PLOT SUMMARY

A humorous look at some of the world oddest records. Who has kissed the most cobras or eaten the most live scorpions? Who has been stuck in an elevator the longest? This collection of poems brings together zany poetry with outrageous facts.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The premise of this book of poems is a mixture of many types including limerick, acrostic, and concrete poetry. Lewis is great at crafting both visually and using creative phrases to describe the various superlatives, arranging the poem in the shape of a Christmas Tree for “The Tallest Christmas Tree” and creating an acrostic with the number of skips for “The Stone Skipping Record.” Graves’ illustrations in acrylic paints and colored pencils compliment Lewis’s poems with humor and wit. Children will love the mix of crazy world records with silly word play. 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

KIRKUS review: “…not a bad way for kids to spend an afternoon-and it might send them to Guinness to think up their own.”

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY review: “Graves’s illustrations, like the best caricatures, match the wacky tone of the poems…”

CONNECTIONS

*Explore other zany World Records.

*Other books of poetry by J. Patrick Lewis:

Lewis, J. P. LAST LAUGHS: Animal Epitaphs. Ill. by Timmons, J.S. Charlesbridge 2012. ISBN 978-1580892605

Lewis, J. P. A WORLD OF WONDERS: Geographical Travels in Verse and Rhyme. Ill. by Jay, A. Dial Books 2002. ISBN 978-0803725799