Enid A. Goldberg

So I first listened to a podcast about Vlad the Impaler (kinda dozed off half way through though), and of course the similaries between Stoker's [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724] and the real Dracula fascinated me. Found this book in the library, skimmed through a few pages, loved the red blood illustrations and glossy paper, so I just gotta borrow it. A quick read, retelling Vlad show more Dracula's life story from childhood til his death, some gruesome tyranny in between. The tone reminds me of those history channel's sketchy shows, it just throws a bunch of "According to one account" and call it a source. Not like I'm complaining, it actually makes it very easy to follow for kids (or people who can't care less about facts as long as it makes a good story - like me). Maybe this will be the start of my history buff era? (of course I will be over-confident and borrow a bunch of history books home just to abandon the moment it starts infodumping). For now though, the book did distract me mid-crying so 4 stars. show less

Enid A. Goldberg and Norman Itzkowitz’s Grigory Rasputin: Holy Man or Mad Monk? (part of the Wicked History series) is a clever, easily-accessible presentation of the infamous Russian mystic. While the enigmatic Rasputin lived a life shrouded in mystery, there is enough documentation of his life for Goldberg and Itzkowitz to craft a believable portrait of his history. Of course, it is a difficult task to summarize the life of one of history’s strangest figures in a concise 122 pages; show more however, Goldberg and Itzkowitz manage to pull it off – and to make the whole shebang interesting enough for readers of all ages.

With its cartoonish covers, creepy fonts, and sensationalized chapter headings, the Wicked History series seems to be modeled on Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events: clearly, this biography series is targeted at middle-school readers who are slowly graduating to more mature (and sinister) subject matter. Like the Lemony Snicket books, Grigory Rasputin tackles disturbing topics with a dark sense of humor; for example, Goldberg and Itzkowitz even include a picture of Rasputin’s bloody, frozen corpse with the caption “iced” in a bloody red font. Obviously, this is not your typical, sterile history book, and there is nothing boring about this text.

Although I found Grigory Rasputin in my high school library, the prose is simplistic enough for developing readers to comprehend – which means that struggling students of all age groups (English learners or otherwise) can read a “high interest” book without getting bogged down in more sophisticated and inaccessible writing. In the end, Goldberg and Itzkowitz present Rasputin’s story in an engaging fashion and manage to make history “cool” and spooky for today’s children, many of whom might otherwise feel disconnected from European history. show less

This is a great and simple intro to Dracula, especially if your kid is just getting into monsters or history. I am a little disappointed in the lack of detail in a few places, even with my understanding that this book is geared towards a younger audience. All in all I'd still have this be a "pick".

This series is more advanced than the Who Was series, making it a good choice for middle grade kids who are required to read a biography. I wouldn't say this is the best of the series, mainly because Vlad lived during the 1400s in eastern Europe and that's not a region or time period that most kids know much about. I'm an adult and I know virtually nothing about the history of eastern Europe. Vlad lived in the region that is Romania today.

The draw of this series is that all of the historical show more figures were wicked. Vlad's last name was Dracula and he was born in Transylvania, but he was not a vampire. He was however bloodthirsty in a metaphorical sense. He was famous for killing thousands of people by impaling them and putting their dead, impaled bodies on display. He is a historical figure in Romania and there are stone statues commemorating him today.

His history is the same as all rulers from the past. Conquest and defend. He was constantly captured, then freed. He made alliances, then broke them. Friends became foes. Foes became friends. The throne was captured. The throne was lost. He spent his entire life caught between two enemy empires. The Roman empire to the west and the Ottoman empire to the east. They were always wheeling and dealing, promising to help Vlad get back on the throne. Just a bunch of mean, self-interested warmongers.

I recommend this series, but this one probably won't hold kid's interest. This one's for the history buffs. The one that all kids will get into is the one about Hitler. show less