Movies and TV Top Tens, by Sandy Donavan

Of the making of lists there is no end.  Sandy Donavan puts together a few of her own lists in Movies and TV Top Tens, a book for kids and young teens.  Her list of lists is decidedly short:

• Highest-earning movies of all time
• Most watched reality TV shows
• Youngest Academy Award winners for best actor or actress
• Highest-paid actors
• Highest-paid TV personalities

There are not too many surprises here.  The movies have all, except for Titanic, come out in the last decade or so.  Of course higher ticket prices means a fatter bottom line for the movies.  I still don't understand why these lists are based on dollars rather than ticket sales.

Kids won't recognize many of the Best Actress winners or the movies they starred in, but perhaps this list will spur them to seek out some oldies but goodies.  The list of highest paid actors covers 2012-2013, and the dollar amounts are astronomical.  No wonder ticket prices have gone up. . . .  Kids will recognize many of the TV personalities, but likely won't care about the incomes of Judge Judy, Rush Limbaugh (He's a TV personality?  He hasn't had a TV show since the early 1990s, if memory serves. . . .), and Glenn Beck.  (Glenn Beck made $90 million last year! Holy smoke!)

Movies and TV Top Tens is a breezy little book, sure to be popular with kids browsing in the school library or book fair.  The lists are illustrated with lots of pictures of the stars and images from the shows and movies.  The good thing about these lists is the criteria are completely quantifiable, not a matter of opinion.  There are, of course, any number of things Donavan could have chosen to include, but she picked these five.  If the reader wants more lists, she offers some suggestions and points the reader to web sites and books to use as a resource.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!