The World Almanac for Kids 2003

From SpongeBob to speed skating, from space probes to sign language to September 11, this sweeping, fact-filled, photo-packed almanac takes a broad snapshot of the world right about now--or at least all the parts of the world that kids find interesting.

Not surprisingly, the bestselling World Almanac for Kids is more wacky than comprehensive, but it's this frenetic delivery that makes the book so hard to put down. How does a bill become a law? Why did people start using money? Where are the U.N.'s 15 peacekeeping missions operating? What's the population of Kentucky? Or, perhaps more importantly, how did Mary-Kate and Ashley fare in the year's top kid videos? And what crayon colors do Britney Spears and George W. like best? (No need to wait for that one: robin's egg blue and magenta, respectively.) Facts, figures, illustrations, photographs, quizzes, crosswords, puzzles, and jokes are all packed into sections arranged alphabetically, everything from "Animals" and "Art" to "Geography," "Language," "Religion," "Sports," and more.

While every kid (and grownup) can surely learn something new from the World Almanac, the book will raise many more questions than it answers. But for a kid with an appetite for information, that makes the almanac an unqualified success. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes