Fandex Kids, carefree, curiosity-inviting stem content for 8-12

When elementary school students get into the third grade they’ll start writing reports on basic subjects. It’s more than likely that those reports will center on an animal that probably has an unusual name or disgusting characteristic. Unfortunately for the students, they all can’t do their report on the Rainbow Dung Vampire Beetle. While it might be for the teacher’s sanity, they’ll limit the number of students that can do reports on a certain thing. Fandex Kids, Facts That Fit in Your Hand covers 49 main examples of a subject on one sturdy piece of cardboard.

Each Fandex Kids has one topic. For example, we looked at Bugs, Ocean, and Dinosaurs, but the format and presentation could easily lend themselves to anything that a middle-elementary through lower middle school student needs to learn. Each animal has its own full-color card that has a broad overview of the creature, in addition to fun facts or things that make them interesting.

It’s not enough information to intimidate them or make them feel smothered. This is bite-sized content that will provide curiosity seeds for kids on many occasions. Because the facts are presented in short nuggets it allows kids the chance to read a series of facts or in some cases a short narrative about something fascinating. Kids of a certain age love to read factoids in Nat Geo Kids, these cards are simply a more portable, and slightly older presentation that will appeal to those ages.

The Mound-Building Termite and many of the dinosaurs have stories that follow them. The termite tackles the metaphor of modern skyscrapers to their mud mounds and the dinosaurs use their discovery or draw comparisons to modern creatures to illustrate their point. Each card is unique and while their presentations are similar, no two are exactly the same. There’s at least one illustration on every card and an introductory card on each set, plus a glossary at the end to define those especially tricky words.

Much like the construction of a board book can make or break its enjoyment, the Fandex Kids decks are age-appropriately durable. They’re secured by a strong grommet in the lower right corner that’s durable enough to go through two siblings or two years of fourth grade in a classroom. Those ages could certainly ruin the cards in the deck, but one would hope that an eight or nine-year-old would be wise enough not to do something just because they’re able to do so.

As kids get older, say in the middle of fifth grade, the content in these Fandex Kids cards would need to be supplemented by other sources. That’s all part of the multiple sources angle that will frustrate those ages who are convinced that they only need to go to one place to gather information. As they stand, these three Fandex Kids cards really help make kids curious, in addition to being a passive source of entertainment. These cards were recently redesigned. I had interacted with a couple of the sets prior to these and this new wave is friendly and more inviting to elementary school ages. They’re more colorful, seem to have more graphics, and don’t seem as ‘educational’, even though they are.

They’d be great on a road trip if you’re going to the coast or as a nightly read-along where the child needs something short to read aloud. Of course, they’ll read the one to you, and then thumb through the rest of the cards looking for other disgusting trivia that they can share with their friends.

Fandex Kids, Facts That Fit in Your Hand Bugs, Ocean and Dinosaur are for ages 8-12, sold separately and available from Workman Publishing.

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