They Lost Their Heads! by Carlyn Beccia - ESSENTIAL

Beccia, Carlyn They Lost Their Heads! 165 pages. NON-FICTION.  Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018. $19. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence PG.

After you read this book, you will either be the most popular or least popular guest at a party, depending on how many facts from this book you decide to share.  And there is so much to share! Who knew that Ines de Castro, who was beheaded on orders from her future father-in-law, would be all dressed up waiting her coronation AFTER DEATH.  Yep, her new subjects were ordered to bow and kiss the new queen’s hand, or at least what was left of her decaying corpse.  Then there are infamous grave robbers who made a killing (literally) by supplying fresh corpses to medical schools.  Instead of just digging them up, they murdered at least 16 people before one of the grave robber’s skin was tanned and made into wallets.  Not making this up!

This is the ultimate fun read in macabre humor.  Find out where famous people’s body parts are lurking besides their actual grave.  Tabloid magazines have nothing on this book, which proves that truth is stranger than fiction.   Beccia has an extensive bibliography to back up her great and gross stories.  There are engaging black and white line drawings that add to the readability and make the text accessible. This is the perfect book to hook non-fiction readers and I couldn’t put it down.

MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.  Michelle in the Middle