I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know

by Steve Martin, Mike Goldsmith, Marianne Taylor

I Wish I Knew That is full of interesting stuff that parents and grandparents used to learn at school that every child ought to know today. From classic books children should read, a quick grammar guide, an introduction to foreign languages, who that Pythagoras guy was, to a look at all the kings and queens, countries and their capitals, an introduction to classics, and much more, it covers all subjects.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Reference, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2010

Reviews

[Mindy]

Just a fun book that allowed me to dust off the files in my head and rediscover some interesting information from history.

[Nicole]

I would give this book to a child in 6th grade, which I'm sure is the target audience. It is a good refresher for adults though. Cute, fun, informative on all school subjects.

[Cami]

This was an enjoyable, quick read. I previewed it before giving it to my 6th grade daughter. It lightly touches on a TON of subjects, and it makes it all sound fascinating. I liked the lists and charts and facts and subjects covered. The last 2 pages do teach evolutionism if that is something you want to be aware of.

[Anthony]

Very informative. Talks a little about a lot of different topics. Understandably shallow in its descriptions but makes general knowledge very accessible. Recommended for any young mind to grasp the fundamentals and as a gateway into personal topics of interest.

[Jessica]

Sebenernya udah lama banget sih baca buku ini. Tapi baru sekarang beresnya XD

Jadi tau lebih banyak ilmu dan basic knowledge gitu from literature, math, physics, biology, language, geography, chemistry. Seru banget.

[Michelle]

Easy, but fun.

[Stacy Lynn]

I enjoy reading the cool facts in this book about historic plays and music, but this book was more fun than helpful

[Krystian Gora]

Very simple and basic

[Nancy]

This book gives a sampling of many different areas of learning. Of course, it has an evolutionary bent, but the inquiring mind will seek and find the truth.

[Heather]

Read it before I give it to my nephew. Not bad even as an adult reading it. A good refresher.

[Diệu Hương]

siêu hay luôn nhé mọi người, tổng hợp được rất nhiều lĩnh vực từ khoa học tự nhiên cho đến xã hội

[Sophia W]

Got this in elementary school from a school book fair, and still read it every once in a while! Has cool facts that interest any ages

[Cara]

Humorvolles & kurzweiliges Sachbuch zum Thema Allgemeinwissen. Was sind die sieben Weltwunder? Wer hat eigentlich das Periodensystem erfunden? Und warum sprechen wir von einem 'kalten' Krieg? All jene Fakten, die man immer schon mal wissen wollte, oder mit denen man immer schon mal angeben wollte ;-) Durch viele Zeichnungen sehr unterhaltsam gestaltet.

[Patty]

This book is packed with information that will fill your brain. It is divided into 8 chapters, each on a specific subject.

Below are examples of what's in each chapter:

Literature - famous writers and poets are discussed here. You will learn about them and their writings.

Music and Art - brief explanations of the different periods of art and music. For example, the Renaissance and the Arts and Crafts movements.

Language - all the parts of speech and figures of speech are explained well here.You'll also learn about things such as the Onomatopoeia.

Classic - interesting tidbits about the Greeks and Romans. Do you know the story of Persephone? It's covered here.

History - All the US presidents and British kings and queens are listed here. I didn't know that Queen Elizabeth has been ruling since 1952! Major wars are simply explained here.

Geography - every continent and their countries and capitals are listed here. When did Oceania become a continent? Geography is also discussed here.

Math - here you learn the history of numbers. Some geometry and algebra is thrown in.

Science- Physics, chemistry, biology are given a brief overview. There are also facts about space and time.

I just highlighted a few of the subjects in each chapter. This is a very interesting book. There is some information in it that I didn't know. I don't remember teachers telling about the more interesting details that are covered in this book. Adults would enjoy this book as a refresher course. Kids would enjoy this as an additional resource to their studies. Check it out and see what you know, or thought you knew, about many different subjects.

I received a free copy of this Reader's Digest book from FSB Media for my honest review.

[Enkhjil]

This book was interesting to me because usually i like to read novels and stories but i accidently picked this out and started reading in class. I read the first couple pages and it just made me want to know more. There are information about math, history, science, poetry, and etc. In the middle of the book it gets a little boring because there are too many information to know. I would recommend this book to people who don't like to read long novels. :)

[Jude Brigley]

It has some interesting facts but there are fact books which do it better

[Caridad]

Cute, informative...

[Syaz Wani]

Almost all basic knowledge that I've learned from high school was simplified in this book. Kind of recall and refresh the knowledge back.

[Mslizzie]

I'd pass this to my nieces. A short packed informative book.

[DrJenni]

Fun fact filled book with lots of information that we learned in school and most likely forgot. Makes me want to go back and read more history...

[Theresa]

i wish i knew that : cool stuff you need to know by steve martin i can accept not knowing everything but this book may help keep my image alive :-D

[Suhaila Khalil]

and now I know.

[Cassie Forsythe]

a good book for those who just didn't pay enough attention in school! ☺️. Good read for students though!

[Simon Bruce]

Not a bad little book, with a good little collection of randomness.