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

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Who Wins? 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to-Head and You Decide the Winner!
Created by Clay Swartz
Illustrated by Tom Booth
Published July 12th, 2016 by Workman Publishing Company

Summary: Who would rock the mic at karaoke night? Abraham “The Great Emancipator” Lincoln or Jane “Lady Persuasion” Austen? How about a hot dog eating contest between Harry “Mr. Magic” Houdini and Mary “Mother of Frankenstein” Shelley? What about a pie contest? A staring contest? And who has a better chance of sneaking into Area 51, Isaac “Gravity Guy” Newton or Sacagawea aka “The Pathfinder”?

In Who Wins?: History, you decide the winner in over 50 head-to-head challenges between 100 of history’s most illustrious characters. But choosing the victor isn’t arbitrary. Readers must justify their answers using each of the historical figures’ six 0-10 category rankings in bravery, leadership, artistry, wealth, wisdom, and fitness; as well as facts from short biographies.

As funny as it is informative, the book is uniquely formatted so readers can match up each and every character in any of the head-to-head battles. History has never been so much fun!

Kellee’s Review: Who Wins? is informative, funny, and so cleverly formatted that it is going to be a star in homes and classrooms. I love how the book gives each historical figure a nickname (either one they already were given, like Satchmo, or made up, like Gravity Guru for Isaac Newton) to add a bit of humor to the book; however, still makes sure to include a plethora of information about each figure including a bio then 3 little-known facts. Each head-to-head situation also helps guide your decision by giving some example questions to think about. Let’s look at a head-to-head, so you can really see how clever it is!

William Wallace “Braveheart” vs. Isaac Newton “Gravity Guru”
Who Wins Living in the Wild, Wild West?

Ricki’s Review: What a clever concept! This spiral-bound book will be a staple for car rides. I could also see it being a great book for fast finishers in the classroom. The book consists of three columns that are split. So, for example, I randomly flipped to three pages (one of each column). At the far right, there is a short summary of Louis Armstrong’s biography and picture. Then, in the middle, the column I flipped to is the “talent show” and asks “Who is the most well-rounded? Who has the most experience entertaining?” Then on the far right, I flipped to Abraham Lincoln. While this one seems like a clear winner for Louis Armstrong, I think we could conceivably argue for either person for the two questions. I’ll be hanging on to this book. It will be a great book to give to my kids in the backseat. Fun family debates are the best!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Are you an elementary school teacher or a social studies teacher or a language arts teacher? Then buy this. It is a perfect bell work or paper prompts or discussion starter or debate topic creator or whatever else you can think of!

Discussion Questions: Who wins?

Read This If You Love: History, Historical Figures, Debates

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