David Roberts (19)

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Gone are the days of boring, cumbersome, and, ultimately, not all that helpful encyclopedias. The new king of interesting resource information is here, and it's called PICK ME UP. Everything you've ever wanted to know about just about anything (and maybe even some stuff you didn't even know you wanted to know!) is included in the 300+ pages of this book.

Although there are eight actual categories included in PICK ME UP--Science, Technolgy, and Space; show more Society, Places, and Beliefs; History; The Natural World; People Who Made the World; Arts, Entertainment, and Media; You and Your Body; Planet Earth--this book is actually hard to categorize. There are numerous ways to find the information you need, from browsing one of the aforementioned categories, to cross-referencing individual pages, to using the index, or simply picking a page at random to begin your quest for knowledge.

For instance, did you know that Albert Einstein's brain was actually different in width and shape than those of us who claim to be not-so-smart geniuses? It's true! Or how about the fact that the Vikings were expert ice-skaters? Or even that a "jamon" is an entire leg of ham--the best of which comes from a pig who has been fed nothing but acorns. Seriously, I'm not making any of this up! It's all there, right in the pages of PICK ME UP.

Amazingly enough, my nearly ten-year-old son, who usually has to be tied to a chair and threatened with having his video games taken away to even look at a book, found plenty to hold his interest within the pages of PICK ME UP. Sure, he seemed to have a knack for finding the weirdest and grossest facts inside the book, but to me this was still considered an accomplishment. Take my word for it--PICK ME UP is the reference king, and you'd do well to add a copy to your home library. Who knows? You just might learn something. show less

Yet another fantastic Dorling Kindersley book, it is crammed full of information about all sorts of topics. It is the sort of book you could just flop open to a page and find out something new. The style is engaging and intended to be smart, with word bubbles and some labels going a little bit off topic! My favorite is the roller coaster graphic that ends up in a black hole!! It's another reason why the 031 section of the Dewey Decimalized library is becoming a favorite place for my readers. show more It's the sort of book that's hard to put down, easy to pick up and always fun to read. show less

A fun book for kids and adults alike. Lots of interesting facts. Each section is a page or two long and presented in short, graphically enhanced, paragraphs or point form.

Loved this colorful book filled with all kinds of interesting info. and a 3-D cover too!