How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg

Bragg, G. (2001). How they croaked: The awful ends of the awfully famous. New York, NY: Walker & Company. 

Not for the squeamish or faint of heart, How They Croaked provides gruesome details in a factual and often humorous way about the deaths of 19 historical figures suxh as Cleopatra, Galileo Galilei, Edgar Allan Poe and many others.  In the days before modern medical advances many people, including the famous, died truly bizarre and horrific deaths and this book does not skimp on the details!  From the mosquito that killed King Tut to the dreadful mouth infection, not to mention the awful medical treatment, that killed George Washington - you are sure to learn something new and interesting about these figures that you may have thought you knew everything about.

Evaluation Criteria: Organization

Organized chronically by the year of their death, readers can enjoy reading the book as a whole or easily skim through to find specific parts or people they are interested in.  The table of contents lists every famous person that is represented in the book and what page they can be found on.  The beginning of each section shows a tombstone with a description of the person, dates and age of death.  The end of the chapter contains unique and interesting facts that relate to the subject of the chapter.  At the end there is even a graphic organizer to show how these famous figures were connected.

Lesson Plans for use with How They Croaked

Interview with Georgia Bragg

Book Trailer for How They Croaked