The Big Fat Notebooks you’ll want on your shelf this year
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!
These look amazing! I have a 4th grader that will be at the 7th grade science level by January and these would be perfect! I honestly think they would love exploring them all but our family is really big into history and science so those books would get a workout!! I have a 9 1/2, 7 1/2 and 6 year old!
We have a 5yr old daughter going into kindergarten & a 11yr old going into 6th grade. This is our first year homeschool, so we have very little as far as books, supplies etc. it would be great to win these books. The language Art & Math books would be great but any of them would be a blessing.
Please enter me in contest. I have 9 year old triplets and my son Jack would probably be the one to first grab one of these. He’d start with Science. Daughter Estelle would go for Math and Clara would probably go for one of the history books. Thx.
I have a 13 yo son, Max. All of them would be awesome but the hands-down favorite would be Science. He’s all science, all the time!
My homeschoolers are 11, 10, & 4.
My 11 yr old would love the Science book, 10 yr old would flip over World History! 4 yr old loves chocolate.
I would love to add all of these to our bookshelf!
My children are 13, 11, 3, 2 & 6 months.
My daughter is only 6 but she loves math, science would ne a close 2nd though.
My son is 13. The science would be his favorite, but he would love them all. We think these books look awesome. ????
My children are 13, 11, 3, 2 & 6 months. I think my children would like the History the most! I never win anything, so I hope I WIN!
My son is ten and he would love all f them but probably the science volume the most.
My kids are 16, 15, 12, 4, 2, and 9 months. I think they’d enjoy American history the most at this point in our schooling. 🙂
These look fantastic! My (school aged) children are 13, 11, 10, 6, and 5 (littles are 3 and 1). They would love the American History! I think they’d benefit from all of them but I’d say that Language and Math would be at the top of the list. ????
These look amazing!! My children are 11, 9, 6, and 3. The older ones are very much into history – I think they’d love the American and World History books!
What!?! Why have I not heard of these before!? So sad!! I have a 6th grader who we’ve struggled to find the right curriculum with. Lots of money wasted, and even some tears (from me ha!). I would love to try these with her. She loves math and science, but needs a lot of extra help in LA, so we would be using all equally. Thanks!
My kiddos are 7, 5, 3 and 1; we’re working above our level and would most enjoy science 🙂
I would love these books!! Are they intended to be written in? Does each child need their own? Thank you!
My “daughter”-in-law has 6 children at home, ages 9, 8, 7, 6 & 2 year old twins. She home schools the oldest 4 and sent me the link because her kids would LOVE these books! Probably the Math would be the top pick but hoping to get the full set!
Hello! My kids are 7 and 10 years old. I think they would enjoy them all! 7 year old probably would like the science one and the 10 year old would like the history volumes. These look like an amazing resource!!
I have a 11 and a 9 year old. We’d LOVE to have these books to work into our curriculum. Thanks for the give away.
My kids are 6, 4.5, 3 and 8 months. They would be interested in the Science Book and the World History Book.
My daughter is 12 years old and this will be our very first year of homeschooling, we are (most days) , equal parts excited and nervous! 🙂 winning this book set would be an amazing resource for us to have, thanks for the opportunity! My daughter’s first choice from these titles would be the one on science, her favorite subject!
Thanks again,
Jen and Zoey in Wisconsin
My kids are 11, 9, and 7 and they would all start with Science lol
My girls are 8, 6, 5, and 3. My 6 year old has read nearly all the “Who Was…” series. She’d gobble up the history volumes!
My 8 children are 17, 15, 13, 11, 8. 5, 2, 9 months. With so many of us, we really need any help we can get! I think the math edition would really be great to look up formulas and equations when the kids get stuck on a problem with their math homework.
My kids are 12, 11, and 10. Hard to pick just one, but I think they really love the science one.