Yes, I was a science nerd as a child in the 60’s. I had a collection of about a dozen “How & Why Wonder Books.” Remember them? Large colorful softcover books about 1/4 inch thick devoted to a single topic and aimed at the grammar school set. Let’s see, I had Chemistry, Weather, Electricity, Robots and Computers, Science Experiments and several others I can’t recall. I must have read each one about a thousand times over.
I spoke to a friend in the publishing world today. She said the publisher of H&WWB went belly-up in the 80’s. [Frownie.]
So, who else was a devoted fan of How & Why Wonder Books?
I was! I was!
Man - I loved those books. They were cheap and Mom could buy them for next to nothing - at the grocery store even! I had ones on Dinosaurs, Astronomy, various Historical periods, plants, fish. I read those darn things about 20 - 30 times each. Just burned that stuff into my brain.
I loved their (IIRC - it’s been 30+ years) FAQ layout.
Great memory, stuyguy - thanks!
I loved 'em. I had quite a few. Recently, when my aunt sold her house, we found a trove of them down there, and brought them back for my 5-year-old daughter.
There was a similar series, not as well known, the Saalfield Science Series, just about the same size and format.
And, if you haven’t seen them, try to locate the books Science Made Stupid and Cvltvre Made Stupid, written and illustrated by Tom Weller in the style og How and Why books – hilarious parodies.
I had several dozen, and still do in the attic. I hope to hand them down to my daughter in a few years (she’s three now) and hopefully carry forward the nerd tradition, even if some of the science is a bit outmoded.
I also have the hardcover anthology “Tell Me Why” and “Answer Book” series. Fine sources for non-fiction bedtime stories:
“Just one more, Daddy?”
“Allright… Here’s how a pulp mill operates.”
Ahh, our library was well-stocked with these!
I also liked the
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Good lord. They had those on your side of the pond too? I remember them well … my sister and I had a whole pile of them.
Oh “Tell Me Why”, unbelievable! Also, what “What makes it Go, What makes it work, what makes it fly, what makes it float” -another fantastic book.