My Weird School Fast Facts

April 1, 2016

Gr 2-5-Gutman's familiar characters A.J. (Arlo) and Andrea are here to entertain and to inform young readers about geography and sports. Taking turns, A.J., the comedian, and Andrea, the straight man, relate odd and interesting tidbits. Geography includes chapters on the continents, water, and natural disasters with fun facts, such as that Antarctica is the world's largest desert, the Grand Canyon existed before the dinosaurs, and in 1928 a tornado pulled the feathers off of chickens. In Sports, which divides chapters according to individual pastimes, readers discover that a 14-year-old girl struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Tom Dempsey kicked a 63-yard field goal despite a disability, and Detroit Red Wings fans throw an octopus on the ice during playoff games. Gutman certainly knows his audience as the jokes, puns, and interactions between A.J. and Andrea are solid. Paillot's hilarious illustrations make both books even more engaging. VERDICT Gutman's witty presentation and comfortable, familiar characters will appeal to all, especially fans of the series.-Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Grades 2-4 Gutman's new My Weird School Fast Facts series features two fictional narrators, who introduce themselves as Professor A.J. (the professor of awesomeness) and Andrea Young (I'm in the gifted and talented program). (Better known as A.J. and Andrea, these characters appear in Gutman's popular My Weird School series.) Here, they deliver material that varies from a chapter on speed records, to the story of an octopus thrown onto the ice during a Red Wings hockey game, to a quote from Benjamin Franklin about inventing swim fins. While debunking the idea that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, the text credits William Hoy with persuading umpires to use hand signsa widely repeated but disputed notion. Drawn from baseball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, golf, auto racing, the Olympics, and other sports, the well-chosen and, yes, sometimes weird factoids are informative and definitely entertaining. Grayscale illustrations include vintage photos as well as drawings, and the colorful jacket art features A.J., Andrea, and friends. A companion volume, subtitled Geography, will also be available in June. No sources appear in the review copies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
Funny, irreverent Arlo and studious Andrea curate a collection of weird facts about sports. Seven chapters cover popular sports, including baseball, football, soccer, and car racing. Chapters on speed in sports, "Other Sports" (e.g., bowling, tennis, and volleyball), the Olympics, and additional random facts round out the book. Although the narrative sometimes reads like a simple list of facts, young readers will love the silly humor and black-and-white cartoons in each section.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)