Book Review: I Wish I Knew That

I'm always looking to pour as much knowledge into my children as I possibly can, so I jumped at the opportunity to check out yet another book from the Readers Digest series of juvenile reference books.  This time I had the pleasure of reading I Wish I Knew That Cool Stuff You Need to Know.

The hard cover book is chock full of fun facts and "cool stuff" that your middle school aged kid should know.  The book covers the subjects of literature, history, music, grammar, geography, math, science and classics.  It's the type of book that your child could read to learn a little something about which they may only know very little or nothing at all.

A middle schooler could easily read this book and find plenty of information to impress his or her teacher if the subject should surface in class.  An adult could find this book equally informative.  Perhaps you're not very well versed in art.  This book will give you a very brief overview of the art world.

My only criticism of this book is the area which highlights a select few U.S. Presidents.  This area has a decidedly liberal slant.  A sizable section is dedicated to our current President, something which I think should not be added until his term as president has ended.  The only modern Republican president featured in Richard Nixon, and the short blurb focuses only on the Watergate scandal leaving young readers to think that there was nothing else notable about this president.  I was actually quite surprised that neither Reagan or G.W. Bush were included in the book.

Overall, I think this is a useful reference book to have on your middle schooler's bookshelf.  He or she is bound to learn a few things from this book and be entertained along the way.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by FSB Media in exchange for my honest review.