Book Review - "Discovery" Books

It's been quite awhile since I did a book review, so I think I'll do one today. I think I've explained before that I collect children's books - especially those that have incredible illustrations (of course, the contents are very important to me as well). My kids are all older now, and so in the last few years I've started to collect what I like to call "discovery" books. These really cool books focus on one topic, with pockets, loose pieces, pop-ups, etc. Some of my favorites are the "ology" books - Pirateology, Egyptology, Dragonology, Wizardology. They are all New York Times bestsellers. They are printed by Candlewick Press. LOVE these books. I probably love them more than my kids do! In fact, I use my kids as an excuse to buy the books, but they are really for me. The list price on these books is $19.99, but Costco quite often stocks these books and they are only around $10.00. That's an incredible deal, believe me.





I love these books for several reasons:
1. There is so much to look at and read. The pages are just full of hand-drawn pictures (even the borders of the pages are hand-drawn).
2. It's fun to open the envelopes and pull out the letters, maps, directions, etc. that are inside. It's like getting a little gift!
3. It brings fantasy to life. Some of the books look like journals - it makes them seem real.
4. Some of the books have real information - like the books on Egypt and Pirates. Some have make believe information - like the books on wizards and dragons. (I LOVE make-believe.)

Discovering every little surprise in these books is quite an adventure. I highly recommend these books. By-the-way, there are "ology" type books specifically for girls too - with subjects like Fairies. For obvious reasons, I've never bought any of these, so I don't know much about them. They are also found at Costco. There are others "discovery" books besides the "ology" collection. I have a total of eleven, I think. Here are some pictures, showing my entire collection.




The titles I have include: The Chronicles of Spiderwick, The Wandmakers, The Dragon Hunter's Handbook, Nephiteologist, Warriors, Pirate Soul, Knights, Disney's Pirates of the Carribean, Pirate, Wizardology, Egyptology, Pirateology, and Dragonology. There are a TON more in book stores.

Go and pick up one of these books and immerse yourself in another world. I know you'll love it as much as I do.