’ together. For instance – did you know that:

  • The dingo is the most purebred dog in the world because there are no other wild dogs with which to breed.
  • A dog’s sense of smell is due to rolls of delicate bone in its nasal cavity.
  • The dog family, called Canidae from the Latin Canis, includes 35 species of wolf, jackal, fox and wild and domestic dog.
  • When is a dog not a dog? When it’s a prairie dog – they are rodents related to squirrels!

There was so much more – but you’ll have to buy your own copy to find out what.