Two Fun Nonfiction Reads

Some books are just fun to read. They aren’t deep but they are fun, especially if you love little, bizarre facts. They Did What?! Your Guide to Weird and Whacky Things People Do by Jeff Szpirglas fits the bill. Who would have thought that a ball of Elvis’ hair would have sold for $100,000? Or that people used to consume ground up mummies as a medicinal remedy? Boys would love this book. I loved this book. The illustrations are wonderful. Definitely one to share at school.

While I don't think that kids will fall for Fooled You! Fakes and Hoaxes Through the Years by Elaine Pascoe quite as much as they will like the previous book, I still think that they will enjoy it. I loved reading about many hoaxes that I had never heard of before. This book proves that humans can be really gullible and want to believe stories of the fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the chapter entitled "The Fraudulent Fairies" where two girls who didn't want to be in trouble for coming in late for lunch invented a story about meeting fairies and took photographs of these fairies (which they had created out of cardboard). Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed them!