The A to Z of Everyday Things    by Janice Weaver & Francis Blake Order:  USA  Can Tundra, 2004 (2004) Softcover     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson I've always enjoyed Francis Blake's cheerful, whimsical illustrations, and they're put to effective use in Janice Weaver's A to Z of Everyday Things, which tells the surprising tales behind 26 'extraordinary ordinary things' (one for each letter in the alphabet) that we take for granted. It begins with A for the 'Alphabet', and its origins in the Luxor Semitic alphabet, discovered in the mid-1990s. Weaver continues with a discussion of the history of the color 'Black' ('White' comes later) and of 'Calendars', through the alphabet to the idea of 'Zero' (apparently people took some convincing that it was a good thing in 1000 A.D.). Along the way, there's a 'gruesome tale of personal sacrifice' from India ... starring the Easter bunny. I was surprised to learn that the Chinese invented ice cream; that the longest used currency in history is the cowrie shell; that tulips came from Turkey and 'tulipomania' only struck Holland in the 1630s; and about the ragged history of underwear. Dip into any of the letters in The A to Z of Everyday Things to find out how much you didn't know about so many 'remarkably unremarkable things' and how they grew to become part of our daily lives. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews