NATURE'S WORLD RECORDS

Another poor kid's Guinness (except that it costs a lot more), this starts with the biggest of the big: if an elephant could stand up in a blue whale there would be seven feet to spare--but the largest eye belongs to the giant squid, the sperm whale boasts the biggest brain, and the great white shark is the largest living carnivore. After all that, the qualified superlatives of land animals (largest deer, heaviest known insect) are a bit of a comedown. But Quinn goes on, with awards to the smallest this, fastest that, slowest, oldest, and finally the smartest animal of all--""you!"" Comparisons put the figures in a kid's perspective--the longest anaconda snake measured was 37 feet, ""almost as long as a city bus,"" and a blue whale's heart is the size of a Volkswagen--but that's the only context. Idle snippets.