Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This isn’t an encyclopedia. It’s a picture book with very short blurbs of information or facts. I wanted to get my son an encyclopedia-like book or set with age-appropriate articles for him to actually read and get somewhat in depth knowledge of different subjects. This book is symptomatic of so much of our video-driven, click-bait, headlines-only culture. I teach college kids who will spend hours watching short YouTube videos to learn about a topic just to avoid spending a half-hour reading a section of a textbook. This book was written for that mindset. To make matters worse, the blurbs that are included are often misleading or heavily biased. For example, in the blurb on the Cuban Revolution, it describes Batista as a “dictator” (which he was before being overthrown) while Castro is referred to as a “leader” with “widespread support from the Cuban population.” And that’s where the blurb ends - it mentions nothing of the consequences of the Cuban Revolution. As a matter-of-fact, no where on the two-page spread concerning communism, which includes the previously discussed blurb, does it ever mention any negative results from communist revolutions or rule. Similar biases are present throughout the book. Is it too much to ask that a children’s “encyclopedia” be better balanced? Can the Holocaust get more than 3 sentences and a tiny box? Colin Kaepernick gets a bigger box for taking a knee! We’re planning on returning the book as there seems to be better options out there.