The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions: Meet the Incredible People Who Will Compete at ANYTHING

by Anna Goldfield, Hannah Riordan (Illustrator), Neon Squid

Overview

From cheese rolling races to baby crying competitions, get ready for an adventure through the most amazing contests the world has ever seen. The perfect book for children and grandchildren who love Guinness World Records!

Throughout history humans have been challenging themselves against each other. Who could be the fastest? The strongest? The cleverest? While this was going on some other people decided to create epic contests that were…well, a little bit more unusual.

Welcome to The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions, introduced by podcaster and expert fact-finder Anna Goldfield! Inside this nonfiction book prepare to get your mind blown by:

• The people that take ironing boards up mountains
• A spectacular pumpkin rowing race
• Beauty pageants…for camels!

Through the stories of these awesome competitions, brought to life by illustrator Hannah Riordan, readers will learn about the societies that created them, and the amazing traditions that inspired them.

The cover features colorful foil, making this book the perfect gift.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684492862
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	418,801
Product dimensions:	9.25(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.55(d)
Lexile:	IG1060L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 10 Years

About the Author

Anna Goldfield is a podcaster, science writer, illustrator, archaeologist, and creator of all sorts of content to introduce people to the study of the world around us and its past. Anna works on the kids’ science podcast Brains On! and presents the popular archaeology podcast The Dirt.

Hannah Riordan is an illustration graduate from Edinburgh College of Art. She loves to experiment with color, pattern, hand lettering, and humor within her work, using a combination of traditional and digital processes.

Editorial Reviews

"From Chinese dragon boat racing dating back thousands of years and the ceremonial boasting component of West African wrestling to modern pastimes like eating contests and chessboxing, each contest is given a double-page spread... This book is ideal for kids who like world record books and almanacs but might prefer something shorter, want subject matter curated toward the sillier side of life, or who just desire a little bit more background on the strange games humans have invented. A clear winner." —Kirkus

"This is the sort of information book that will appeal to lovers of books such as Guinness Book of World Records, a large compendium to be shared and talked about... The section on challenges in mythology is interesting and there are challenges that youngsters may be tempted to try such as air guitar or growing giant vegetables. Lots here to entertain but readers will learn at the same time." —Library Lady

From the Publisher

2023-01-25
A collection of unusual contests from all over the world.

Surveying ancient history up to modern times, this book covers something that unites people worldwide—the desire to make up challenges in which to compete. From Chinese dragon boat racing dating back thousands of years and the ceremonial boasting component of West African wrestling to modern pastimes like eating contests and chessboxing, each contest is given a double-page spread, with pithy descriptions and contextualizing sidebars. Animal husbandry competitions are examined, too, such as camel beauty pageants, cockroach races, and worm charming (and even the wonderfully charming Fat Bear Week, which doesn’t involve people at all). Occasional spreads cover noncompetition feats (such as building giant novelty models of animals and objects), but they capture enough of the spirit of the book that they don’t feel out of place. Also included is a section on competitions in mythology worldwide. The artwork is clean and attractive and highlights the diversity of these worldwide challenges. This book is ideal for kids who like world record books and almanacs but might prefer something shorter, want subject matter curated toward the sillier side of life, or who just desire a little bit more background on the strange games humans have invented.

A clear winner. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews