________________ CM . . . . Volume XX Number 10. . . .November 8, 2013

cover

Top 10 for Boys.

Paul Terry.
Richmond Hill, ON: Firefly Books, 2013.
320 pp., hardcover, $24.95.
ISBN 978-1-77085-223-5.

Subject Heading:
Curiosities and wonders:

Grades 3-7 / Ages 8-12.

Review by Todd Kyle.

*** /4

   

excerpt:

The range of facts within these pages is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. Team T-10 doesn’t just care about the top dogs… we go way, WAY beyond the number ones. You will discover what the top 10s are in virtually every subject that YOU care about. High-tech machines… gigantic dinosaurs… astounding sports stars… the mysteries of outer space… and that barely scratches the surface. You are about to uncover thousands of facts and eye-popping figures which will mean you’ll never look at the world in quite the same way again. But it doesn’t end there… This is YOUR book and it’s an interactive experience! Check out how it works by reading these two intro pages, and then… LET’S ROCK!

 

As the introduction quoted above states, this book is a compendium of “top 10” statistics on the subjects of machines, music, animals, structures, games, movies, sports, space, nature, and human achievement. Compiled in the style of the late Russell Ash, the top 10 lists are augmented by full-colour photo montages on every page, all in double-page spread format, on glossy paper with full edge bleed. There are also related activities to try, fact boxes, and spaces for readers to add in their own ratings, lists, and experiences.

internal art     The design and layout of this book is intentionally over-the-top, with a hyperbolic writing style presented in short bursts in text boxes that make it impossible to read in a linear fashion. But that is the point: the audience is not the reader of novels, but the young person who voraciously devours multiple media and ideas simultaneously—almost the Web in print format. The facts are endlessly fascinating, very up-to-date, presenting some very international surprises. The most expensive railway systems and tallest buildings are now all in East Asia; North Korea has the missile with the longest range! Occasionally, a modern environmental conscious creeps in, as with the top 10 priority endangered species as per the WWF. And in research that could not have happened until the past decade, the top 10 most popular sports stars are ranked according to the number of Facebook “likes” they’ve garnered!

     There are a few details that seem not terribly well thought out. Some lists are called “unofficial” because they are just the author’s impressions—interesting, but some readers might wonder why his opinions matter so much. In a fact box talking about looting after the top 10 biggest earthquakes, there is a line that takes several readings to understand: “in some cases, people have come together to see lost items returned”. As a book originally published in the UK, the non-North American focus is refreshing, but for the Canadian edition to list the top 10 tallest buildings but not the top 10 tallest structures (with the CN Tower likely #1) is a bit jarring. Likewise, the top 10 shipwrecks lists the Edmund Fitzgerald as sinking in the United States whereas the Lake Superior disaster occurred in Canadian waters.

     Some educators, parents, and librarians may also wonder if it is starting to seem just a tad anachronistic to explicitly call this a book “for boys”. Most will applaud the appeal it has for most boys and gratefully use it to hook reluctant readers. But some might worry that the occasional boy who’s uninterested, or girl who wants to read it, might feel uncomfortable with the title splashed across the cover. Nonetheless, the power of this incredibly entertaining, fascinating, even educational, book cannot be underestimated.

Recommended.

Todd Kyle is the CEO of the Newmarket Public Library in Ontario.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
Hosted by the University of Manitoba.
 

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