Book Review: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Strikingly True

Every year, my boys look forward to the publication of the newest Ripley’s Believe It or Not book. Fortunately, this year’s annual has finally arrived! It’s called Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Strikingly True, and it contains all-new stories about the weirdest things you’ll see around the world. Here are some of the strange things that got my kids’ attention:

• A 9-year-old girl from Thailand who has a rare condition called Ambras Syndrome, which causes excessive hair growth all over her face and parts of her body. (She looks like a little werewolf but is said to be very socially active.)
• A little girl from China who was 3 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed 100 pounds -- at age two! That’s about four times the size of an average child her age.
• A man in Nigeria who can lift a bar carrying 110 pounds of iron weights -- in his mouth!
• A bunny in Germany who was born with just one ear!
• A man in Texas who can lay facedown in a pile of freshly broken glass bottles while someone is standing on his head!

This is just a peek at the thousands of mind-boggling and bizarre stories that you’ll find in the 256 pages of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Strikingly True. A special fold-out section features the Chicago World’s Fair (1933-34), “a showcase of thousands of exhibits including the latest scientific, architectural and transport innovations.” Also at the Fair was the very first Ripley’s Odditorium, which attracted more than 2 million visitors!

Our family could sit and look through this book for hours at a time. There’s so much to look at and read that it provides months of entertainment! It’s like reality TV in a book, but everything in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Strikingly True is really true. Take a look for yourself!