Scholastic Book of World Records 2012

Gr 2–8—Divided into major sections covering pop culture, sports, science, nature, money, human-made, and U.S. records, each category features an eye-catching heading, a color photo of the record holder, a paragraph of information, and a chart listing the top five record holders. The chart encourages readers to look closely at graphs while analyzing information, and the section on the U.S. states provides unusual fodder that's ideal for state-projects research. As this is an annual publication, some of the material from other editions is repeated as not all records, especiall sports and geographic ones, are toppled on a yearly basis. Readers will, however, find new topics in all sections, covering records such as most expensive Tweets (one entry explains that fans could bet on Eva Longoria's Tweets and the money went to charity), the best-selling digital album of all time, most-endangered U.S. animals by groups, and the Major League Baseball team with the highest payroll. Students who enjoy browsing through almanacs and the Guinness Book of World Records will delight in this clear and lively work.—Beth McGuire, Hempfield Area School District, Greensburg, PA