I checked this out because the person who had borrowed the Illustrated Short History of Nearly Everything had not returned it and this version of the book for children certainly promised illustrations. It's a well-designed book, but the illustrations are irritatingly cartoonish, sometimes barely related to the subject, and also in places horrifying with the horror obscured by the cartoonish style. Better illustrations would have totally made this book. ( )

bill brysons writing skills are outstanding and this is his best book by far!
this is practically a "science for dummies" which me at the age of 12 can clearly understand and even make good dinner conversation. bryson also has a fantastic sence of humour which he lets loose in this great book! 5 stars! ( )

The author has a good sense of humor, is able to provide history in an interesting perspective, and is able to explain science in understandable language. This an interesting read. ( )

This book is really interesting. It covers a huge variety of science topics and explained them in an easy to understand way. It had lots of great pictures, and the way many were sporadically arranged on the page helped to make the book to have an interesting look. It would be really neat for a grade school age child to look through to get inspiration to learn more about a specific subject. It is neat that Bryson wrote this version of his book "A short history of nearly everything" for a younger reader.

I'm buying this book for that kid who wants to know if we carry The Times of London. Okay, and maybe all the kids like him. ( )