Who Wins?: 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to-Head and You Decide the Winner!

by Clay Swartz, Tom Booth (Illustrator)

Overview

Let’s say Charles Dickens challenges Mother Teresa to a lightsaber duel—they’re both equally fit, so will his superior artistry overcome her advantage in bravery and leadership? Or who wins karaoke—Nelson Mandela or Jane Austen? They certainly both have a way with words, but Mandela’s over-the-top courage might take the day.

Mixing and matching 100 historical figures in 50 competitive categories, from Ping-Pong to climbing Mount Everest, Who Wins? turns history into a compelling game, which means kids learn while having fun in the process. Each of the famous people is given a short bio and ranked in six categories—bravery, leadership, artistry, wealth, wisdom, and fitness.
    
And because there are no right answers, the reader decides, and in the very act of deciding and justifying the answer, real learning has taken place.
 
A 2017 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761185444
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/12/2016
Series:	Who Wins? Series
Pages:	104
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

CLAY SWARTZ is a writer and associate editor at Boys’ Life magazine.

Tom Booth is an author and illustrator living in Brooklyn, New York.
 

Editorial Reviews

08/22/2016
Who would win in an air guitar battle, Harriet Tubman or Margaret Thatcher? This spiralbound book features 100 historical figures and 50 competitions, and with each spread divided into three sections, readers can mix and match competitors at will. The result is more than 100,000 hypothetical showdowns, a battle royal that stretches across human history in delightfully ridiculous ways. Would Charlie Chaplin’s background as the mischievous Tramp give him an edge over Ada Lovelace, “Enchantress of Numbers,” when it comes to sneaking into Area 51? Who would sell more Girl Scout cookies, Susan B. Anthony or Genghis Khan? The figures, pictured as video-game-ready cartoon avatars, are ranked in seven categories—wealth, fitness, wisdom, bravery, artistry, leadership, and intelligence—which, along with brief biographies and background facts, gives readers plenty of fodder to make their case. With no right or wrong answers, there’s ample room for creative debate. Ages 8–12. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"History with a hilarious spin and a cinch to provoke vigorous debates aplenty." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A battle royale that stretches across human history in delightfully ridiculous ways." — Publishers Weekly

"An unforgettable fact trove and endless debates." — Mental_Floss

"History just got a whole lot more warped and wacky." — Entertainment Weekly

"This genius concept is so much fun that your kids won't even realize they are learning about fascinating historical figures, from Nelson Mandela to Marie Curie, and honing their debating skills in the process." — Barnes & Noble Kids Blog

"It has brought us hours of fun, laughs, crazy scenarios, and learning." — Kidliterati.com

From the Publisher

★ 2016-08-02
From Pelé to "Doc Soc" Socrates, Mother Teresa to Pythagoras, movers and shakers from the past face off in this split-page, mix-and-match fight card.For anyone who has ever wondered whether George Washington could have schooled Leonardo da Vinci in pingpong, whether Harriet Tubman pwned Ernest Hemingway in the Hunger Games, or Boudica trumped "Class Act" (get it?) Carolus Linnaeus as a game-show host, Swartz brings the data and lets readers call the outcomes. Endowed with a set of identifying memes—"Marie Curie: Madame Radioactive, Chemist, Physicist, Biohazard"—and a quick, mostly admiring, but solidly factual biography, each contestant strikes a tough pose in a stylized but recognizable cartoon portrait, glaring across the card-stock page's jaggedly cut divide. Swartz also rates each, 1-10, in seven personal categories ("Leadership," "Intelligence," "Wealth," etc.). In a center section that is likewise mix or match, he supplies 50 competitive challenges (only a few actual conflicts), along with discussion questions: escaping Alcatraz? "Who's the better schemer?" Living in 10,000 B.C.E.? "Who's more outdoorsy?" As nearly a third of the contestants are women and over a quarter people of color, the author has plainly made an effort to diversify his cast's origins as well as their walks of life. He also puts some lesser-known figures on the bill, like Empress Myeongseong of Korea and Zulu king Cetewayo. History with a hilarious spin and a cinch to provoke vigorous debates aplenty. (Informational novelty. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews