PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Carlyn Beccia (pronounced Betcha) is an author, illustrator, graphic designer, and organ donor who (so far) has kept all her body parts. Beccia's children's books, including Who Put the B In the Ballyhoo?, Raucous Royals, and I Feel Better with a Frog In My Throat, have won numerous awards including the Golden Kite Honor, the International Reading Association's Children's and Young Adult Book Award, and the Cybil Award. carlynbeccia.com @carlynbeccia (Instagram)
Frequent black-and-white spot art and snarky footnote asides add comedy to this already high-interest blend of history and science. Entertaining and fascinating, with a clever incorporation of STEM topics. --Booklist Beccia's light, cheeky approach to the subject matter is tailor-made for a middle-grade audience . . . Readers fond of the gruesome and grotesque with a heavy dose of humor will find much to enjoy here. --Kirkus Reviews [A] quirky, clever compendium. . . . The author's chatty, irreverent narrative profiles each highlighted luminary and offers supplementary info on such topics as embalming, phrenology, and cryonics--and ample doses of downright creepy, kid-pleasing trivia. --Publishers Weekly An equal mix of history, science, and biography, the . . . text is straightforward and logical; the tone light and entertaining. Interesting black-and-white, hand-drawn illustrations perfectly mirror the content and tone. Well-researched. --VOYA This topic is one that has perpetual appeal to middle school readers. --School Library Journal
