What's the Actually Factually Difference? - Jane Wilsher - ★★★★

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AUTHOR: Jane Wilsher
ILLUSTRATOR: Liz Kay
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction
PUBLICATION DATE: February 4, 2025
RATING: 4 stars.


In a Nutshell: A modern-day encyclopaedia, explaining some common and not-so-common confusables to kids. Good explanations and illustrations. A nice option for middle-graders with inquisitive minds.


As the title and the caption explain, this book aims to clarify the difference between 150+ word pairs that could be confusing because of their similarity in sound or spelling or even meanings.

The book starts with a note on how kids can use the book, and then proceeds to offer enlightenment on confusing words from various categories. The content is divided into thirteen chapters, each exploring one subject such as space, animals, the body, tech, our world, history, transport and so on.

The focus seems to have been mainly on including words that sound similar but are different, or that might seem synonymous but aren’t. Thus,

⇒ A majority of the pairs are about similar concepts that might feel like the same thing to youngsters (sky vs. atmosphere, toboggan vs. sled) or about things we don’t even think twice about but do share a similarity in traits. (unicycle vs. bicycle, salt vs. pepper)

⇒ At times, we get words that have only a vague connection but rhyme with each other. (burp vs. slurp, naturalist vs. naturist.)

⇒ Some are basic science-textbook confusables (invertebrates vs. vertebrates, artery vs. vein) but the visual depiction of the difference will hopefully help kids remember the distinction better.

⇒ Some pairs have words kids might not necessarily have heard of (railway vs. funicular railway, crinoline vs. bustle, rafflesia vs. durian fruit.)

⇒ A few of the pairs didn’t have enough of an explanation to clear the confusion. (Like for inch vs. cm, merely saying that one is imperial and the other is metric isn’t helpful at all.)

⇒ Some pairs are too complex for this age group. (dark matter vs. dark energy.)

⇒ Some of the pairs left me befuddled as to why they needed to be included (human vs. robot, dog vs. dachshund!)

The illustrations are appropriate to the content. Every word set comes with its own graphic, with clear indicators for the connected text. The colour palette is on the sober side, but it suits the factual tone of the book.

All in all, a good option for kids to pore over either at random or topic-wise. The subjects are varied enough that there is something for everyone in this book. A great resource for homes and classrooms, the book would also be a great gifting option for birthdays.

Definitely recommended to anyone looking for a picture encyclopaedia for the modern era. The book is officially aimed at middle-graders, but some of the content might be a bit difficult for the younger ones of this age group.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group for providing the DRC of “What's the Actually Factually Difference?” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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