Disclosure: I received a sample of National Geographic books for free from Moms Meet to use, to review and to post 100% my honest opinion. 

National Geographic Kids

We aren’t just food allergy (or gluten free) moms, we are moms.  Moms who want our kids to be happy, to explore and to read. I was very lucky that through the Moms Meet Network, I was given the opportunity to review a free sampling of books from National Geographic Kids. This is a great treat for my children as 3 of my 4 children falls into the 8-12yrs old demographic for these books.  Our kit included the following: National Geographic Almanac 2019 and Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret.

When we got these books my 8yr old twin boys swarmed all over the National Geographic Almanac.  They loved the vivid glossy pictures and the little facts that accompanied each subject. They giggled over the page where there is a superstition if you carry acorns in your pocket you will stay young! (Hmmm… maybe mommy needs to go out to the backyard and collect some acorns?) This is one of the few books that the boys must have read from cover to back and another time once over.  Also to supplement and enforce your child’s love of facts, you can visit the Almanac’s Website .  There are a lot of educational information, games, jokes and even costume ideas for your pets! I love the one where the pug is a walking shrub.

She hasn’t moved from the spot for the last 2hrs.

Now, my 11yr old daughter is a different subject.  She migrated over to the Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret.  This is not a surprise since she is much more interested in fictional books.  She loved the idea that the main character Cruz is 12yrs old and was off on an adventure to the Explorer Academy.  It had the feel of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter and Carmen Sandiego all in one shot. Cruz has to survive and beat the clock to decode a missing formula, luckily he has 3 friends who helps him along the way. Although this book is a fiction, it does incorporate many facts based on real life National Geographic explorers. A nice addition to this book is that there is also the Explorer Academy Website that enriches the story with video book trailers, sneak previews of characters, code breaking games and much more.  She saw on the website that a second book in the series is coming soon, Book Two: The Falconer’s Feather and has already asked for it.

The children and I, both love the National Geographic Kids books.  It appeals to children from an elementary school up to a middle school level.  Most people hear the words “National Geographic” and they think of encyclopedia-like non-fiction books spewing facts.  This is not the case, I think the way they present “little known facts” and incorporate games helps the children absorb more of the information.  Of course, for the children that leans more towards fiction… there is the Explorer Academy series.  Its really nice that this fictional story revolves around factual experiences of real explorers.  In my mind, its a like a passive aggressive way of teaching our children geography and history.  For my homeschooling parents, don’t you think this would make a nice addition to your library?

As much as we all love our children reading books, we do live in an interactive computer age.  It is nice that these books have dedicated websites to enrich the stories and the information. Overall, I would recommend these books that you can order directly from the Almanac’s Website or the Explorer Academy Website.  This is also a good way for you to preview the games and the puzzles they have on the websites.

Books can also be purchased through Amazon, Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble or wherever books are sold.