Lisa Murphy

Fun little profiles of some prominent rebels throughout history. As the authors are English, more than half of the rebels have their conflicts with whoever is in charge of the British Isles at the time.

The creators keep it light and throw in lots of jokes, but many of these rebels end up dying for their cause and the humor gets a little dark when it comes to outlining the violence of their deaths. Not to mention that the concept of the book has author Adam Murphy interviewing the animated show more corpses of the historical figures. Sensitive youngsters should be steered away, but those kids that like a little gruesome in the mix will probably find themselves enjoying history for the first time.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Spartacus, Gladiator 111 BCE - 71 BCE
• Boudicca, Iceni Queen 30-61
• Thomas Becket, Saint 1118-1170
• Simon de Montfort, Rebellious Earl 1208-1265
• William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland 1270-1305
• Owain Glyndŵr, Welsh Ruler 1359-1415
• Jane Grey, English Queen 1537-1554
• Gráinne Ní Mháille, Pirate Queen 1530-1603
• Guy Fawkes, Conspirator 1570-1606
• Oliver Cromwell, Military Dictator 1599-1658
• Maximilien de Robespierre, Revolutionary 1758-1794
• George Washington, U.S. President 1732-1799
• Toussaint L'Ouverture, Rebel Leader 1743-1803
• Sitting Bull, Sioux Leader 1831-1890
• Emmeline Pankhurst, Suffragette 1858-1928
• Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, Indian Activist 1869-1948
• Frida Kahlo, Mexican Artist 1907-1954
• Martin Luther King Jr., Minister & Activist 1929-1968
• Glossary show less

A fun presentation of some often gruesome history. Beheadings abound as the featured rulers press for conquest and scrabble to maintain their rule while everyone around them engages in the intrigue around who will succeed the current king, queen, emperor, empress, or pharaoh.

This book consists of 18 short chapters -- about half of which are about English royalty -- and is packed with trivia, so I like to just dip into it here and there over the course of several weeks, sneaking in a chapter show more or two between the main books I'm reading.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Ramesses II: Pharaoh of Egypt, 1303 BCE - 1213 BCE
• Qin Shi Huang Di: Chinese Emperor, 259 BCE - 210 BCE
• Cleopatra: Pharaoh of Egypt, 64 BCE - 30 BCE
• Nero: Roman Emperor 37 - 68
• Justinian II: Byzantine Emperor, 669 - 711
• Alfred the Great: King of Wessix, 849 - 899
• Harold Godwinson: English King, 1022 - 1066
• Empress Matilda: English Queen, 1102 - 1167
• Saladin: Sultan of Egypt and Syria, 1137 - 1193
• Richard the Lionheart: English King, 1157 - 1199
• Moctezuma II: Aztec Emperor, 1466 - 1520
• Henry VIII: English King, 1491 - 1547
• Henry VIII's Wives: English Queens, 1480s - 1500s
• Charles II: British King, 1630 - 1685
• Marie Antionette: French Queen, 1755 - 1793
• Catherine the Great: Russian Empress, 1729 - 1796
• Shaka Zulu: Zulu King, 1787 - 1828
• Queen Victoria: British Queen, 1819 - 1901
• Glossary show less

Corpse Talk: Queens and Kings and Other Royal Rotters
(Corpse Talk)
by Adam Murphy

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book. This is an awesome, informative, funny, and has extraordinary art work! So detailed is the art work in some pages and some are just funny! Middle grade kids and up will love this book! I loved it and learned a couple of things myself.

The book is presented as a talk show and a Royal person from the past is announced and the interview show more begins. During the interview we learn accomplishments and failures! Then there might be an extra page with more information about this time period or society.

One of those extra pages details how to embalm the Pharaoh's body after death. Another is the great terra cotta army. How to build a giant impenetrable wall! There was so much to see and learn! There were many more too!

The dozen or so "Rotters" are famous and from all parts of the world and from various time periods. It's a very clever way to teach history without teaching history! I can't emphasize enough how much information there is in here and how terrific the art is! This is something teachers should have in their classes! show less

Short little biographies of some very impressive women.

I really enjoy having books from this series on hand to read a few pages at a time between other books. I've read all the ones my local library has, but they're missing a couple, so I'm going to put in a purchase request to see if they'll fill the gaps in their collection.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Hatshepsut: Pharaoh, 1507-1458 BCE
• Hypatia: Mathematician & Philosopher, 360s-415
• Irene of Athens: Empress of Byzantium, 752-803
• show more Khutulun: Wrestling Princess, 1260s-1300s
• Joan of Arc: Saint, 1412-1431
• Elizabeth I: Queen of England, 1533-1603
• Julie d'Aubigny: Swashbucker, 1670-1707
• Granny Nanny: Resistance Fighter, 1686-1755
• Jane Austen: Novelist, 1775-1817
• Ching Shih: Pirate Queen, 1775-1844
• Princess Caraboo: Con Artist, 1791-1864
• Harriet Tubman: Abolitionist, 1822-1913
• Emily Davison: Suffragette, 1872-1913
• Nellie Bly: Journalist, 1864-1922
• Amy Johnson: Aviator, 1903-1941
• Anne Frank: Diarist, 1929-1945
• Josephine Baker: Entertainer, 1906-1975
• Glossary show less