Kids can find their place in the world with new ‘Time for Kids’ title

The other day, you couldn’t find your shoes.

You were pretty sure you left them in your room but they weren’t there when you went to look, so you asked Mom where your shoes were.

Of course, she knew — even though she reminded you that she doesn’t wear them.

Sometimes, it seems like you’re always losing things and you have to ask someone where to find them. But as you’ll see in “Time for Kids: Big Book of Where,” some things are just where they need to be.

Take your home, for example.

You’re careful to throw garbage away in its proper place, but where does your trash go each week? Or each year? Or during your lifetime? And if you need to do some heavy-duty trash cleaning, where do germs hide, and where does your water come from when you turn on the faucet?

If you like things big, then this book will tell you where the largest Mayan city was once located. You’ll read about a place where gigantic thousand-year-old statues are waiting for you to visit, and where there are huge cities underground. You’ll find out which countries each hold over a billion people and, on the other hand, you’ll learn which are the smallest countries in the world.

But let’s say you like to build and invent things. You know how much you love to create with your LEGOs, but where were they invented? Where were microchips and transistors invented? Where was the term “rock and roll” first screamed? And where on Earth is Silicon Valley?

With this book in your hands, you’ll know exactly where Africa is splitting apart. You’ll know where the largest diamond ever was found (and where it is today). You’ll know where to go to breathe the purest air in the world, and where NOT to go if you want to avoid the world’s most poisonous snakes and bugs. You’ll find out where you’ll need to speak 800 languages to keep up, and where the world’s newest island is poking out of the sea. In fact, you’ll wonder where you’d be without a book like this.

Struggling to get your child to read something this summer? Or is your “good reader” bored with the same old fare? Either way, inside “Time for Kids Big Book of Where” is where you’ll want his nose to point.

Packed with fun facts and lots of full-color pictures and drawings, this book has a little something for just about every kid: bugs, vehicles, mysteries, art, nature, science, animals, there’s even something for sports fans and, obviously, for kids who love to travel. I liked that informational diversity because it can lead young readers to find other areas of interest — something for which your child’s teachers will be very thankful this fall.

While it’s meant for 8- to 12-year-olds, I think that, with parental help, slightly younger children will want to open this book, too. For any kid with a curious mind, in fact, “Time for Kids: Big Book of Where” is a shoo-in. 

View publishes Terri Schlichenmeyer’s children’s book reviews weekly.