National Geographic Kids Almanac Giveaway

When the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010 arrived, I thought to myself, “What do boys think about books like this?” I had three sisters and now that I have two boys I sometimes have to change the way I think and view things. I thought about it a good while and then it hit me! I will just ask my husband. He was a boy… a loooong time ago.

Here is what he had to say:
"When I was little, my family moved a lot due to my father’s work. I was an only child, so I had to learn to make friends fast or entertain myself. Often, if there was no one to hang out with, I would turn to books. Books as we all have experienced, can take you to new places, show you new things and teach you things you might otherwise never experience. They can be a resource to induce curiosity about a subject and make you want to learn more. Books can even teach you more about something you saw or experienced by researching the subject.

To me, almanacs and encyclopedias have always held a special place for me. When I was in elementary school, I found a set of illustrated children's books very similar to the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010.

I read the four book set cover to cover, at least twice. At that age, kids are so hungry for knowledge. I remember as I grew, I was able to recall things I had read and apply them to things I saw and experienced. It made things richer and more real because I already had a basic knowledge of the places and things I saw. As a kid, I took pride in knowing as much, and often more than the adults about some of the animals at the zoo, or about a painting, sculpture, artist or musician.

I feel that a general and well rounded knowledge of things makes a person more confident in social situations as well. Being “a jack of all trades” allows a person to speak on a competent level and not feel left out of the conversation. Just being able to understand a subject, without having to contribute, goes a long way to instilling confidence and fostering inclusion."

As his wife, I will vouch that he is very knowledgeable and knows a little bit about everything. He can have a conversation with anyone and I mean anyone! I hope my kids inherit this from him as he always enjoys himself in crowds. I will provide my children with educational books and almanacs, like the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010 to help foster a love of knowledge.

My husband and I both spent a while thumbing through the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010 and found it hard to put down. The book is filled with, and I quote from the cover “FUN Facts : EVERYTHING you always wanted to know about EVERYTHING!”. I love the jokes, pictures and "Did you know?" blurbs. The boys are still in the age two and under crowd, but they love looking at the pictures and hearing us read the book to them.

Looking for an educational gift for your kid, grandkid, niece, nephew or friend? We are working with National Geographic Kids to give away a copy of their 2010 Kids Almanac. From their official page on the National Geographic website: “Dare to explore—from modern day adventures to close calls and narrow escapes. In this book, amazing animals take readers into the wild and into the water. Readers discover cultural connections from food, currency, literature and lots more from around the world. Filled with maps, facts and more this book helps readers learn to go green and help our threatened earth!”

Update: Congratulations to #38 saturdaynightfever who said, "Many years ago, National Geographic Magazine had this scratch and sniff test to submit answers to in order to do statistics on olfactory stimuli; this is my most potent memory." You have been emailed.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

38

Timestamp: 2010-02-12 18:31:42 UTC

To enter, leave a comment below with your favorite National Geographic learning as a kid (or as an adult) – feel free to get your little ones involved! For an extra chance, follow @NGKids on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. That's it, two entries per person available. Easy, right?

This giveaway will end Feb. 10, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. It is open to residents of the US only. The winner will be chosen randomly, emailed and announced in this post and will have 48 hours to claim.

Fine Print: I received a copy of the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010 to review and the giveaway copy is also being provided by the company.