it was interesting, but I feel like maybe I (23F) wasn't really the target audience, so I did not enjoy the book as much as I could have, but it's definitely worth a try!

I'm afraid we didn't get through all of it. I listened in the car with my children and they just were not interested at all right from the very start. I'm sure it is all very interesting - and maybe it's just my kids? But this one just was not for us.

A thoroughly entertaining read—and listen! Perfect for middle grade readers who’d like a synopsis of history to build a framework for their future learning. This book goes from the beginning of the universe to modern times in an engaging and narrative way. It’s informational while being accessible. A great book for summer and to carry throughout the year. Give this one a prominent spot in the store.

This is an interesting book that kind of goes hand-in-hand with the book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari. There’s everything from how all life formed to technological advances to robots to wars to sociology to politics to causes. I’m certainly glad I listened to this book.

The author is also the narrator and he sounds like that cool teacher in school that was as captivating as they were informative… you know, the class you looked most forward to all day.

This book is unlike anything I’ve seen before. I plan on using Absolutely Everything in our homeschool. The book covers so many different topics from the beginning of the Earth to present day. Each section provides just enough information to get you engaged in the subject and provides an great jumping off point to want to explore further. Often times as an adult you find yourself thinking you don’t need a ton of new information, but I personally found myself saying,” Oh that’s interesting. I didn’t know that.” I feel very good about the conversations that I believe this book will invoke.

A wonderfully in-depth and well researched book that provides history in a fun and accessible way. As a children's bookseller I'd highly recommend.

Well this was a bit of a read and a half for me. When the author states ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, he does mean it, historically and scientifically, although that might be where the problem lies. Despite having a brilliant narrative, it did just feel like a teacher was sitting behind a desk spouting stuff to me that I should know but didn't or it's been in there so long stuffing would have to come out for the information to pour back into my learning brain.

As much as I like Christopher Lloyd my interest just zapped each time I tried to put this on, perhaps I'd have been better off with the book to look at! Whilst I didn't enjoy this audiobook I did find some of the chapters quite entertaining at the beginning.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this free audiobook in return for this review.

Having the audio is great, I love things being narrated by the author! The hardback book is also great. I loved the 24 hour clock feature, the author equated the whole history of the earth into the equivalent of one 24 hour period and told you when during that 24 hour period each evolutionary cycle happened. Knowing that humanity has only been around in the last part of the last minute of the 24 hour period is staggering, It puts so much in perspective, especially as the author ends the book with helping readers understand that although we humans account for so little of the time and space of earth, we account for so very much of the impact on the earth. It is interesting and thought provoking and a great addition to any library or curriculum.

What a book for those children who ask you absolutely everything! I really enjoyed the audiobook version and know exactly the type of child in my class that this would suit. Those that think deeply and ask you questions on a daily basis that you wouldn’t ever think about. It will satisfy children’s thirst gif knowledge about the world and its history without being to overbearing.

This was such a fun audio book to listen to! The narrator (author) is very engaging and the book is well written with a good mix of facts presented in a fun, accessible manner. I think this would make wonderful listening as a family - stopping at appropriate places to maybe research a little more and talk about what has been presented.

I thought the embalming practice of the Egyptians was suitably gory that kids will love to repeat it, without being totally horrified. Chapter 15 (I think), narrating the timeline and main events leading up to WW2 were really enlightening given the current situation in Ukraine.

I would have liked to have had a paper copy of the book to hand, too, as there were so many brilliant facts I would have liked to be able to bookmark them and refer back to them with children.

Off to source that paper copy now! Listening to this audio book is a brilliant way to pass a few hours!

If you are looking for a big picture view of history (from formation of Earth until present day), this is a great resource! Since it covers such a long time period, there is not time to give details on any one topic, but the author helps set up a timeline as a basis for doing more in depth research on topics of interest later. I am someone who has trouble placing certain events in history or seeing a general timeline in my mind, so this was helpful for me to read before teaching history to my daughter for homeschool. I also think this book would be a great homeschool reference book for kids in late elementary since it has easily understood language and pictures on every page to hold interest. The author also has a very personable way of writing that helps keep the narrative flowing.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and didn't even realize it was labeled as children's non-fiction. This is a fun listen for the entire family. Lots of information presented in a fun easy to understand way. I was also interested in the afterword where the author talks about writing another book and is encouraging readers to send information that they would like to learn about in the next book. So fun!

I was so impressed with this audiobook. He takes subjects that some children tend to find old and boring and makes them come to life with this energetic and captivating narration. I appreciated that many different religions and their origins were presented in a non biased way as the history story progressed and none were given priority over another. I will definitely be recommending this audiobook to interested young readers who want to know a little of everything!

This chronological history of the world for children is engaging and detailed. Children love details and this is great for listening to in bite size pieces and discussing. The narration makes it a fun and attention holding listen. At the end the author asks for ideas for his next book, which is a great way to make the reader feel it has been written for them. Thank you to Christopher Lloyd, Net Galley and Spotlight Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How was our universe made from a tiny speck of energy? Where did the first trees, plants, animals and humans come from? What happened to the dinosaurs? What was so miserable about medieval times? How were railroads and electricity invented? What are the perils of global warming? You might have many big questions about our planet, life and people. Embark on an entertaining journey across millennia and continents with this captivating book by Christopher Lloyd, author of the bestselling What on Earth Happened. Discover everything from the creation of planet earth and the rise of animals, to globalization, wars and global warming.

This is fantastic, I used it for a bit of difference to daily home schooling while isolation, and my daughter adored it. Clever, well paced, well written, excellent.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the privilege of listening to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

Absolutely Everything is an enjoyable romp through history that is geared towards older Middle School readers. It comes in print format but I listened to an eAudiobook version and really enjoyed it.

Absolutely wonderful resource.

This has huge concepts cut down into easily digestible sections. Kids are going to go bananas for this book!!

Absolutely Everything is a really interesting and informative book geared toward older children , although I thoroughly enjoyed it as well! With light humor and thought-provoking rhetorical questions, the book takes a sweeping look at the history of, well, everything, from the Big Bang to the present, touching on the formation of the solar system, the rise of life on Earth, major civilizations, science, technology, etc. Lloyd does a great job going just deep enough for those interested before moving on to the next interesting thing, as well as referencing back to things already covered to give context and show relationships.
I listened to the audiobook version narrated by the author, and really enjoyed being able to listen to it with my kids while driving. The author does a great job narrating as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy to listen to.

Thank you to Netgalley for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was incredibly interesting and his narration really held my attention.

One thing I really liked was the comparison of timescale of the BILLIONS of years as a “24 hour clock”. It was a clever way to put the different periods into perspective—and to show in a very accessible way just how little time we, as humans, have actually been here!

For the beginning, I liked the constant emphasis on how theories continue to change, how we’re learning more and more and realising we were wrong—and that that’s okay, because that’s just a part of science.

This book also does a fantastic job of weaving the complex timeline of the world in its entirety together. That being said, I think the chapter discussing the beginning of civilisation could have been laid out a little clearer. I appreciate that a lot of these civilisations occurred at the same time and were vastly different across the globe, but this part was weaved together like a story that kept jumping back and forth thousands of years and I think more care could have been taken here to make it less confusing for people who don’t already understand the timeline.

I also have to commend the good job this book does on laying out the facts of how awful we’ve actually been as humans over the thousands of millennia; discussing the "whys" of horrid events occurring, whilst never condoning the actions.

It’s very… "This is a fact. Let’s not best about the bush, this happened because people wanted [insert money and/or power] and it was shit. Maybe not for [X] part of the world who gained [Y], but those people over there? It was shit for them." Which I appreciated.

I also really like the way the book tackles the subject of religion—very objective. Very “here is a story people began to believe during this period that says [X]”, and discussing the known historical recordings of religious figures/those seen as prophets existing. However, this aligns with my views because I am atheist. So, if as a reader you have religious faith, be prepared to see religion discussed in this objective way.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. It’s only a starting point—as all of these books tend to be—but even so, the detail stuffed into this is really admirable. Very good job!

A compilation of historical facts was a great concept, but could have been executed better. I liked how the book was in chronological order. I liked the beginning of each chapter, but I found that the chapters seemed to drag a bit because it went into too much detail at points. I wish the chapters were more succinct. I also found the history to be a bit elementary, it scratched the surface of what is taught in a middle school history class, I listened to the audiobook and it was something interesting to play in the background.