Reviewed by Susan Hancy
Who
doesn’t love a world record?
11-year-old
Sam is obsessed with the Big Book of Records. He and his best mate,
Vihaan, spend all their free time reading the book and joking around with their
own nerdy record attempts, such as trying to apply the stickiest notes onto a
face.
When
Sam’s teacher announces that everyone must present to the class about their
proudest moment, Sam is stumped. Vihaan wins drawing competitions and Sam’s
nemesis neighbour, Cooper, is great at BMX and skateboard tricks, but Sam isn’t
good at anything. Even his younger sister is constantly overshadowing him with
her soccer successes.
What
can Sam talk about? Giving a piece of cake to his grumpy old neighbour, George?
Running to the shops to buy milk when his sister was a screaming baby and his
mum wasn’t coping? Too lame. He’d never hear the end of Cooper’s teasing. But
the Big Book inspires him. If he can break a world record, then that can
be his presentation and he’ll wipe the smirk off Cooper’s
face.
Sam
needs to choose a record that he has a chance of breaking. He fails at a solo
attempt at the most socks on one foot, and when he gets too competitive with a
duo attempt at speed leapfrogging with Vihaan, they have a falling out. Shunned
by the other kids, he’s surprised to find that he’s getting along with Grumpy
George.
When
he finally comes up with a record-breaking idea that he has an excellent chance
of succeeding at, he’s forced to make the most difficult choice of his life and
learns that he doesn’t need to be a world champion to be truly proud of his
actions.
Packed with cliffhangers, humour, highs and lows, and easy-to-read chapters, the multiple story line threads are weaved together perfectly for a highly satisfying ending. And if my son’s reaction to the title – ‘Oh wow, a book about records!’ – is any indication, this book is guaranteed to be a hit.
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