History Factopia: Follow Ye Olde Trail of 400 Facts by Paige Towler and Andy Smith

Title: History Factopia: Follow Ye Olde Trail of 400 Facts

Author: Paige Towler, illustrated by Andy Smith

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Britannica Books/Walker Books

Published: 1^st November 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 208

Price: $25.99

Synopsis: An enthralling and hilarious journey through global history in 400 connected facts!

In this blast-from-the-past adventure you’ll discover hundreds of the most mind-blowing facts from history. Hidden tombs, ghostly ships, boiled vipers, samurai warriors, snow machines, pet lions, hidden pyramids, secret codes, flaming fireballs, wooden swimsuits, sparkling jewels and many more are all woven together in this ingenious web of connected facts.

And there isn’t just one trail through these facts. Sometimes your path branches, and you can choose to fast forward or rewind to a completely different (but still connected) part of history. Where will your curiosity take you?

~*~

History Factopia is a history book with a difference – four hundred facts that follow each other from start to finish thematically. It can be read in order, or you can jump around based on themes. Most history books are focused on a specific time, theme, or era. Yet this one takes the facts from across all of human history – well, as much of it as possible- and creates a fun pathway through history that introduces a diverse array of facts from around the world and from antiquity to modern history, exploring different links between these facts in a colourful and exciting presentation.

This is the latest in the Factopia series of books that introduces children and younger readers to a range of facts from history, science, and other areas. They present the facts in an easy to understand and interesting way, giving space for readers to choose the facts that they are interested in so they can explore them further. Each fact is simply worded, with the words that link to the next fact in bold, and arrows pointing towards what comes next. It shows that history is not linear – a series of events in a specific place might be, yet there were so many things happening everywhere concurrently, that you could link many events through concepts or ideas, and sometimes people. It shows that history is diverse – it is more than the wars that are often focused on, and it is the lesser-known facts, people, and moments, and the moments that didn’t make as big a splash as some that are just as important.

In using a mix of well-known and lesser-known facts, this book shows the diversity of history and how it has developed throughout the world, and where cultures and societies have come from and what the historical timeline has been – much more complex than some books might present it. This book is a great way to get kids interested in history, and to expand their interests. It can also be a great educational tool, as you can use the facts as a starting point for research and learning, and a way into a new area of interest. I found this book to be fun, interesting and captivating, and hope other readers do as well.