Book recommendations for a smart 4 year old

[StillInMyPJJs]

Can anyone recommend a lovely book for a bright 4 year old’s birthday? It’s for a friend’s child who is very advanced for their age.
I was thinking of a fact book, but I’m open to suggestions! Ideally something engaging that isn’t too big and heavy ( a lot of factual books seem to be so heavy and thick!) . Any recommendations would be appreciated 😊

Roald Dahl collection

NG Kids annual?

I don’t think my 4yo is “advanced” but he does like quite nerdy topics. Some of his favourite books are along the lines of geology facts, flags of the world, a bird book, an interactive atlas (has lots of flaps with random facts underneath), an encyclopaedia about space, a book on the water cycle. Roald Dahl collection is also a great idea!

We got DD the britannica "first big book of why" for her fourth birthday, it has a question on each page and is full of fun facts with a few quiz pages, she still enjoys reading it now at 7. I think there's also one in the range called "first big book of how"

Surprised people are suggesting Roald Dahl for a 4 year old. Most of them get pretty dark at points! I only let my 6 year old near selected ones because I know she'll be very upset by some of them. (The BFG for example, amazing book but só gruesome wrt eating kids...)

Look up the Greatest Show on Earth. It’s a history of evolution told by ants - as mad as it sounds but full of facts and wonderful.

@StillInMyPJJs The Big Book of Slimy Things is all about nature, science etc and The Big Book of Dead Things is all about dinosaurs, evolution, space, ancient civilizations (Egypt, Maya etc) They're full of facts but easy to read with jokes etc too. My lad is 7 and still loves them, we read them to him starting from about 4 and he's always picked up absolutely tons from them!

The Usborne "See Inside" books are beautiful. My ds was reading well at 4 and still reads these at 8. There's a particularly lovely one about trains. Also, as recommended by a pp, we have an atlas one. The flaps are, for whatever reason, very appealing.

The usborne look inside series. My 4.5 year old loves them as she enjoys the flaps and pictures while listening

Or see inside as someone suggested above

My geeky 4 year old loved the usborne illustrated Greek myths collection

Thanks all , some great suggestions!

I think most fairy tales are pretty dark though. Jack and the beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretal etc. I agree that Roald Dahl is dark at points, but just a longer story with more characterisation. It’s completely down to the individual child. My autistic son loves reading stuff like Roald Dahl but struggles with the visual mild peril of a Disney movie. I think if you don’t know the child super well then the Usborne non-fiction choices are an excellent choice as previous posters mentioned.

https://amzn.eu/d/03cNbExn
these books make gorgeous gifts too. There are lots in the series so you can choose one that might interest him- animals, space, dinosaurs, under the sea, birds or bugs

I would go for a fact book built around short questions, one per page, rather than a big heavy encyclopedia. Our three year old is at the stage where a short question and a bright picture are enough to start a whole chat, and my wife and I can read just one or two pages at bedtime without it turning into a long session.

The flap books have worked best for us so far. Ours loves lifting a flap to find the answer, then telling us the fact back in their own words, usually while pointing at every animal on the page. It also means the book is light enough for them to hold on their lap and turn the pages themselves, which matters more than I expected.

If you know what the birthday child is into at the moment, I would match the book to that one topic, whether it is animals, space, dinosaurs or how things work. A smaller book on a favourite subject has lasted much longer in our house than a general one, because it gets picked up again and again. A question book like that also makes a lovely gift, as it feels special without being too big to carry around.

Personally I’d think road dahl a very strange way to go for a 4 yo!!!!!!

Rather than recommendations just take your child to the library and let them pick a book 😊 I'm a avid reader and my parents just let me read what I liked 💕 we can recommend a million books doesn't mean your child will like it or even want to read it

Hopefully the parents do that but this is a birthday present for a friends child if you read the OP