Well, my first attempt to review this, through netgalley, was an abject fail as the resolution of the images made it impossible to read. And the actual paper product is little better, if truth be told – horrendous blocks of black print on dark green, and a whole 'pocket encyclopaedia' size that doesn't really serve anyone. What the book is is a compilation of top tens, as you'd expect, but not necessarily the most academic ones. Instead of just the top ten tallest, heaviest, whateverest, we get really quite subjective lists of tens, each entry of which has to use its bullet point to justify its place. So when we get to 'top ten funkiest fur' we get the animal with the longest fur, the hairiest dog and the most hirsute critter, among others, but it's all a touch too random.

The imagery certainly shines, with great photos and splash pages when they get called for. But the niggles are in the details – an elephant is four metres tall on one page, three the next. I've heard of shrinkflation but that's taking it to the limit. The details about Darwin are mostly descriptors of his theories, not the man. The Pont du Gard, an aqueduct, is here as a bridge. Munich will be surprised to hear they held the 1936 Olympics Diving. So it's both error-prone, and flawed as a perfect reference volume. I still didn't mind it as an interesting browse, however, and for something to open the world up in so many ways, from spies to salad vegetables to snappy carnivorous plants, cannot really be called a dreadful thing.

Really informative for Both kids and adults! Really loved the lists and the pictures going with the information in the top 10's

This is a fantastic book illustrated most beautifully and presented very well. The children love it and it's full of facts.
(Thanks to Net Galley & Nat Geo Kids for this Book).

This is a great book - one that is an utter treat to share with kids and open some great conversations! The book cover 150 lists under the broad categories of: 'creatures', 'our planet', 'space', 'human world' and 'history'.

I recommend sharing one list with the small people a day, to really ensure that the knowledge gets locked in! (this is absolutely the approach I am taking with my own family and can. testify it is going down a treat!).

A real selling point of this book is how wide its appeal is - the use of photographs (that are beautiful and eye catching) ensures it appeals to children, young and old, in addition to adults. The imagery is fantastic and testament to how high quality and professional this publication is. It is a book I would 100% recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.