In 1973, Peter Usborne decided that educational, nonfiction books would need to change in order to compete with TV and comics. He borrowed some ideas from these two media and hired educational consultants to oversee the writing to make sure that the books would satisfy the child’s interest but also arouse it.
Explanatory books which merely explain are doing only half the job; if a book fails to make its subject attractive and interesting to the reader, chances are that the explanation will fail. Usborne Books are designed graphically to draw the students in, to make them want to learn the material and to help them retain that knowledge. The magic of Usborne Books is that they make both reading and learning fun and not a boring or intimidating experience. Peter Usborne set out to break down a child’s resistance to reading and learning at home. These books are so well organized that children absorb and recall much of the vast amount of information presented.
DID YOU KNOW?
Fourth-grade students who read for fun every day scored highest on the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress. They scored higher than students who read for fun once or twice a week, once or twice a month, or never or hardly ever.
Source: The Nation's Report Card: Fourth-Grade Reading 2000, National Center for Education Statistics.
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Usborne books are fascinating, lavishly illustrated books written with humor, surprise, and drama. They incorporate activities and puzzles to challenge a child’s observation and intelligence. Their superb printing quality and exceptionally well-produced graphics, high ratio of pictures to text, short magazine-like format and unique detail set Usborne Books apart from anything yet produced. There is a wide range of subjects covering hobbies, history, science, nature, foreign language, parent’s guides and more. Usborne Books truly appeal to all ages, infants to adults, with prices to suit everyone. The books are printed on acid free paper, so the pages will last forever if taken care of properly.
What makes Usborne Books so great?
Usborne Publishing is a multiple-award winning worldwide children's publishing company, specializing in superbly researched and produced information books with a unique appeal to young readers. When he founded the company in London over 25 years ago, Peter Usborne set out to fill a huge gap in the market for children's non-fiction that combined very high educational and editorial standards with every feature he could devise to attract and interest the widest possible range of children - humor wherever possible, surprise, puzzles, things to do and make and things to think about. Usborne books are designed to stimulate, entertain and inform.
Within months of first publication, the Usborne book line was a major international success. Now translated into over 80 languages, there can be very few bookshops anywhere in the world where one can't find an Usborne book. Widely imitated but never bettered, Usborne continues to earn glowing reviews and prestigious prizes. It has now added to its core non-fiction further specializations in computer guides, puzzle books, preschool fun and learning and books on music. Its latest development is a new range of internet-linked reference books, led by the Usborne Science and World History Encyclopedias, all of which offer quick access on-line to Usborne-reviewed and recommended Web sites via the Usborne Web site.
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Internet Linked Books
Usborne was also the first company to introduce an Internet-linked book. An Internet-linked book is a book that contains Usborne-recommended, relevant Web sites, specially chosen by our editors land Web researchers, to take the reader further into the subject, adding new dimensions of information and entertainment. As web sites change from time to time, the sites recommended in this book will be reviewed regularly. You will always be able to find up-to-date direct links to these or other suitable, alternative sites at www.usborne-quicklinks.com.
Usborne's unique features include:
- Step-by-step explanations of the "How's and Why's".
This fosters logical sequencing of events, the order in which they occur and why. Explanations of "how and why" enhance a child's understanding.
- Cutaway illustrations so children can get the inside view.
The books show the inside view of those places children rarely have a chance to see, whether inside or underground, etc. They also make understanding the unknown easy and help children to investigate what's inside.
- Double page layouts which open so that the Usborne book is easily propped up, enticing the child to delve into the pictures.
Children lay on the floor with the books imagining they are there. They "play" with the illustrations because they are so real and so large. They truly invite the child to take part in the wonderful adventure of learning. The strongest readers will take the longest amount of time looking at the pictures. Encourage them to look for details and tidbits.
- Pages filled with activity - a lot of material to explore on each topic.
This stimulates analytical thinking. Hands-on activities are included in most cases to prove the concept to the child and facilitate the kinesthetic (hands-on) mode of learning: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing) and kinesthetic (hands-on). Some children learn primarily by the hands-on approach and Usborne does not leave them untaught!
- Straightforward text consistently positioned below each picture simplifying the reading exercise - the use of short sentences encourages the child to read.
Presenting the text in this method also facilitates retention and recall of the information. The child sees the concept visually in the picture and then in the writing. It helps to make the necessary bridges to other information they already have and to file it away in an appropriate file. Most American text is watered down by using words with fewer syllables which leads to boring and often ambiguous text. Usborne's approach makes books children-friendly by keeping their interest with meaty bits of information, but cut in pieces they can chew! It works well with all reading levels. The child can digest as much or as little as they desire on each page. They don't have to read a page of text to simply find out what's going on in a picture either, which equals curiosity satisfaction!
- Many of our preschool Usborne books feature charming illustrations by Stephen Cartwright with a "find the duck" theme throughout.
Children love to find the duck on each page! They are comfortable when they see something familiar to them and feel secure with a new book when they recognize something in it.
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