Pokémon Cards: The Unofficial Ultimate Collector's Guide

I truly feel like my generation was the best.  Being a child of the 80's meant you got to play with the coolest toys (He-Man and She-Ra, Rainbow Brite, and Cabbage Patch Kids, not to mention Nintendo and the birth of gaming as we know it today.

In 1995, I was a freshman in high school, so when Pokémon came out I wasn't that interested.  I had enough on my plate with school and extracurricular activities.  One of my friends, however, was obsessed so I would watch her and another friend of ours battle during lunch and after school.  I never did get what the big deal was.  The only thing I did that was Pokémon related was watching a few episodes of the cartoon, which wasn't too bad.  I fell in love with Pikachu, but I was not a fanatic by any means.

When my boys were in third and fourth grade a Pokémon craze hit the elementary school and it was huge.  Every birthday and Christmas for a good three years all my boys wanted was Pokémon cards.  They now have a pretty impressive set that is collecting dust on a shelf in their closet, which seems like a waste to me, but I've heard that some Pokémon cards go for a lot of money, so I decided to do a little detective work.  That's when I stumbled on Pokémon Cards: The Unofficial Ultimate Collector's Guide by Ryan Majeske.

Since my boys were the Pokémon fanatics in the family, I thought it would be fun to include them in this review.  They are now in seventh and eighth grade, so getting them to sit down with a book was a struggle, but once they did, I heard a lot of "Wow! That's crazy!" or "Oh! I have that card!"

What we all loved about this book was all the pictures of the most valuable cards out there.  I doubt any of us will ever see any of these cards in our lifetime, so being able to see what they looked like, as well as how much they are valued at, was really fascinating.

My boys loved reading about the history behind Pokémon at the beginning of the book, and were shocked that one card could be worth so much money!  They also loved how it describes in detail how to read the cards (even though they already knew how) and all the tips for collectors. 

I too loved the part about how to read the cards because it's always baffled me.  I can't say that it made me want to "battle" anyone, but I still think it's neat how the cards are set up, and I love the history of pretty much anything.

Now that my boys are older they have contemplated getting rid of their collection, but after seeing how much a card can gain value in the future they've decided to keep them all and, instead of playing with them, become collector's themselves thanks to this book.

I thought I would be bored out of my mind flipping through this book but it ended up being really fun and a good family bonding time, which I am always grateful for at this age.  I highly recommend this resource for anyone who has Pokémon cards or is interested in collecting them.  This book is highly informative and will not disappoint.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Krause Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.  All opinions are my own.