  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 05/15/2016 Gutman’s new My Weird School Fast Facts series features two fictional narrators, who introduce themselves as “Professor A.J. (the professor of awesomeness)” and “Andrea Young (I’m in the gifted and talented program).” (Better known as A.J. and Andrea, these characters appear in Gutman’s popular My Weird School series.) Here, they deliver material that varies from a chapter on speed records, to the story of an octopus thrown onto the ice during a Red Wings hockey game, to a quote from Benjamin Franklin about inventing swim fins. While debunking the idea that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, the text credits William Hoy with persuading umpires to use hand signs—a widely repeated but disputed notion. Drawn from baseball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, golf, auto racing, the Olympics, and “other sports,” the well-chosen and, yes, sometimes weird factoids are informative and definitely entertaining. Grayscale illustrations include vintage photos as well as drawings, and the colorful jacket art features A.J., Andrea, and friends. A companion volume, subtitled Geography, will also be available in June. No sources appear in the review copies. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. Loading...
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