The Explosive Story of Fireworks!: Ready-to-Read Level 3

History of Fun Stuff

by Kama Einhorn, Daniel Guidera (Illustrator)

Light up the sky with this fact-tastic nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a series about the history of fun stuff!

In this book readers will learn all about how fireworks were invented in China over 2,000 years ago, how Queen Elizabeth I created a special honor for the person who created the best fireworks, and much more! A special section at the back of the book includes Common Core–vetted extras on subjects like social studies and math, and there’s even a fun quiz so readers can test themselves to see what they’ve learned! Learning history has never been so much fun!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Science, Picture Books

48 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2015

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say it enough: this series is great. It lives up to the title - "History of Fun Stuff." Everything it covers is fun, and I always learn a lot.
In this installment, we learn about the earliest fireworks (bamboo!) early uses as weapons and religious items, all the way up to the current science between chemically colored mixtures and new methods of propulsion.
The "back of the book" stuff is also awesome - I love how it's never JUST a "so you want to read more" section, but instead covers some of the tangents that might have caught a kid's eye. In this case, it's some interesting facts about bamboo, colors, and independence celebrations around the world.
I can't recommend this series highly enough!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the title states, readers will explore the history and development of fireworks from ancient China to the present.

I'm really liking this History of Fun Stuff series. They do a fantastic job of making the history lively and interesting, relating key points (that even educated adults might not know), and accompany the highly readable text with eye-catching, fun illustrations. This is the kind of nonfiction book it would be easy to convince kids to read. And even I learned several things I never knew about fireworks before. I only wish they included bibliographies in the back.

[Gabrielle Neufeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because I liked the history that it shared and the way that it displayed the information. It was fun and informational.

Interest Level: 1st-3rd
Grade Equivalent: 1-2

6 Traits:
Presentation

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I thought it was informative for young readers. Many kids liked fireworks and this gave some neat facts without being dry or overwhelming.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of 2015. Learned so much from this! Information is presented in a fun fashion.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with Naomi

[Karen Bessin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and engaging look at the history and science of fireworks

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, informative book about the history of fireworks, for kids. I didn't particularly like the art style. I did like the content, plus the four appendices about bamboo, colors, world Independence Days, and a quiz about fireworks! Great for home-schooling!

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and accessible.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative book about the history of fireworks. Read aloud to my husband while he cooked. We read several in this series. It was interesting but not as interesting as some of the others.