Holiday 2011: Guinness World Records 2012

If you are stumped for a gift for that person who has everything, then the 2012 Guinness World Records book might be your solution.  This book will fascinate the youngest readers all the way to the oldest persons on your list.  Since our nearly 8 year old son was introduced to his first Guinness World Records book three years ago, he has remembered to put it on his Christmas wishlist every single year.  As it turns out, this is a gift many people are more than happy to give in place of a toy.

In this year's Guinness World Records, my son's absolute favorite world record is featured on the first page . . . the "Largest Object Lifted by Helium Balloons."  Just like in Disney Pixar's Up, the record is held by a house.

Other things that impressed our son was the world's largest whoopie cushion and the world's greatest insect mound (built by termites . . . eek!).  You can search for any world record you may be curious about on GuinnessWorldRecords.com, but if you want to see the amazing full-color photos, you will need to buy the book.  You can also choose a world record challenge to break your own world record should you feel inspired.

You can purchase the 2012 World Record book from Amazon.com and most major book retailers.  It would truly make a great gift for any individual or for a whole family.


Thank you to Guinness World Records for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Holiday 2011: "The Cult of LEGO" Book by Baichtal and Meno

When I was a young boy in the 70’s LEGOs weren’t just a toy, they were a way of life. Not only were LEGOs a standalone toy, we pretty much integrated them into any kind of play we did. How many times did we make vehicles and bases out if LEGOs for our Star Wars figures and army men? Countless times for sure. And now as a parent I can see my kids doing the same. LEGOs aren’t just toys; they are part of our culture and fondest playtime memories.

We recently received a copy of The Cult of LEGO book by No Starch Press and I couldn’t wait to open it up. The book is basically a complete history of everything LEGO, total mind candy for a LEGO nut like me.

The book takes you through nearly every aspect of LEGO history, from its development to modern day LEGO parks and fan clubs. As much as I was into LEGOs growing up, I had no idea how rich the history and culture really was or about the challenges and controversies the brand endured throughout its history. The Cult of LEGO takes you through every detail of LEGO you could imagine and a few you couldn’t.

The photos and diagrams in The Cult of LEGO are vivid and colorful. Although the reading level is targeted at young adults and above, my 8 year old son was very entertained by the pictures and their captions. I can see him revisiting the book many times.

Not only is The Cult of LEGO a very informative book about Lego history, it is also a testament to human creativity and cleverness. Some of the LEGO creations depicted in the book are mind boggling. Before reading this book I had no idea how far people had taken their LEGO creativity.

The Cult of LEGO book by No Starch Press would make the perfect gift for anybody who likes to tinker and develop; it is not just for LEGO fans. I certainly recommend this book.  It is great fun and very informative. I totally relived my LEGO memories while reading it.  This 304-page hardcover book retails for $39.95 and is currently available from No Starch Press for that price with a free PDF ebook version or from Amazon.com for $24.58 with Free Super Saver Shipping.


Thank you to No Starch Press for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Review: Sports Illustrated Kids "3D Sports Blast!" by David E. Klutho

Our 7 year old son is not an over-the-top sports nut, but he does study taekwondo, plays soccer, and shows a healthy interest in watching some sports with his Dad.  Our son also loves books, so this book 3D Sports Blast! by Sports Illustrated Kids is the perfect thing for him.  Everyone knows that Sports Illustrated offers some of the best sports photos in the world.  You can imagine how awesome these photos would look in 3D.

In addition to action shots of martial arts and soccer, our son enjoyed the 3D photos of horse racing, water sports, the New England Patriots, monster trucks, and so much more.

This book comes with a pair of 3D glasses sized for a big kid.  They were slightly too small for me when I tried them on, but I was still able to hold them in front of my eyes while looking through the book.  As you can see, it is possible for you to look through the book without using the glasses, but you will see all the red and blue effects, similarly to watching a 3D movie without wearing special glasses.

Out of all the photos, our son's favorite was that of the hammer throw, which showed the actual size of the ball . . .

The Sports Illustrated Kids 3D Sports Blast! by David E Klutho is certainly not just for kids.  In fact, I think it would be the perfect gift for a child to give to his or her sports fan Dad for Father's Day.  You can find this hardcover book at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and many other major book retailers for $19.95 or less.


Thank you to Sports Illustrated Kids for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Review: "Guinness World Records 2010" The Book of the Decade

I recently had the pleasure of introducing the wonderful world of Guinness World Records to our kindergartner. He just turned 6 and is at the perfect age where he can understand the magnitude of some of these world records enough to be extremely impressed by them.

The layout of each page is categorized, so that the information is presented in an organized fashion, but also is visually dynamic at the same time. Every page is packed with images. In fact, there is so much information to take in on each page, my son and I look through about a dozen pages at a time. We have still yet to look through the entire book.

Although my son is a beginner reader, he can understand much of this book independently because of the many images. It is clear to him when the record involves something being the largest in the world. He has also come to recognize the words "actual size" which appear on several images in this book.

So far, I think my son is most impressed by the tallest man in the world. He was in awe when I explained that this man was almost 3 feet taller than his own father, whom he thinks is extremely tall at 6ft. He even went as far as questioning whether the things I showed him in this book were fictional and staged. I assured him that they were not and he was again in awe.

To learn more about the current Guinness World Records and about how to set a new record, visit GuinnessWorldRecords.com . You should be able to find the Guinness World Records 2010 book at your local bookstores and online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. To keep up with the latest Guinness news, you can follow Guinness World Records on Twitter.

Thank you to Guinness World Records for sending us a book on which to base this review.