Readers who enjoyed Bragg and O’Malley’s previous collections will likely find this fun and interesting, loosey-goosey theme...
In this third collaboration (How They Choked, 2014, etc.) with illustrator O’Malley, Bragg profiles 14 famous and infamous characters from the Middle Ages through the 20th century.
Though the cover illustration of a prisoner behind bars suggests all the subjects were criminals, the thematic connection is looser than that, gathering together individuals who were pursued with hopes of capture for a variety of reasons. “Everyone in this book got caught for something; most were guilty, some were not,” Bragg explains. Profiles include spies Mata Hari and Bernard Kuehn, “Typhoid Mary” Mallon, con artist Rasputin, Princess Anastasia impersonator Anna Anderson, Joan of Arc, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Even the connections among those generally acknowledged to be criminals, such as pirate Blackbeard, assassin John Wilkes Booth, and art thief Vincenzo Peruggia, appear vague and arbitrary. Despite this lack of definition, the individual profiles are entertaining and informative. Bragg’s flippant tone and chatty prose style are nicely complemented by O’Malley’s cartoon illustrations. Between each chapter is a page or two of information related to the activities of those profiled and their times. One noticeable weakness is the lack of source notes for quotes attributed to historical figures. Did Dr. George Soper really say to Typhoid Mary, “You, Mary Mallon, cooking in the kitchen with icky bathroom germs on your hands”?
Readers who enjoyed Bragg and O’Malley’s previous collections will likely find this fun and interesting, loosey-goosey theme and all. (bibliography) (Collective biography. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6741-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
A tragic, gripping, and inspiring story.
In 1979, 11-year-old Norman was the only survivor of a plane crash in Southern California: This is his true story.
This book for middle-grade readers, co-authored with Kiely, covers much of the same material as Ollestad’s 2009 memoir for adults, Crazy for the Storm. Flying in a four-seater Cessna with his father, his father’s girlfriend, Sandra, and the pilot, Norman was excited to reach Big Bear to receive his ski-racing trophy. (As a vivid example of his busy childhood, they’d driven the 300 miles there yesterday for Norman to compete—and then driven back to Topanga Canyon in the evening for his hockey game.) But the plane tragically crashed on a mountain in a blizzard. Nothing is sugarcoated; readers encounter graphic descriptions of the pilot and Norman’s dad, who died, and Sandra, who suffered a gaping head wound. Eventually accepting that he had to figure things out on his own, Norman drew upon the extreme training his father had put his “Boy Wonder” through—training that had bullied Norman into facing difficult physical and mental challenges that he feared and resented. During his trek to safety, Norman performed incredible mental and physical feats and encouraged the barely functioning Sandra—until she fell to her death. Norman’s conflicted feelings about the father he’d both idolized and resented are nuanced and satisfyingly resolved. Readers who enjoy nail-biting wilderness stories will be riveted.
A tragic, gripping, and inspiring story. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780374392611
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
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