Simon Eliot (2)

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

First off, this is a very hard book to categorize. Although non-fiction, this reference, encyclopedic, laugh-out-loud factual tome by the fictional Simon Eliot is instructional and funny - a feat not often accomplished! But if you're looking for obscure facts, outrageous data, and important info to make you look a whole lot smarter than you may actually be, then this is definitely the book for you!

Need to know when the first wedding in a public toilet took place? Simon can tell you it happened in Taiwan in 1996. Want to know how far monarch butterflies travel each year in their migration from Canada to Mexico? The answer is 1,864. Did you know that the first lawnmower was invented in 1830? It's true, and it's actually on display at the British Lawnmower Museum in Lancashire, UK.

These are only a few of the fun and outrageous facts you'll discover while reading EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WORLD BY SIMON ELIOT. Although there are no clearly defined categories to the book, every once in awhile you'll find a header such as "Intestinal Stuff," "Old Dudes You Need to Hear About," "Stuff to Impress Your Kid Brother and Sister With...," and "Things We Say Without Really Thinking About."

This book would be a welcome addition to any home library, and kids from five to five hundred will be hard pressed to not learn something new when reading it.… (meer)