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The Rowling Following

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Hey, Camp Fans!

Writing is one among many of the creative arts to be offered as an activity at summer camp. In fact, if you’re like yours truly here, you seek out the summer camps with a big focus on writing to attend—like I did when I was a summer camper. On this Blog, we like to zero in on some of the record setters and pioneers of sports, crafts, and other summer camp activities. And who else to highlight as a record setter in the field of Writing than the author of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, J. K. Rowling?

We’re going to take a look at some of the records she holds along with other achievements she’s conquered through her fantastically popular children’s series about the boy who didn’t know he was a wizard.

Being a published author doesn’t suddenly grant you wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Unless you’re J.K. Rowling, that is. After finishing the fifth book in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, Ms. Joanne Kathleen Rowling became the first and remains to be the only billionaire author.

J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final book in her series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ set a new Guinness World Record in 2007 as the fastest-selling book in history. This novel sold more copies than any other book in the first 24 hours of its release! That’s some serious sales!

Excluding religious texts such as the Bible and Quran, the novel at the top of the list for most copies sold is ‘Don Quixote’ at 500 million copies. The ‘Harry Potter’ series—all seven books together—have sold over 450 million copies. That’s an average of roughly 65 million copies per book. The first book, ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ was by far the most commercially successful, selling over 120 million copies worldwide!  

 When a book is translated into different languages, it’s a pretty big deal. It means it can reach the populations of other countries! The ‘Harry Potter’ series has been translated into 67 languages. There are certainly other books that have been translated more, however, it’s impressive that Rowling’s series has been translated more than double other books including classics like ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.

This tale of wizards and witches went well beyond what most people ever expected a children’s book series to do, seeing amazing popularity, film adaptations, and crazy sales! You can bet it feels good to be J.K. Rowling, reaping the benefits of a little story she decided to start writing down one day! Maybe you’ll go on to beat Rowling’s records someday. And, as always, thanks for reading.

 

- John

 


Legendary Aaron Rodgers

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Hey, Football Fans!

As we draw away from the summer season, we’re typically left with some disappointment. One thing that always brightens the coming Autumn season, however, is the beginning of the football season! Born and raised Wisconsinites here at Everything Summer Camp, the Green Bay Packers are our favorite when it comes to the football team we root for.  So it should come as no surprise that when writing about a record setter in the world of the NFL, we would choose to highlight the Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers!

A Green Bay starter for the past 12 years (which happens to be his jersey number), Aaron has proven to be quite the capable quarterback. While most Packers fans were concerned to see the legendary Brett Favre leave the team, we had no idea what we were getting in his place: a two-time MVP, record breaking stud of the NFL.

Among a plethora of other records, his chief achievement gives him the title of ‘Most Productive Passer in NFL History’. Proving himself by his passer rating, Rodgers displays a strong lead over all other NFL quarterbacks when it comes to his passing success.  

Rodgers surpasses all other quarterbacks with such a high rating that it’s sure to put him in the hall of fame. His passer rating is so high, in fact, that up until last year, he had been the only quarterback in the history of the NFL whose passer rating climbed into the triple-digits (recently joined by Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks at 101.2). Though it used to be higher a number of years back at 106, he still holds an impressive lead at 102.4!

For his record-setting performance thus far in his career, Aaron Rodgers has become a lock as a future Hall of Famer which couldn’t make Packers fans more excited. Eager to see what the 2020 NFL season brings, we’re thrilled to sit back and enjoy the show. We hope our readers all over the country will enjoy the return of football and, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- John


Endless Tennis Records

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Hey, Tennis Enthusiasts!

Tennis records are being made all the time. For instance, this dog was able to fit six Tennis balls in its mouth at the same time! But there are many more records for the human Tennis players. One player of extreme notability is the German players, Steffi Graf from Germany.

Ranked at the top for a world record of 377 weeks—the longest period that any player (male or female) has held the number-one ranking since rankings were first issued—Steffi Graf stands out on a level that surpasses all other Tennis players.

What other records does she hold? Let’s find out:Well, Steffi is the only Tennis player to have won each Grand Slam tournament at least four times. She’s also the only player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles as well as the Olympic gold medal in the same year! Besides that, she won 107 singles titles and 22 Grand Slam singles titles putting her in third place of the WTA all-time list and second place of the Open Era.

Those are the highlights, but that only scratches the surface of all Steffi’s Tennis achievements. To keep going for just a little while, we can also credit her with six French Open singles titles, seven Wimbledon singles titles, four Australian Open titles, and five U.S. Open singles titles.

Steffi’s claim to fame also has to do with her style of gameplay. The versatile nature of her style spans across all elements of the game, from her footwork to her powerful forehand drive. Thanks to her athleticism and aggressive approach to the game played from the baseline, she’s been credited with the development of the modern style of gameplay that players adhere to today.

Enjoy playing Tennis when you get your chance to head off to summer camp or just whenever you hit the courts! Who knows where the next Steffi Graf could pop up! As always, thanks for reading!

 

- John


Baseball's Biggest Record Holder

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Hey, Baseball Aficionados!

With the coronavirus pandemic putting a moratorium on all sporting events, the nation is eager to get their sports back. Right now is the typical baseball season, and I know folks here at Everything Summer Camp are itchin’ to get some ballgames back. It certainly won’t be a normal season as nothing about 2020 seems normal, but a shortened 60-game season of the Major League is arriving in just a couple days!

As I’m sure we’re all excited to get back to some level of normalcy, I thought we could celebrate the comeback of baseball by talking about one of the major record-setters of the Major League: Cy Young. Born within the same two years of each other, Cy and the Major League both go way back to the late 1860s. Cy grew up working on his family’s farm, but at just 23, he entered the Major Leagues as a pitcher for the Cleveland Spiders.

In the next couple of decades, Cy had an incredible career. Over the years, Cy was transferred to other teams. He ended up playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, the Cleveland Naps, and the Boston Rustlers. And in that time, he cinched the record for most career wins at 511, most career losses, most innings pitched, most games started, and most games completed.

One of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the game, Cy was a formidable force from the beginning. After some time, he lost some of the speed behind his pitches, but made up for it with focusing more on control and accuracy. By his retirement, he had established a number of pitching records, some of which have stood for over 100 years.

Throughout his career, Cy led his league in wins during five seasons and pitched three no-hitters—one of which was a perfect game. It’s no surprise that Cy was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. And, in honor of his legacy, the Cy Young Award was created in 1956, the year after he died, to credit the best pitcher of a league every season.

As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans. Now—play ball!

 

- John


Child, Please...

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Hey, Camp Cooks!

Cooking is an invaluable life skill to develop and many summer camps offer excellent programs providing campers the opportunity to put on the chef hat and practice this art. On this Blog, we like to zero in on some of the record setters and pioneers of sports, crafts, and other summer camp activities. Who to choose as a pioneer in the field of Cooking?

The answer seems obvious that a foremost figure in the fine art of Cooking is the pioneering food writer and chef herself, Julia Child.

A sensible chef, Julia kept her Cooking simple and accessible for people to learn. “You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces—just good food from fresh ingredients.” Her skills in the kitchen turned her into a famous chef and, with her success in Cooking, she became an author as well as one of the first women to host their own televised Cooking show.

American herself, Julia’s main focus was on the French cuisine which she more-or-less introduced to her audience in America and contributed tips and lessons on the simplicity and easiness of preparing her wide variety of French foods.

Her TV show was called ‘The French Chef’, a Cooking show that she created and hosted herself. The show was broadcast by the public TV station in Boston, Massachusetts WGBH for ten straight years from 1963 to 1973. ‘The French Chef’ goes down in history as one of the first cooking shows on American television!

As we appreciate our summer camps for teaching and sharing Cooking tips and advice, let’s give the same appreciation toward Ms. Child and her ability to reach thousands of viewers and help introduce them to new foods and methods. Julia shared all she could with her show and her cookbooks. Enjoy sharpening your Cooking skills at summer camp—the foods you make might have French origins!

As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

 

- John