The Things That Are Most In the World [Hardcover]

Judi Barrett (Author), John Nickle (Illustrator)

Book Description

An ice-skating snake and a dragon eating pepperoni pizza are just two of the amazing "mosts" to ponder in this book that will stretch the imagination and send readers young and old into fits of laughter. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his debut children's book, Nickle brushes on five-alarm acrylics to set the stage for Barrett's (Pickles to Pittsburgh) energetically loony look at superlatives. Playing off such prize material as "the jumpiest thing in the world is two thousand two hundred twenty-two toads on a trampoline," the artist employs a flamboyant arsenal of colors in a succession of excessive scenarios featuring a cast of oddball critters: a pink-beribboned pram-pushing mother flea (a dog collar is visible in the background), an ant windsurfing in a bowl of pea soup and a T-rex in underpants (weighing in as "the heaviest thing in the world"). Nickle makes hay with Barrett's eccentric jokes, and the resulting delicious absurdities should inspire both giggles and creativity in readers, who are invited to fill in the blanks on the final page with their own "thing that's most in the world." Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4AIn this book of superlatives, imagination reigns. What is the jumpiest thing in the world? "Two thousand two hundred twenty-two toads on a trampoline." Each double-page spread features an adjective (e.g., hottest, smelliest, stickiest) highlighted in a bright color along with a creative idea of what the adjective could be describing. Readers are introduced to a wiggly snake on a skate, a windsurfing ant, and other equally bizarre creations. Amusing acrylic illustrations aptly blend realism with fantasy. There is a pleasing continuity of text to pictures as the color of the highlighted word is repeated in the matching illustration. Use this book as a jumping off point to set students' imaginations free or choose it for perhaps the liveliest lesson in comparative adjectives.AAnne Knickerbocker, formerly at Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1 edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689813333
• ISBN-13: 978-0689813337
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.4 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,471,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That Are Most in the World. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. And she usually doesn't mind going to the dentist!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Elementary Ed. Teachers!, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Things That Are Most In the World (Hardcover)

Just today I used this book to teach a decoding lesson to my first graders. They were captivated by the lively illustrations and quite entertained by the clever humor. This book lends itself well to a quick, low maintenance, yet creative activity. We began to make our own book in a similar fashion. Students completed the sentence, "The _____est thing in the world is ______." They came up with some very creative responses and then illustrated them. We are looking forward to putting our book together right away and sharing it! This book could be used at different levels up through 3rd grade to target a variety of skills.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HEY... the CRAZIEST thing is..., January 23, 2007

By 

Wolfe Moffat (Franklinville, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Things That Are Most in the World (Paperback)

My daughter, who is about to turn 3, decided this would be a great book to take home from the public library. And the ONLY reason she wanted to take it home was because of the slice of pizza on the front cover. It easily became a quick favorite that she wanted me to read to her quite often. She affectionately refers to this as simply, "Pizza book!" So, Pizza book it is!

But thankfully the pizza wasn't the only thing that caught her attention. Because this is to help kids develope their own examples of ______est words, it has lots of great illustrations. So, there's a dragon eating a slice of pizza on the front cover, right? Get to that in a book and it turns out that "The HOTTEST thing in the world is a fire-breathing dragon eating a pepperoni pizza." Or, (one more example simply because I won't tell the whole book) is a little boy who fell asleep while doing his homework. There is an earthworm (or a bookworm) who has just taken a big bite out of his sandwich. And so the example in that one is, "The QUIETEST thing in the world is a worm chewing peanut butter." Lots and lots of crazy, but hilarious pictures. Is it meant to be a little silly? Yep. But can it be used to teach kids a thing or two when it comes to helping their vocabulary? You bet!

So, with my daughter's great urgency, I would definitely recommend "Pizza book" or as it is really called, "Things That Are Most In The World." It is a nice break in the day, and you and your kiddo will laugh and point at some of the CRAZIEST things you've ever seen. You'll have a lot of fun!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for primary kids, March 3, 2006

By 

Book lover Hawaii - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things That Are Most in the World (Paperback)

Great books to help teach primary kids the concept of adjectives (describing words, word choice). The pictures and the silly "riddles" are wonderful. For example: The quietest thing in the world is a worm in eating peanut butter. Students will love to make up their own "Most Thing".