I love love love The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library. These books are filled with important information AND they rhyme. I’ve only read 4 out of the 17 listed on the back of the I can Name 50 Trees Today book, but I am sure there are more since that was in 2005.
There’s No Place like Space – awesome ride through the solar system. (Amazon)
On Beyond Bugs – Gifted this to our nephew on his 7th birthday, and he apparently really enjoyed it. I also learned that all insects have 6 legs and how to tell the difference between butterflies and moths. Hint: It is not that all moths are brown, because sometimes they are not. (Amazon)
Inside Your Outside – Talks about our bodies and covers almost as much information as the Usborn book I mentioned briefly before. Really very informative. (Amazon)
I Can Name 50 Trees Today – this is the one we just got from the library and the reason I am writing about this today. There are so many cool facts about trees. There are so many cool trees. I am just flabbergasted by some of these facts and I want the whole world to know about them so they can appreciate the power and beauty of nature.
Did You Know?
The tallest tree in the world is a Eucalyptus tree in Australia. It is 492 feet tall!Actually, I just googled this and apparently the tree in Australia is only 327.5 feet tall. There is a Redwood in California that is 380 feet tall. This is still very impressive. (Source)- The fattest tree (largest circumference around the trunk) is 117 feet around, located in Mexico. I guess the tree has grown a bit since the book was written because according to wikipedia, the largest girth tree in Mexico is 137 feet. But scientists have noted that the size of a trees circumference can change over time due to various factors.
- The Deepest tree is a wild fig whose roots go nearly 400 feet underground. According to The Cat in the Hat that is almost as deep as an oil rig would drill.
- The oldest tree might be 4,700 years old – a bristlecone pine. According to wikipedia, this tree is closer to 5,066 years old. WOW.
Well, I certainly have learned a lot about trees, and while The Cat in the Hat is not always right, it is close and has sparked an interest in me to do further research and learn a little bit more about my closest neighbors.
