Tag: nonfiction

Today Caramel is reviewing America As It Happened: A Moment-by-Moment Journey Through Time, From Prehistory to the Present Day, a neat book published in 2026. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So today we are talking about another book of facts. 

Caramel: Yup. This is a book full of facts!

S: So tell me a bit about it. 

C: Well, it is big and yellow and heavy. And smells kind of like newspaper but a bit fancier. 

S: Those are all correct descriptors for the book. Even the smell. I agree with you. It does smell like newspaper but as it is on somewhat thicker and higher quality paper, it does also feel a bit fancier. 

C: Of course that is intentional. Because the whole book is meant to look like newspaper pages. The idea is that each page shows you the front pages of a newspaper from a specific time in American history. 

S: Well, they are kind of fictional, right? I mean, in the sense that probably no newspaper actually printed these things. But the content is supposed to be factual. 

C: Yes, true. I don’t think anyone was printing newspapers back in 15,000 BCE. But there is a news piece titled “Land Bridge From Asia Under Threat” for that date. And there was not even an America back then. I mean it was definitely not called America. 

S: You are right Caramel. But I like the idea, definitely. The title is “America As It Happened” and newspapers report on events as they are happening, so it makes sense. 

C: Yep.

S: So tell me a bit more. You mentioned the land bridge and that was way back in time. Is that the earliest thing that the book mentions?

C: No. The very first thing is “Stalking Giant Sloths” and it is dated 21,000 BCE. It is saying that a community of hunter-gatherers stalked and hunted giant sloths. And then there are a few other articles all before 1600 but with lots of time between each. Of course we did not keep written records of what happened back then, so they only have a few things to tell. But then from 1600 on, things get busier. Each century gets its own section. And each section is about twenty to forty pages or so. 

S: So then there is the prehistory and then 1600-1700, 1700-1800, 1800-1900, 1900-2000?

C: Yes. And the last section is what has happened since 2000. Of course that is the most important one because I was born in that century. 

S: A lot of other young bunnies would agree, I am sure.

S: The book was published in 2026. So it gets us to today?

C: Kind of. The last item is “The Land of Liberty Turns 250”, so that is July 4, 2026. So it goes even beyond today!

S: Cool! I saw that there were entries for quite a lot of the important historical events that I can remember, and a lot of earlier events I knew about. But there were quite a lot of things I did not know. Did you learn anything new from this book?

C: Of course. I am a very young bunny. And even though I know a lot of history, there has been a lot of history before me. And a lot of things I know about but maybe not enough. For example I know about the Ford Model T, but the article on it was a lot more detailed than what I knew. For example, I didn’t know that the first factory was able to build only 11 cars a month. So learning that was cool. 

S: Great! I found it fun to flip through the pages of the book myself. What else can we tell our readers about the book?

C: Hmm, let me think. Maybe we can tell them that the bottom of each page has a continuing timeline, with smaller items for more specific things that happen that are important but did not get the flashy headlines. And at the end of the book there is a glossary. That is kind of like a dictionary, where some of the important big words get definitions so you don’t have to find a dictionary yourself.

S: Yeah I saw that. And the definitions provided are kind of simplified. I think the book is intended for younger bunnies, so they define words in somewhat simpler terms. 

C: I saw that they defined anarchist as “a believer in anarchism. This is the idea that society should be organized without leaders and that people should work together because they want to, not because they are forced to”. That must be simplistic then, because that sounds kind of like when young bunny friends get together and play. And people seem to think anarchists are bad, but the way they define it does not sound too bad. 

S: Yeah, it can work for a group of four or five young bunnies, not to have any leaders or organizing systems, but when you have a lot more bunnies involved and a lot more things to coordinate, things can get really unwieldy without at least a somewhat rigid structure. And throughout history, some folks who called themselves anarchists resorted to violence, so there is that, too. Wikipedia has a decent article on the topic. So yes the glossary is intended for younger bunnies so it does simplify a lot of things. Technically they are accurate but because they have to be so simple, they do miss out on some details and nuance. 

C: Still, they can be helpful when reading. I guess if one is curious or confused they could look things up on Wikipedia. 

S: I agree. Overall the glossary is helpful, I’d say. 

C: Me too. 

S: So Caramel, maybe this is a good time to wrap this review up. 

C: Sure. Wednesdays are always school nights. 

S: Yep. So what would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!