Olive has recently picked up the National Geographic Kids’ book, Weird but True 3: 300 Outrageous Facts
Olive: Mom, did a man once make 956 pancakes in one hour?
Me: I’m going to go with ‘yes’.
Olive: You’re right. OK, I’ve got another one for you. Can a shark grow and lose up to 30,000 teeth in its lifetime.
Me: Seeing how the books is called Weird but True, I’m going to go with ‘yes’ again.
Olive: You’re right.
Thing is, now she’s onto me and is figuring out how to ask the questions in ways I won’t automatically know the answer to. It’s fun watching her work out the different ways of stumping me.
Olive: Mom, do birds sweat?
Me: I’d guess ‘yes’.
Olive: YOU’RE WRONG! They DON’T sweat!
She almost lost her mind when I told her there was a Weird but True app. It’s loaded with facts just like the books, and you can shake or swipe to bring up a new fact. Features include the ability to email and favorite facts, but there’s one feature that really makes the app worthwhile in Olive’s eyes.
Olive: Mom, look at this!
Me: Wow, that’s pretty weird.
Olive: Now press the green button. <starts to giggle>
I press the green button and an ostrich pops up to say, “That’s weird!” in a silly voice, at which point Olive breaks down into absolute hysterics. There’s a lovely variety of these animals that Olive finds endlessly entertaining.
I with both the book and the app had more photographs. Darn it, if you tell me there are blue bees, I want to see them. But both the book and the app are great for curious elementary school kids that like to know important stuff like the fact that apples float and pears sink. They’re sure to be a hit on the playground.
Note: I received review copies of both the app and the book.
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