If you don’t know by now I LOVE Lonely Planet Books. I am currently reviewing The Flag Book and let me tell you… It is SOLIDLY well-done! Flags from everywhere in the world including provinces, states and regions. It’s flag bonanza!
What I am Reviewing
The Flag Book: The amazing stories behind the world’s flags.
Lonely Planet Kids.
184 pages, Ages 9-12 years, hardcover
Geography, Reference book, Explore the World, Flags, Countries of the World, History, Middle school
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.
In The Flag Book, Lonely Planet Kids introduces you to the flags of every country in the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and tells you what their design, colors, and images represent, along with lots of other incredible facts.
What’s the only country that doesn’t have a rectangular flag? Why does Hawaii’s state flag feature the UK’s Union Jack in one corner? And what do the 13 stripes of the USA’s Star Spangled Banner represent? You’ll find out the answer to all these and much, much more.
And then we’ll show you the other fascinating ways flags are used throughout the world. Learn the International Code of Flag Symbols to communicate with ships at sea; read about flags used in sports, like Formula 1’s checkered flag; marvel at flags commemorating world records and incredible human achievements; and peer with a microscope at the planet’s smallest flag, which is no wider than a human hair.
The Details of The Flag Book
Reviewing this book brought to mind one of my favourite clips from The Big Bang Theory.
Though not quite as exciting as Sheldon’s fun with flags gig, The Flag book is a cornucopia of flag information. I learned about pirate flags, country and state flags, flags used in sporting events and more. Flags are used for so many things. Flags for ships at sea, flags for racing, international flags, flag record holders, old flags, new flags, this hardcover tome has them all.
The only thing I didn’t see (and I could simply have missed it in the volume of information) was how flags are used in moving equipment like airplanes from one place to another.
Country pages are about what you’d expect. Information about the country and then information about each section of the country’s flags. So for Canada (as pictured above) you have the Canadian flag and then each province’s flag.
I love that frequently, full colour images are interspersed among the country pages. Seeing the vibrancy of those images. brings those countries into sharper relief.
Learning about flags, beyond the normal country and state flags was fascinating. Do you know the oldest flag? What about which country has two flags? How about the biggest flag underwater? You get to learn all sorts of information like this in The Flag Book.
Thoughts/Recommendations
Such a great book! The Flag Book is one that I will be keeping around for a few years yet. At 14 years old I am sure that my lad will be finding a good use for it over the next while. I am fascinated enough to want to read it through cover to cover.
For instance, did you know that Lesotho is known as the “kingdom of the sky” and this is referenced in their flag. Isn’t that a wonderful piece of history? I love this kind of stuff! 🙂 Don’t you?
Intrigue your children, your students today with The Flag Book!
That sounds like a very interesting book to look through and read. Neat that you have it.
I have found it very interesting. I’m learning all sorts of neat flag details.