Category: Cybils 2011 Nonfiction

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How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

I have a confession to make. I always avoided Terry Derry’s grim Horrible Histories series, even though they definitely had a lot of fans. They were just too dire for my taste. I did enjoy Elizabeth Levy’s America’s Horrible History series and Nick Arnold’s Horrible Science series, but both of them were much less gruesome. Therefore, I really wasn’t looking forward to reading How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg and illustrated by Kevin O’Malley, which is filled in the horrific details of the deaths of historical figures, exposing the facts that usually gets left out of most history books.

In the introduction, Georgia Bragg makes it clear that this book is not for the squeamish, and she it correct. As she writes, “…reading about their last dying days will make your toes curl. But these stories will also fascinate you and make you realize how lucky you are to live in a world with painkillers and X-rays and soap and 911.”

Sprinkled with bits of gallows humor and wry wit, this book is both funny and sad. If you can get past the revulsion of some of the stories, you will find interesting history. Did you know that Columbus was pretty much forgotten for 300 years after his death? His role in the discoveries was not realized until his log books were revealed in the 1800’s. I also didn’t know Marie Antoinette was likely suffering from cancer when she was executed.

In the backmatter, Bragg includes a chart of the connections that occur between many of these famous people, which is both enlightening and entertaining.

Although parts will definitely tickle your funny “bone,” How They Croaked is only for those with a strong “stomach.” This book would be excellent for students considering a medical career as well as students of history who don’t mind (too much) reading about the suffering of others. The book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

Shirley at Simply Science has a great review of this book

Proseandkahn reviewed the audio version

Reading level: Ages 10 and up
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Walker Childrens (March 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802798179
ISBN-13: 978-0802798176

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Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by Elaine Landau is a succinct account of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April of 2010 and the subsequent oil spill. The book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

Although the oil-soaked pelican on the cover might suggest something else, Landau chose to concentrate on how the spill occurred and the technological challenges involved in trying to stop the spill and cleaning it up in the first three chapters. The disastrous effects of the spill are limited to four pages in Chapter 4, and the remainder of the book is devoted to what can be done. In the back matter is a two page spread of past oil spills.

The book is illustrated with color photographs and detailed drawings of the drilling equipment.

I liked that the book was factual and straightforward, not at all alarmist. It is perfect for middle grade readers, and would be appropriate for earth science units or Earth Day studies.

Here’s a fabulous hands-on science activity to accompany Oil Spill.

Reading level: Ages 8 and up
School & Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Millbrook Press (March 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076137485X
ISBN-13: 978-0761374855

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

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Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life by Jennifer New is a biography of a fascinating young man that reads like an autobiography because it includes so many of his photographs, pieces of art and and excerpts of his journals. 

Dan Eldon was an artist/photojournalist who grew up in Kenya and was killed in Somalia at the age of 22. Although he did not live long, he did manage to fill his life with many interesting experiences and wild adventures that have inspired others who learn of his story.

Overall, the book has the feel of a journal, with pop-ups, fold-outs and consumables such as an iron-on transfer, a poster, a sticker and fold-out postcards. (The consumable items are not included in the Library Edition.) It is an unusual book, which is suited for an unusual young man.

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life is sure to be popular with teens/young adults, for even though he had an unusual life, he had many of the same problems as other young people. Readers will relate to the fact his parents divorced, he had troubles with his girlfriends, and he wasn’t always sure what to do with his life. On the other hand, his art, photographs and words are eerily mature. This is a book you will want to come back to again and again, and you will discover something new each time.

This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.


Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 081187091X
ISBN-13: 978-0811870917


The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at A Curious Thing.

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Mysterious Bones: The Story of Kennewick Man

Have you ever wondered who the first people were that came to America and how they got here? In contrast, how would you feel if someone dug up your grandmother and grandfather, studied their bones, and kept them in a museum? Mysterious Bones: The Story of Kennewick Man by Katherine Kirkpatrick and illustrated by Emma Stevenson shows that there aren’t any easy answers to the difficult questions raised by the discovery of an ancient skeleton. This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

When Kennewick Man was chanced upon in Kennewick, Washington on July 28, 1996, the skeleton gained attention because it was nearly intact, because it was old (about 9500 years old), and because it seemed to have features more like modern caucasians. It seemed to fly in the face of the widely-held theory that the first Americans came over a land bridge from Asia. At the same time, Native American groups decided that any old skeletons in the region belonged to their ancestors and should be reburied according to their beliefs. The resulting controversy led to years of court battles.

Katherine Kirkpatrick did mounds of research and re-wrote the entire manuscript several times before settling on the published version. You can read about how the book came about on her website. As she explains, the story shifted from the find itself to the debates that surround how the remains of a real person should be treated. She learned that Native Americans deem photographs of the dead offensive and no photographs are used in the book. Emma Stevenson’s created realistic watercolor (gouache) illustrations of the skeleton, as well as the reconstructions of what Kennewick man might have looked like, and what tools he might have used.

Even though the book raises more questions than it answers, students interested in American history and anthropology will find Mysterious Bones an in depth look at many of the current ideas and methods used to study human remains, as well as an overview of our recent theories about how and when the first Americans arrived.

Questions and activities for the classroom

Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 60 pages
Publisher: Holiday House (May 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0823421872
ISBN-13: 978-0823421879