Book review: National Geographic Kids, 'The Book of Kings' is a royal read

When I think of kings, I usually think of Henry VIII and his wives or Louis XVI and his unfortunate demise (whoa, I totally didn't mean to rhyme there!). So, when I received The Book of Kings I was prepared for the many emperors, kings, and rulers it talks about. But I wasn't prepared for all the other *kings* found throughout this book's 170+ pages, and there are a lot and they are awesome.

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The Book of Kings is a really fun and unique way to help your kids or hey, even yourself, learn about history. While ancient through recent rulers are written about, many other types of kings are found in this book as well. Kings of well-known legends, like Gilgamesh, have an entire section. Creative kings, like Elvis, Dr. Seuss, and architect Frank Gehry each have their own pages as well.

But my favorite chapter was titled, "Aristocrats of Action." Here, I learned about George Williams, the founder of the YMCA.

Speaking of the YMCA, did you know it stands for Young Men's Christian Association? I had no idea.

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Anyway, according to The Book of Kings, Williams lived during the Industrial Revolution and was concerned about the terrible living conditions there. So, he started a YMCA and it mushroomed throughout Europe. He helped men have access to cleaner living conditions and social lives that didn't revolve around crime. What an awesome guy!

"Aristocrats in Action" also has a little section about James Naismith, PE teacher at a Massachusettes YMCA in the early 1890s. One brutal winter, he decided to make up a new game to help keep the men at the YMCA get exercise without going outside. He nailed two peach baskets on opposites sides of the gym walls and started bouncing a soccer ball around, trying to throw it into the baskets. Ta da! He invented basketball!

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The Book of Kings has so much information about astounding men (and a few women!) that I had never heard of before. While being reminded of more recognizable famous individuals was great, I just loved learning about all the other people and the countries/ideas/buildings/science/art/so many other things they helped improve.

Full of great photographs and illustrations, The Book of Kings is a wonderful way to help children learn a broad amount of history and hopefully help them get interested in other areas they hadn't considered before. And, just in case anyone out in www land is considering getting on their gender equality soapboxes, don't worry; my review of The Book of Queens is coming soon.

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Book breakdown:
176 pages
Full-color illustrations and photographs
Best for ages: 8-adult
Educational factor:high
Religious content: minimal
Parents could be concerned about: Nothing.