Return to Factopia! by Kate Hale. Illus. by Andy Smith

Return to FACTopia! is the second title in the FACTopia! series. This cleverly illustrated and very appealing compendium of facts will entertain those readers who love learning new snippets of information to share with their friends and family. Over 400 hundred facts are discussed and connected in often quite unexpected ways. The introduction welcomes the reader back to FACTopia and begins with astronauts playing golf on the moon which connects to astronauts growing taller in space which connects to a super tall snowperson who had trees for arms which then connects to information about trees and so it goes on. The reader is able to follow the dotted lines to work their way through the book. However, those readers who wish to deviate and be adventurous can follow broken lines to different page numbers to still related topics. There is a Table of Contents at the beginning of the book which contains the topics investigated but also has ‘Fact Frenzy’ sections where the reader can follow a double page spread of segmented information all interconnected by arrowed boxes. There is a detailed index at the end plus information about the FACTtopians as well as a sources page and picture credits.

One of the highlights of this book is the bold, glossy presentation and the mixed media use of photos and graphics. A second highlight is the fact that the author has limited the amount of information on each page which allows it to be readable and hold the interest of the young or reluctant reader.

A perfect gift for a fact-loving child and a welcome addition to a class or school library.

Themes: Facts, Knowledge.

Kathryn Beilby