Incredible Comparisons

Children's Literature - Leslie Verzi Julian

I dare you to put this one down! With each turn of the page, the reader is astounded by facts which we've never considered, but which put the world in concise perspective. By using comparisons, the author and illustrators allow visual comparisons that are impossible in real life. Picture this, for instance: the blue whale has the longest body in the sea, but if you include the tentacles, the Arctic giant jellyfish is the longest. Fanned out, its tentacles would form a circle covering an area bigger than 15 tennis courts. Or consider this: "The Amazon River is longer than the distance from New York to Berlin, Germany, while the Andes mountain range is longer than the distance from London to Bombay." This book could be the most talked about resource in any home, classroom, or library.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8This eye-catching book makes comparisons based on known quantities rather than numerical measurements. For example, the weight of the blue whale is compared verbally and graphically to the weight of 26 African elephants. Double-page spreads are devoted to the measurement of comparative sizes, weights, volumes, heights, speeds, and distances. The scope includes the cosmos, Earth, and life on it. The introduction defines the basic yardsticks to be used; once comparisons are made to these points of reference, these new comparisons may be used in later sections. There are straight equivalencies, such as the population of Seoul being equal to the population of Australia. Other comparisons are proportional: if a man could jump as far as a grasshopper, he could long jump 103 feet instead of merely the world record of 29 feet. The informative, entertaining illustrations are used effectively to demonstrate the topics covered. A minor quibble is that while the index helps locate references to specific items, it does not indicate what is measured. Overall, though, this bright and colorful oversized offering is a delight; it is a great source for browsing, as each entry leads readers down a new path.Jeffrey A. French, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library