Big Book of Why: 500+ Sports Facts Kids Want to Know!

by Sports Illustrated Kids

Why are three goals called a hat trick? Why is "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" sung during the seventh-inning stretch? Why don t the Cleveland Browns have a logo on their helmet? Divided into four levels of difficulty a professional level, an All-Star level, an MVP level, and a Hall of Fame level each answer is provided not only with an in-depth explanation on the science, history, or origin of the particular subject matter, but with photos and illustrations that help make the information easy to digest. A must-have book for any curious young sports fan."

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Childrens

128 pages, Library Binding

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Alex]

The main idea of this book is that this book teaches you more about all then sports you now and you love in many little facts about the sports

. some dunks are called alley -oops because when a player throws the ball in the air to and you catch it in the air you dunce it and then that's what a alley-oops

. Hockey goalies have a rectangle on there arm because that helps the to block the hockey players shot
so it dose not go into the goal net

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome lots of very interesting sports facts

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the TIME for Kids Big Book of What?, so when I was offered this one for review I was happy to give it a look. While I’m not a huge sports fan, I do like a few sports quite well – and my kids are all soccer players. (Plus, the husband likes sports quite a lot.) I was not disappointed by this book. It is very interesting, with answers to sports-related questions I’ve had – and many I haven’t had. It covers many sports, from football and soccer to figure skating, curling, and swimming. There are some very interesting facts, and explanations for things I never fully understood. (For example, I’m from Chicago and had heard something about the infamous goat that led to the Cubs’ curse. The full explanation is in this book!) Explanations for everything are short, to the point, and easily understood.

I am not rating this quite as highly as I had the other book simply because I felt the other one was better organized. In this one you can’t look up soccer to find soccer tidbits. You have to flip through to find them – and they’re not all together in one place. So, someone who’s curious about a specific sport has to do some digging. Fortunately, it’s not a gigantic book, so it’s not a big problem. Plus, having to look through other sports might encourage kids to consider sports they never would have otherwise. In all, I think it’s safe to say that sports buffs of all ages will love to get their hands on this book!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

full review at http://littleredreads.blogspot.com/20...

Do you have any idea why the Utah basketball team is called the Jazz or why a football is called a pig skin? How about why the Red Sox field is called Fenway Park?

We didn't either until we spent all night flipping through the Big Book of Why. My husband who's a Red Sox fan had an especially fun time browsing through the questions and learning about little tidbits of sports trivia. It's a book I would recommend for older children- adults since it is factually based with real photographs as opposed to illustrations. The photos are beautiful and one could spend an entire day asking why?

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a multitude of books seeking to tempt the young sports fan into doing a little reading - you can spot 'em from a mile off, and this is undoubtedly one of them. Why do I prefer it to many of the others? Because, first of all, it includes sports such as gymnastics, lacrosse, and skateboarding. There's even a curling question. Also, the facts and trivia are presented in sections that increase in obscurity, and each section is capped with a quiz.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

So why do baseball managers wear uniforms when coaches in other sports don't? That's a great question! And there are many more, like why are there 10 teams in the Big 12 Conference and 12 teams in the Big Ten? Why are three goals a "hat trick"? Why is the San Francisco Giants' mascot a seal? And why are they the New York Giants and Jets if they play in New Jersey? And if you wonder why coaches in other sports DON'T wear uniforms, just picture Bill Parcells in Spandex.

[Shem Henrichsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theme of this book is why. One example of the theme is why isn't there a playoff system in college football? Another example is why are left-handed pitchers called southpaws? The symbolism in this book is that there is a meaning and story behind the things we don't really think of in sports. People should read this book because it is the best way to know the origins of sports' common terms.

[katsok · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be a huge hit in my classroom.

[Sami Ismail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A incredibly interesting and informative book.

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a bit dated in some areas, a good amount of sports trivia and history.

[Shane B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for sports fans. The questions are funny and hard. I like the idea to put a quiz at the end of each section.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Big Book of Why
Book by: Sports Illustrated Kids
Review by: Sara Casey

Do you know why the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is called March Madness? Why is a football referred to as a pigskin? Why are three goals called a “hat trick”? Why is the San Francisco Giants' mascot a seal? These are all examples of questions that you will find in The Big Book of Why. As you flip through the book, you will see information on any sport from curling to baseball to tennis to gymnastics. It’s all there! Not only is there fun-filled facts on every page, there is also plenty of interesting pictures with informative captions.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. On every page is a couple of sport's most wanted to know questions with the answer. When I started reading this book, I realized, this is not a book where you can just sit down and read. All I did was just page through and when a question grabbed my attention I read it and then moved along. Sports Illustrated Kids really made an amazing book. All my strange questions about the world of sports have been answered. I recommend this book to anybody who has even a small athletic background. The Big Book of Why is nonfiction and has many other books like it. I definitely recommend reading this book.

[Kobe]

This book is interesting for me because this answers lots of questions I have about sports. Why can't there be a college basketball number that's over 5? Because it's easier for the referees to communicate to the score keeper on who's who. Why are there certain number groups for different NFL positions? To make it easier for people to know what position they are if they wear a certain number in a number group. For the offensive line, they range between 50-79. Etc.