Things That Are Most in the World

by Judi Barrett, John Nickle (Illustrations)

Want to know what are the quietest, silliest, smelliest, wiggliest things in the world? Look no further for imaginative answers to these and other questions about superlatives. 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.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Humor, Storytime, The United States Of America

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Judi Barrett is an American author and art teacher best known for imaginative children’s picture books, most notably Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing. Raised in Brooklyn, she trained in advertising design before working as a freelance designer and later turning to education, teaching art and woodworking to young children while pursuing further studies in early childhood education and studio arts. She frequently collaborated with illustrator Ron Barrett, creating several popular titles together. Her whimsical storytelling, blending humor with inventive concepts, has made her books enduring favorites, some adapted for film, while she has continued teaching and writing.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was very amusing! Lots of creativity and silliness here. I think kids would love it.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one the silliest and laugh-out loud books to read to a child. Highly recommended, but be prepared to answer how a T-Rex can brush his own teeth.

Find it! Read It!

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my type of thing, but I'm sure little kids interested in the tallest, biggest, smallest, etc. may get a lot out of this.

[Ashley B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a goofy book where the author thinks of what would the smelliest, jumpiest, silliest, things in the world. The pictures are just as goofy as the words. The book is silly and is sure to bring a smile to anyone's face who reads it. The creativity is contagious and encourages the reader to think of something that is the most in the world. I like how there was a fill-in-the-blank page at the end of the book, so it gave the reader a chance to think of their own "most thing in the world".

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost too clever, so that it almost doesn't invite one's own response. (These feel like "the answers" -- but! there are many stickiest things.) The art is a bit too jokey for me, but the engine of the text is super fun.

I don't remember reading this to my preschoolers, but maybe I did. Samuel's ideas resonate and are also wonderfully personal: "Poem About All Different Things" from www.preschoolpoets.org.

[Olivia S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Cute idea, and funny examples. Some of the pictures are a bit gross (a baby flea being pushed in a carriage on a zoomed-in skin surface with big giant hairs all around), but I could imagine kids being into it. The last page invites kids to make up their own stories and illustrations which I like.

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief book that offers imaginative superlatives. Great for teaching middle grade students about superlatives and how to use them in sentences. Spring board of exemplars for some fun writing projects.

[Luella Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Loved the T-Rex weighing himself.

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book, not good for beginning readers, but maybe for a reluctant reader. I did love the illustrations though.

[Miss Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some silly and some realistic comparisons. Hottest thing is a Dragon eating Pepperoni Pizza. . .and the tallest thing is the top of the sky.. . not a real story behind it

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some silly and some realistic comparisons. Hottest thing is a Dragon eating Pepperoni Pizza. . .and the tallest thing is the top of the sky.. . not a real story behind it

[Charlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. The words of my 8 yr old...I love this book! How are these things even possible!?

My son has a hearing and so each issue. He loved this book. It was very cute and we enjoyed it very much.

[Giacinta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good illustrations. However it was silly rather than factual like I thought. Kiddo liked it though.

[Kurt Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh!

[Jenna Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a fun book to have students model after! They can make their own little book about things that are “the most” to them!

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute and silly 😊

[Annie Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. Not much point to it.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious fun! Illustrations are outstanding! Kids will laugh out loud and enjoy this one. Great read-aloud. Highly recommended for Grades K-5.

[Kate Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun illustrations for the most concept

[Sarai Clemente · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can use this book to help them imagine but also obtain good vocabulary. Without pictures the book wouldnt be meaningful

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has many examples of adjectives and presents them to readers in a fun and silly way. Each page has a funny sentence that describes something that is the most in the world. For example, "The stickiest thing in the world is a 400,000 pound wad of bubble gum." Readers will be engaged with the book's humor and are even given a chance to create their own part of the book at the end. The last page reads, "The ___est thing in the world is ___." This gets readers involved in a creative way and encourages their own writing. Teachers could even create their own class book using the students sentences and drawings!

[Charmaine]

Things That Are Most in the World is a silly book that have bizarre creatures doing outrageous activities. The story is intended to be humorous and light hearted. The last page in the book allows you to create your own activity with children. This why I would use read this book to my class on the first day of school. I would mention their name in the story and describe an activity that would be funny and light hearted. Students will be able to see that my classroom is structured for learning but within the learning I love all my students and want them to have fun in my class.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars The last page of this book is RIPPED and missing! ARGH! So all I have is "And the highest thing in the world is .......the sky." with a picture of a sky and a space ship??

So assuming I can figure out the ending, I liked this book. The cover however is a disappointment. I think I Would have picked a different picture. I liked the imagination and fun in the story. "The Smelliest thing in the world is a skunk convention" yep I am pretty sure it HAS to be...maybe a land fill...but maybe not!!

[J. Gurantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sometimes drawn to books that teach a specific grammar element. This book does just that and that's what made me curious to read it.

It plays with words like quietest, wiggliest, and smelliest. This is a great tool for a teacher.

I think it's a winner with elementary kids as well because of the author's use of humor and decision to deal with popular themes like space, animals, dragons, etc.

And the illustrations can definitely be called surreal which is wonderfully different when it comes to kid lit.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things That are Most in the World is another fun book that we discovered. Written by the author of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and it's sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh, this book shows the silly side of the "-est" ending to words. What is the quietest thing in the world? Why, a worm chewing on peanut butter! The stickiest? A 400,000-pound wad of bubble gum. With clever illustrations to showcase these "-est" extremes, my girls giggle their way through this book everytime they read it.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There isn't much to this book, but it's pretty funny.

Every spread has a silly picture and a description. The HOTTEST thing in the world is a dragon eating chili peppers! The SMALLEST thing in the world is a baby flea!

The descriptions are pretty outlandish, matched only by the silliness of the illustrations. Sure, it's a short book - but it'll encourage your kid to think and create and imagine. That's worth the price of admission.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't as charmed as I have been by Barrett's other books. I didn't think the examples were always so funny or even made sense (I mean -- I get why they wouldn't, but they didn't make sense in a way that works I suppose). There's a page in the back for kids to make up their own, but I feel quite certain only one or two of my preschoolers would be able to manage that. So that's for older kids, I suppose.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barrett has a knack for humor. This book had my son jumping up and down with excitement and laughter. Our favorite page was the last in which Barrett provides a template for the reader to come up with their own "most" thing.

The bold-colored illustrations are detailed and depict the "most" things quite well.

[Mrs. Gabrielle Zastrow's · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was silly and funny. On each page, the author explains something strange that is _________________est in the world. We are going to make a class book about what we think the ______________________est things in the world are. Then, we are going to put it into our school library so other people can check it out and enjoy our writing!

[Breana Vining · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about exactly what the title says...things that are most in the world. The author describes things that are the wiggliest, the quietest, the biggest, etc. Children can come up with their own scenarios and make a class book with things that are most in the world.