Summary
From the kidnapping of Einstein's brain to the horrifying end of Louis XIV's heart, the mysteries surrounding some of history's most famous body parts range from medical to macabre. Carlyn Beccia explores the misadventures of noteworthy body parts through history and springboards to exploring STEM topics such as forensics, DNA testing, brain science, organ donation, and cloning. The engaging tone, wonderfully creepy subject matter, and delightfully detailed art are sure to capture even the most reluctant readers.
The famous people and their body parts include:
Galileo Galilei / Fingers
Louis XIV / Heart
George Washington / Teeth
Franz Joseph Hadyn / Head
Beethoven / Hair
Abraham Lincoln / Body
Chang and Eng Bunker / Liver
Phineas Gage / Skull
John Wilkes Booth / Neck vertebrae
Sarah Bernhardt / Leg
Vincent Van Gogh / Ear
Mata Hari / Head
Albert Einstein / Brain
Elvis Presley / Wart
Thomas Edison / Last Breath
Author Notes
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)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-These tales of the bizarre and ghoulish "afterlives" of body parts include Galileo's fingers, George Washington's teeth, Lincoln's much-moved body, and other fleshly bits and pieces from actors, musicians, and artists. The book has 17 six-page chapters about wandering body parts, each concluding with a "Where are they now?" sidebar that provides their current locations. Chapters are followed by sections that offer information about related topics such as historical burial traditions and practices, the value of bodies for research, and advances in forensic and pathological science. This topic is one that has perpetual appeal to middle school readers, but the writing and presentation are flawed. Beccia is overly flippant: "The human teeth were sometimes George's own teeth or sometimes teeth he bought from his slaves. I know.pretty gross." Also, her attempts at humor frequently fall flat. The overuse of footnotes, which are a strange mix of additional information and jokes or asides where the author interjects information about herself or her opinions ("Well, duh") or her willingness to "totally" wear Nefertiti's headdress, will likely distract readers. Illustrations are simplistic black-and-white cartoons, many intended to be comical. This book is not as well written or compelling as Georgia Bragg's How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. VERDICT An additional choice where gross-out books are very popular.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this quirky, clever compendium, Beccia (Fashion Rebels) digs through history to unearth stories about the posthumous fates of notorious individuals' body parts. These include Galileo's fingers, vertebra, and a molar, purloined by men tasked with moving his body to a more prestigious spot a century after his death; Franz Joseph Haydn's head, swiped from his newly interred coffin for scientists to study; Sarah Bernhardt's leg, amputated after an onstage fall and preserved in a French medical school's storage room; and Thomas Alva Edison's literal last breath, captured in a vial and sent to the inventor's closest friend, Henry Ford. 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. Footnotes contain some factual clarification, but largely provide off-the-cuff commentary that will further engage readers (comparing John Wilkes Booth to a "Hollywood A-lister" of today, Beccia adds, via footnote, "Ryan Gosling also happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Booth"). Etching-like period illustrations echo the macabre underpinnings of the text and its playfully subversive tone. Ages 8-12. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
After an introduction to decomposition, this elucidating if obviously grisly volume covers the deaths of seventeen well-known historical figures including Galileo, Van Gogh, and Elvis; shorter connecting sections explore other death-related topics (cannibalism, organ transplants, vampires, etc.). Silly-macabre black-and-white illustrations match the flippant, often gruesome tone of the text. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This gleefully macabre mix of history and science relates true stories about the mysterious fates of body parts from the famous and infamous.Told in frequently grisly detail are tales about King Pedro of Portugal, who had the corpse of his dead love crowned as his queen; Vincent Van Gogh, who sent his ear to a woman he admired; the thefts of Franz Josef Haydn's head and Albert Einstein's brain; the heart of Percy Bysshe Shelley, which would not burn when his body was cremated; how actress Sarah Bernhardt put her amputated leg in storage; and how a wart removed from Elvis Presley in 1958 is now in the possession of the owner of one of the world's largest Elvis memorabilia collections. In addition, Beccia dispenses such grimly fascinating facts as: that the skins of hanged criminals were sometimes tanned and made into such articles as belts, bags, boots, and fancy book covers; that teeth extracted from corpses were used to make dentures; and that local executioners made extra money selling the fat of hanged criminals to make candles and soap. Beccia's light, cheeky approach to the subject matter is tailor-made for a middle-grade audience: "See, bodies are a lot like egg-salad sandwichesthe colder they're kept, the less likely they will stink over time." The author's wry, black-and-white cartoons are of a piece with both tone and content.Readers fond of the gruesome and grotesque with a heavy dose of humor will find much to enjoy here. (bibliography, source notes) (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* You've heard about Vincent van Gogh's sliced-off ear, but what about Mata Hari, whose head went missing from the Museum of Anatomy in Paris? Or Elvis Presley's (wait for it) wart, removed by a doctor in 1958 and eventually sold to a private collection? Heck, there are pieces of Galileo (molars! vertebrae! fingers!) all over the place. In this wacky, gross, and remarkably informative volume, Beccia collects the gnarly stories of famous body parts that have been preserved throughout history. In mostly chronological order, she dedicates chapters to these historical figures, some of whom will be familiar to young readers and some of whom will not. First up is Inês de Castro, who died in 1355 and whose entire body was kept by her lover, the king of Portugal, who placed her corpse on the throne next to his. Thomas Edison wraps things up: when he died, in 1931, his final breath was preserved in a glass jar. Interspersed with these chapters are sections on the science behind death, dying, and preservation, and bite-size tales of other thematically relevant deaths and death rituals. 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.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2018 Booklist
