| 9780670016525 |
| (hardcover) |
| 0670016527 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... East Library | Children's Book | 364.163092 MILL PIZZ | Children's-J-Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... East Library | Children's Book | 364.163092 MILL PIZZ | Children's-J-Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... East Library | Children's Book | 364.163092 MILL PIZZ | Children's-J-Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... High Prairie Library | Children's Book | 364.163092 MILL PIZZ | Children's-J-Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
A New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2015
In the early 1900s, Robert Miller, a.k.a. "Count Victor Lustig," moved to Paris hoping to be an artist. A con artist, that is. He used his ingenious scams on unsuspecting marks all over the world, from the Czech Republic, to Atlantic ocean liners, and across America. Tricky Vic pulled off his most daring con in 1925, when he managed to "sell" the Eiffel Tower to one of the city's most successful scrap metal dealers! Six weeks later, he tried to sell the Eiffel Tower all over again. Vic was never caught. For that particular scam, anyway. . . .
Kids will love to read about Vic's thrilling life, and teachers will love the informational sidebars and back matter. Award-winner Greg Pizzoli's humorous and vibrant graphic style of illustration mark a bold approach to picture book biography.
Author Notes
Greg Pizzoliis an author, illustrator and screen printer from Philadelphia. His first picture book, The Watermelon Seed , was published by Disney*Hyperion Books and was the2014 recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. Greg's work has been featured in The New York Times , Communication Arts , 3x3 Magazine and he's won two Portfolio Honor Awards from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. After college, Greg spent two years as a full-time volunteer in AmeriCORPSfrom 2005-2006. In 2009, he received his MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he now teaches.Greg lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two unruly cats.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-This picture book takes a look at Robert Miller, a successful con man who managed to dupe many and by posing as a government official was even able to "sell" the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal dealers, before being caught and imprisoned. Miller used more than 45 aliases during his life but was known to many as Tricky Vic. This is a fascinating story, with quirky, retro-style, mixed-media art that will appeal to readers. Beyond a line or two at the beginning about Vic turning to a life of crime, Pizzoli doesn't moralize about his subject's actions. Tricky Vic is a little-known subject, and some may wonder if there's an audience for this title. However, this is an intriguing account, and through sidebars, the book offers some effective avenues for discussing related historical events, people, and places, such as Al Capone, Prohibition, counterfeiting, and Alcatraz. An attractive, though esoteric, offering.-Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Pizzoli (Number One Same) writes a complex, wordy biography of a con artist named Robert Miller-until Miller chooses the alias "Count Victor Lustig," which sounds better when he's trying to fleece passengers on cruise liners. The story opens slowly as Pizzoli reviews Lustig's early career and first con jobs, but picks up when the man conceived of a wild plan to sell the Eiffel Tower to a scrap dealer. In those days, Pizzoli explains, the Eiffel Tower was not the beloved icon it is now, and tearing it down was not an outlandish idea. Posing as a municipal employee, Lustig sells bids on the tower's scrap value. The victim who "wins" is too embarrassed to report his loss to the police, and Lustig gets away with it-the first time. Pizzoli's stylish illustrations combine flat, graphic elements with archival photography; he imagines the enigmatic Miller as a faceless figure with a thumbprint for a head. While Pizzoli's recounting entertains, the sense is of a shorter story struggling to free itself from a thicket of detail. Ages 7-9. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Tricky Vic started out as an intelligent kid in what is now the Czech Republic, but he went on to become a notorious swindler. Adopting the name Count Victor Lustig, he used his sophisticated demeanor to earn the trust of wealthy passengers on transatlantic cruises and rob them blind. He made counterfeit money and tricked hapless dupes into buying a money-making machine (merely a fancy box with some dials on the outside). He even conned Al Capone! Selling the Eiffel Tower (to scrap dealers) is by far the most enticing of his crimes, and he did it more than once. Pizzoli puts the larger-than-life stories in a tidy format, placing short, engaging paragraphs on colorful pages with informative sidebars to explain historical context. His blocky mixed-media illustrations include photos and clever cartoonish figures the unfortunate fellow who bought the Eiffel Tower, Mr. Poisson, has a fish for a head, and Tricky Vic's face is obscured by a fingerprint. Elementary-school kids impressed by brazen acts of skulduggery will be snowed by this well-told true story.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2015 Booklist
