Australian and world records 2012 by Jennifer Corr Morse

Scholastic Australia, 2011. ISBN 9781741699036.
(Age 8+) In the age of the Internet, the enduring appeal of world record books may be a mystery to some but not to librarians, teachers and parents. They know from experience that these books provide hours of browsing enjoyment to young readers. Australian world records 2012 is no exception.
Unlike The Guinness book of world records, its Australian cousin will satisfy the curiosity of those who want to identify everything of record-making proportions in their own country. Among the superlatives are the biggest, the smallest, the hottest, the most remote, the wettest, the driest, the deadliest and the most popular. Twenty-two pages devoted to sporting records will resolve any argument about who has kicked the most goals in AFL matches or which horse has won the most Melbourne Cups.
The Australian records precede a section on world records but Australia still features as the country which consumes the most ice-cream, is home to record breaking animals and has produced several high-achieving athletes. The inclusion of icons of popular culture underscore the book's principal purpose - infotainment.
The text is crafted in short sentences to appeal to younger readers and is supported by statistics, graphs and high quality photographs. The font is a little undersized but will suit most primary aged children. While the book lacks an index, the table of contents is adequate. The information has been selected to fascinate readers without resorting to the more morbid attractions offered by some other books of this kind.
Australian and world records 2012 is entertaining and informative. Readers are assured of time well spent wondering at the more curious aspects of life on earth. They may even learn something new about Australia and just a few will decide that reading can be fun after all.
Elizabeth Bor