Listomania

Children's Literature - Heather Christensen

From the Seven Wonders of the World to the New York Times Best Sellers list, the need to organize information has long been a favorite pastime. This book encourages children to create their own lists of favorite movies, difficult words to spell, comic book heroes and more. A variety of facts and trivia introduces each topic, i.e. that the average American eats 112 pounds of bananas each year, or that Crayola crayons have been around since 1903. There are even some existing lists, such as popular texting terms, or popular names by decade. Ziefert organizes the list topics by broad subjects such as food, animals, and people. Different colored pages mark each section, so that readers can quickly find the topic they are interested in; a useful tool since there is no table of contents or index. Taback's doodle-like illustrations will encourage readers to illustrate their own lists. List makers can use the elastic band to mark their place or hold notes. Teachers can use the list ideas as brainstorming activities for writing projects. It is also a perfect companion for long car trips or rainy afternoons.