Book review: add some novelty to your Independence Day celebrations by reading 'Weird but True! USA: 300 Fascinating Facts About the Fifty States'

My favorite holiday is less than a week away! I LOVE Independence Day. I love celebrating the founding of my amazing country, I love summer, I love fireworks, I love it all!

So, when Media Masters reached out and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing National Geographic's latest, "Weird but True!" book with a USA theme, I jumped at the offer. And my kids are glad I did because they've enjoyed this book a lot.

Image from National Geographic

Yesterday, while driving my son to and from a soccer tournament game, he read this book to me. Now, I had already read most of it, but he was loving it so much that he decided it needed to be read aloud. Hearing his enthusiasm for all the weird, but true facts about the United States was quite entertaining. We had some good discussions, based on what he read, and our hour-long drive flew by.

So let's talk a bit about this book that had my son so enthralled, shall we?

Image from Amazon

"Weird but True! USA: 300 Fascinating Facts about the Fifty States" has more than 200 pages of full-color illustrations and photography. Each page tells random facts about people, places, and traditions in the United States. Here are a few examples:

The U.S. Senate has a dedicated desk drawer that's always filled with candy (pg 108).
The population of the United States increases by one person every 14 seconds (pg 184).
Want to know which U.S. city is the toilet paper capital of the world? Check out page 140.
Wanna know which Illinois animals had a three-story brick tower built for them? You'll find out on page 46.

Image from Amazon

"Weird but True! USA" is a fun book that can be read just a few pages at a time or a few hours until you're done. Either way, it's a unique way to learn more about the United States while being entertained at the same time.

I didn't find anything even remotely offensive in this book. So parents, you can feel comfortable giving this to your kids without going through it first.

Image from Amazon

Book breakdown:
207 pages
Color illustrations and photographs
Best for ages: 8 to adult
Educational factor: medium
Religious content: none
Parents could be concerned about: Nothing. This is a clean book with fun, non-controversial facts.