Written by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool
I first heard about Big Fat Notebooks from LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow (you guys know I am a fan!), who tweeted a photo of them. I was immediately intrigued, drawn to their bright colors and concept.
So when the opportunity came my way to partner with Workman Publishing and share them with you in this space, I gave it a definite yes. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this series, and now that we’ve had them in our home for a few weeks, I’m just as excited!
Since my kids hit double-digits, more than once I’ve looked nostalgically at our shelf of encyclopedia-type titles (like the Core Knowledge Series/Childcraft books), wishing there was something similar for older ages. Well, the folks behind Brain Quest have created it!
Here’s an overview:
“It’s the revolutionary study guide series just for middle school students from the brains behind Brain Quest.
The BIG FAT NOTEBOOK series is built on a simple and irresistible concept—borrowing the notes from the smartest kid in class. There are five books in all, and each is the only book you need for each main subject taught in middle school: Math, Science, American History, English Language Arts, and World History.
Inside the reader will find every subject’s key concepts, easily digested and summarized: Critical ideas highlighted in neon colors. Definitions explained. Doodles that illuminate tricky concepts in marker. Mnemonics for memorable shortcuts. And quizzes to recap it all.”
Just as bright and interesting on the inside as on the outside, my kids will go back to these reference books again and again, and I can consult them as a teacher when covering specific topics or answering their questions.
Here are the titles and what’s in each one:
Everything You Need to Ace Math . . . covers everything to get you over any math hump: fractions, decimals, and how to multiply and divide them; ratios, proportions, and percentages; geometry; statistics and probability; expressions and equations; and the coordinate plane and functions.
Everything You Need to Ace Science . . . takes readers from scientific investigation and the engineering design process to the Periodic Table; forces and motion; forms of energy; outer space and the solar system; to earth sciences, biology, body systems, ecology, and more.
Everything You Need to Ace American History . . . covers Native Americans to the war in Iraq. There are units on Colonial America; the Revolutionary War and the founding of a new nation; Jefferson and the expansion west; the Civil War and Reconstruction; and all of the notable events of the 20th century—World Wars, the Depression, the Civil Rights movement, and much more.
Everything You Need to Ace World History . . . kicks off with the Paleolithic Era and transports the reader to ancient civilizations—in Egypt, Greece, India, China, Africa, Rome; the middle ages across the world; the Renaissance; the age of exploration and colonialization, revolution and imperialism, and the modern world and the wars and movements that shaped it.
Everything You Need to Ace English Language Arts . . . covers everything to get you your best marks: grammar, including parts of speech, active and passive verbs, Greek and Latin roots and affixes; nuances in word meanings; textual analysis, authorship, structure, and other skills for reading fiction and nonfiction; and writing arguments, informative texts, and narratives.
To earn a coveted spot on Jonathan’s crowded couch of books is no small feat!
When our Big Fat Notebooks arrived, it wasn’t long before my oldest two, Trishna and Jonathan, disappeared with them.
Since Trishna has a visual impairment, it can be tough when most books for her age (13) are in tiny print. She was excited to see that these use a larger, colorful font that is more comfortable for her. And Jonathan immediately went straight for the science volume, to check out how much information they had about weather inside. (Answer? A whole chapter!)
This week Workman Publishing wants to give a set of Big Fat Notebooks to one of you as well!
Note: This giveaway has ended; thanks for your interest!
The Prize
One Simple Homeschool reader will win an entire set of Big Fat Notebooks as well as school supplies including highlighter/pen combos, a notepad, and jigsaw sticky notes!
To be entered to win, leave a comment on this post answering this question: How old are your kids, and which installment of the Big Fat Notebooks do you think would interest them most?
Note: This giveaway is open to those with US addresses only. So sorry, international readers.
(If you’re reading this via email or reader, you must click here to leave your comment on this post at Simple Homeschool. Comments or emails left elsewhere don’t count as entries.)
This giveaway has ended; thanks for your interest!
This post is sponsored by Workman Publishing. All opinions are my own!
Growing Up Around the World: A Global Link Up!
Would LOVE these books
I have a daughter named Jerusha! We’ve only met one other girl with that name before. Also named after Jerusha Edwards?
Our daughter is 10 and said she really wants all of them, but would ask for American History first.
My kids are 6, 5, and 1. We are working above our level and would Our eldest loves English!!
11yo & 7yo. They both love research and would probably love the history & science best. They all look amazing!
My kids are 12 and 16. I think the Science would interest them most. However, I’m intrigued by the Math and English books.
My kids are 8 and 10. We are a huge science family and would devour science although I would benefit from reading American history so I could teach the kids!
My kids would love either the world history or American history. They are 13, 10, 4 and 9 months. What a wonderful set of books!
My kids would love these! They are 9, 7, and 3. The Language Arts one would be useful but so would the History. Definitely going on my to-purchase list!
My daughter is 13 and needs all the help she can receive!!!!!
My kids are 11 and 13. I think my daughter would probably appreciate the English most, and my son the math. They look really cool!
I homeschool two boys, my own son (10), and a friend’s adopted son (12). The science and history books would be right up their alley. They can’t get enough of history! These books look like great additions to our library!
Awesome! My kids are 9 and 10 and they would love the science one.
My 6th grader, Maria, says that she will love to get them all!!! But she is especially keen about the American History.
12year old would love science book. 14 yr old would love English
My daughter is home schooling hrr children and love to give them the love for learning. These books would give them the boost they need. Even if I do not win send me ordering information please!
My kids are 12, 11, 8, and 7. I have three science nuts, so I know the science one would be a big hit, and my oldest loves world history, so that one would get tons of use as well. This series looks fantastic.
My son is 10, and would go cràzy for the science volume especially. But, he’d no doubt read them all in turn!
My kids are 8, 6, and 22 months. We are studying American History this year, so that would be an awesome one to look at! I haven’t seen these before, very cool.
My kids are 9, 7 & 2. It’s hard to decide which they would like the most. Maybe science, english or one of the histories. They all look great!
Mu oldest is 11 and would definitely grab the history books!
My oldest is 10 and would love the science book!
My girls are 10 and 11. They would love all of these books. I think I would enjoy them too!
My kids are 8 and 6 and I think my 8 year old would love the history.
My oldest three are 11, 13, & 14–these all look like a fabulous addition to our bookshelves! I love history, so those intrigue me the most, but I could see my kids enjoying them all.
I have two daughters, 12 and 10. What a gift these books would be. I know one would be diving into history and the other science! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
My children are 11, 8, 5 and 2. All of these books look fabulous and would be loved for different reasons. I’m perhaps most intrigued by the science one because I’m an English major, so science is something we could use some outside help on in our homeschool. Thank you so much for offering these!
This is such an amazing idea. My son would love these. He is 13. He loves science but struggles with some math concepts. I think math would help him the most.
My kids are 6 and 8. They would live the science and history books!
I have a 10 year old daughter that’s science CRAZY! I know she would enjoy these books.
My daughter is 7, and would love the American History one right now (and all of them eventually!) A friend highly recommended these, too. Thanks for the chance to win!
My oldest son is 8, and he would go crazy for these. Especially the math and science editions! These books look amazing, thanks for sharing!
These books look amazing. My kiddos are 14, 12 and 9. I think they would really enjoy the history books.
My kids are 6, 8, and 10. We are huge science and math nuts, but maybe the others would help us with the subjects we don’t do as well in!
My kids are 7, 11, & 15. My son would enjoy the science & history books. My girls would enjoy the science.
We’re a big family of six kids, ages 19, 16, 13, 11, 4, and 2. My kids would say world history looks the most interesting, but personally I’d go for math, since that seems to be what my kids struggle with the most. This set looks amazing!
These look AMAZING!!! I just added them to my wish list! My kids are 6, 8 and 10 and their favorite would be science. Mine might be math. 🙂
My 12 year old son would dive into the history books. My nine year old daughter would love them all!
These look awesome! My kids are 13, 10, 3 and 1. I think the big boys would love the History books.
My kiddo will definitely go for the science notebook first!