They Lost Their Heads!: What Happened to Washington's Teeth, Einstein's Brain, and Other Famous Body Parts

by Carlyn Beccia

Overview

From the kidnapping of Einstein's brain to the horrifying end of Louis XIV's heart, the mysteries surrounding some of history's most famous body parts range from medical to macabre. Carlyn Beccia explores the misadventures of noteworthy body parts through history and springboards to exploring STEM topics such as forensics, DNA testing, brain science, organ donation, and cloning. The engaging tone, wonderfully creepy subject matter, and delightfully detailed art are sure to capture even the most reluctant readers.

The famous people and their body parts include:

Galileo Galilei / Fingers

Louis XIV / Heart

George Washington / Teeth

Franz Joseph Hadyn / Head

Beethoven / Hair

Abraham Lincoln / Body

Chang and Eng Bunker / Liver

Phineas Gage / Skull

John Wilkes Booth / Neck vertebrae

Sarah Bernhardt / Leg

Vincent Van Gogh / Ear

Mata Hari / Head

Albert Einstein / Brain

Elvis Presley / Wart

Thomas Edison / Last Breath

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802737472
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	1010L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Carlyn Beccia (pronounced Betcha) is an author, illustrator, graphic designer, and organ donor who (so far) has kept all her body parts. Beccia's children's books, including Who Put the B In the Ballyhoo?, Raucous Royals, and I Feel Better with a Frog In My Throat, have won numerous awards including the Golden Kite Honor, the International Reading Association's Children's and Young Adult Book Award, and the Cybil Award.

carlynbeccia.com

@carlynbeccia (Instagram)

Table of Contents

The Beginning or the End? vi

Dead Bodies 101 viii

Ines De Castro: Till Death Do Us Part x

Loved to Death 6

Galileo Galilei: Hanging by his Fingernails 10

Invasion of the Body Snatchers 16

King Louis XIV: Eat Your Heart Out 18

Bon Appétit! Bites and Bits 24

George Washington: Straight from the Horse's Mouth 26

Buried … but Not Quite Dead 32

Franz Joseph Haydn: A Piece of his Mind 34

Phrenology-A Bumpy History 40

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Splitting Hairs 42

Some Hairy History 48

Abraham Lincoln: From the Cradle to the Grave 50

Pickling Picks 58

Chang and Eng Bunker: Stuck on You 60

It's Fun to Share 66

Phineas Gage: A Hole in One 68

Bury the Hatchet and Then Some 74

John Wilkes Booth: Saving His Neck 76

Another Spiny Tale 82

Sarah Bernhardt: Break a Leg 84

You're Pulling My Leg 92

Vincent Van Gogh: Lend Me Your Ear 94

Artsy Extras 100

Mercy Brown: A Heartless Vampire 104

The Dead vs. the Undead (A Field Guide) 110

Mata Hari: I Spy a Head 112

Lost and Never Found 118

Albert Einstein: Picking his Brain 122

Bits on Brains 130

Elvis Presley: Warts and All 132

Cloning Body Parts 138

Recycling Bits: First Steps 140

A Happily Ever Afterlife 142

The Most Wanted 144

Corpse Medicine 146

Deathly Decor 150

Dead-End Jobs 152

Unloved Bits 158

Thomas Alva Edison: Last Gasps 160

Acknowledgments 166

Notes on Sources 167

Selected Bibliography 172

Index 179

Editorial Reviews

Frequent black-and-white spot art and snarky footnote asides add comedy to this already high-interest blend of history and science. Entertaining and fascinating, with a clever incorporation of STEM topics.” —Booklist

“Beccia's light, cheeky approach to the subject matter is tailor-made for a middle-grade audience . . . Readers fond of the gruesome and grotesque with a heavy dose of humor will find much to enjoy here.” —Kirkus Reviews

“[A] quirky, clever compendium. . . . The author's chatty, irreverent narrative profiles each highlighted luminary and offers supplementary info on such topics as embalming, phrenology, and cryonics—and ample doses of downright creepy, kid-pleasing trivia.” —Publishers Weekly

“An equal mix of history, science, and biography, the . . . text is straightforward and logical; the tone light and entertaining. Interesting black-and-white, hand-drawn illustrations perfectly mirror the content and tone. Well-researched.” —VOYA

“This topic is one that has perpetual appeal to middle school readers.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2018-02-03
This gleefully macabre mix of history and science relates true stories about the mysterious fates of body parts from the famous and infamous.Told in frequently grisly detail are tales about King Pedro of Portugal, who had the corpse of his dead love crowned as his queen; Vincent Van Gogh, who sent his ear to a woman he admired; the thefts of Franz Josef Haydn's head and Albert Einstein's brain; the heart of Percy Bysshe Shelley, which would not burn when his body was cremated; how actress Sarah Bernhardt put her amputated leg in storage; and how a wart removed from Elvis Presley in 1958 is now in the possession of the owner of one of the world's largest Elvis memorabilia collections. In addition, Beccia dispenses such grimly fascinating facts as: that the skins of hanged criminals were sometimes tanned and made into such articles as belts, bags, boots, and fancy book covers; that teeth extracted from corpses were used to make dentures; and that local executioners made extra money selling the fat of hanged criminals to make candles and soap. Beccia's light, cheeky approach to the subject matter is tailor-made for a middle-grade audience: "See, bodies are a lot like egg-salad sandwiches—the colder they're kept, the less likely they will stink over time." The author's wry, black-and-white cartoons are of a piece with both tone and content.Readers fond of the gruesome and grotesque with a heavy dose of humor will find much to enjoy here. (bibliography, source notes) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews