Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Enter if You Dare
Review by: Lauren
Review Copy: I was sent a copy to review. All opinions are mine.
Review: Most people should know what these books are about as a new one seems to come out every year. But a quick update is that it’s a collection of amazing feats, artwork, stories, and more that they package up in a nice book for all to enjoy with bright colored photos!
To start off on the negative side, I hate photos of spiders. They give me the chills and I want to throw the book. So I tended to stay away from some of the beginning sections as it deals with all sorts of creepy crawly things. Besides that though, I enjoy the Ripley books. You learn all sorts of amazing and interesting facts.
For example, one of the smallest teens in the world is Jyoti Amge from India. She only stands 23.5 inches tall, yet still enjoys a life like every other teen her age. On the page, you can pull back one of the covers and it shows you a full-length, actual size picture of Jyoti which really gives you perspective on how short she is. But again, that isn’t stopping her and that’s great! She’s even been in a video with Mika Singh, a singer from India.
One of my most favorite sections was Artistic License. I wish I could be creative in this sense, but alas, I must enjoy the work of others. Liu Bolin is the Invisible Man. He uses paint to make himself blend into the background of various settings. The pictures in the book are amazing, even showing him in front of a telephone booth in London. It said that many that walk by don’t ever notice him!
Another wonderful artist is Erika Simmons who creates pieces under the name “Ghosts in the Machine.” She takes old cassette tapes and makes art of famous faces. Below you see her creation of Jimi Hendrix. How amazing is this? I love music so I think this would be something wonderful to have of a favorite singer!
I used to love Ripley's Believe It or Not when I was a kid, but they never had an artistic books like this. It looks great!
I've always thought these books were so neat!