Factopia!: Follow the Trail of 400 Facts

Factopia!

by Kate Hale, Andy Smith (Illustrator)

Welcome to FACTopia, a world of perfectly amazing facts, all of which are verified by Encyclopaedia Britannica! Every fact in the book is connected to the next in an ingenious trail of information. Hop from topic to topic in unexpected and hilarious ways, and discover extraordinary facts about space, bones, dinosaurs, goats, spiders, crocodiles, sharks, robots, Ancient Rome, kings and queens, pharaohs, and more. But there's not just one trail through these pages: sometimes your path branches and you can choose to jump to a totally different (but still connected) part of the book. Discover where your curiosity will take you! This wittily illustrated book is the perfect gift to inspire and delight curious kids.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

208 pages, Hardcover

Published May 4, 2021

Reviews

[Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like choose your own adventure but with facts. Kids who are really into trivia will probably enjoy it, while those with less interest may find the format frustrating. I’d definitely recommend the print copy, as it was a difficult format to follow digitally.

This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street]

I like the premise of this book -- trying to take encyclopedic information and present it in a new and interesting way. It's sort of a choose-your-own-adventure style. You follow paths through the book that connect pieces and bits of random fun facts across categories. It's fun in theory. However, I find this incredibly difficult to navigate. It's sort of a TikTok version of an encyclopedia: you as the consumer/reader have no control over what you view; it just comes at you and you have to read it, connect, and read more and more and more. I think having categories and themes and organization works for encyclopedias because usually you want to look up a particular area of interest and learn more about it. There is an index to this book, which can help, but otherwise it is hard to navigate.

Don't get me wrong: the actual information in here is fun and interesting and I do think this will strike a number of kids in all the right ways. It's sort of a coffee-table book for kids: one to just pick up and peruse a bit at a time, and see what fun things you learn.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Publisher's Spotlight. Opinions are my own.

[Sally Mander · Rating 1 out of 5]

FACTOPIA! by Kate Hale and Britannica Group

Though I love trivia, I should just admit the fact to myself, that the people who are writing trivia books for children are filling it full of who knows what sorts of lies.

This book lost me at location 114 when it said the earliest humans had tails. Ummm, NO. Highly disappointed! Disheartened because parents and grandparents are buying this pretty new book for their children. Children who may not know that everything contained herein is not true, because the title says it is true. Am I being too sensitive? No, I don't think so.

Unfortunately, I received a complimentary copy of #factopia from #netgalley I was under no obligation to post a review.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gisteren dit boek gevonden bij de boekenhandel en OMG wat was het leuk om te lezen! Je kunt een pad volgen van begin naar het einde maar ook af en toe een detour nemen en een ander pad volgen! Echt leuk hoe je van x woord naar x woord gaat en dan weer naar een nieuwe woord. En allerlei leuke feitjes van eten tot dieren tot mensen tot ruimte. Er waren ook genoeg feitjes die nieuw zijn voor mij (al moet ik er echt niet aan denken om zoveel taart te eten, maar zou ik graag die beermarter vinden en kijken of ie echt naar popcorn ruikt, oh en ik zou graag in een aardappel willen slapen). Het was geen moment saai, iets wat je soms wel hebt met feitenboekjes. Maar deze houdt het leuk!
En de illustraties/foto's helpen ook zeker! Erg leuk! En het boek is kleurrijk~

Misschien schrijf ik wel een langere review voor mijn NL blog, voor nu is dit goed. :)

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Фактопия! Тръгни по следите на 400 факта“ на Кейт Хейл и „Фактопия! 400 факта за животни“ от Джули Биър (изд. „Хермес“) са две книги, които превръщат знанието в приключение, а любопитството – във водещ компас. И двете издания са изготвени от опитния екип на Енциклопедия „Британика“. Илюстрирани са от Анди Смит, чийто закачлив карикатурен стил не само онагледява фактите, но и им придава щипка хумор. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonfiction is many things - interesting, informative, but it isn't always fun. This book is fun! It is a truly random collection of facts that you follow on a path through the book. It's the kind of book that my son won't be able to put down. For the kid who want to know why and how, who loves having random information at their finger tips and just loves to learn new things about their world - this is fantastic fun.

[KPGINNY · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing, fact packed book is an enjoyable and imaginative way to make facts more fun to read. As you follow the trail of facts you find that the "weight of the largest chocolate bar ever made is the same as 6 male polar bears!" With fun pictures, covering a vast amount of topics, nobody can't love this book.

I recommend this book to 5+ (because you can read this book to others as well as reading it for yourself; make sure you let them see the pictures and trace the line!)

[oohlalabooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this one to read with my toddlers because they enjoy learning and have a million questions! The format made it difficult to read though I downloaded the book different ways the result was the same. My review rating will include the format. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun fact book for kids (and adults!). There are a whopping 400 facts that are uniquely linked to the next in many different categories. There were a lot of fun facts I have never heard before. Some facts are from an evolutionist's standpoint versus a creationist's standpoint. There are ton of great photos and illustrations. This will keep any curious child (or adult!) Busy for hours.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought this one might be fun and full of trivia. I was kind of disappointed by it's linking fact to fact. Sort of reminded me of a choose your own adventure book, just not as interesting. Well, I'm not the targeted audience, so maybe the kids will enjoy it.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Dirty Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

ever want your kid to read facts.. this will call to them!!
the table of contents is not traditional and it covered in colors each page is illustrated and would be ideal for n early middle school reader unless you have a more advanced reader!

Tis was fun and quirky!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some interesting facts and neat pictures but quite a random order. Useful for reading for pleasure but not much use for finding facts. Beware that some of the text does not follow horizontally so it may challenge less confident readers

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Patricia Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick and easy to read. some of the facts I already was familiar with. hard to follow the dotted line to other pages in the book. probably would be best read by a middle schooler

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun and educational! The pics made even more entertaining and can be interactive. The trail connecting the facts certainly added to its unique appeal.

[Susan T · Rating 5 out of 5]

wacky book of facts
two islands 20 miles apart =24 hours
manatees propel themselves with farts

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. A lot of cool facts.

[Tahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting to read.