Caught!: Nabbing History's Most Wanted

by Georgia Bragg, Kevin O'Malley (Illustrator)

Overview

A humorous look at how famous people got caught, including Joan of Arc, Blackbeard, Al Capone, and more! From the award-winning team that brought you How They Croaked and How They Choked.

Outlaw, assassin, art thief, and spy, these fourteen troublemakers and crooks—including Blackbeard the pirate, Typhoid Mary, and gangster Al Capone—have given the good guys a run for their money throughout the ages.

Some were crooked, some were deadly, and some were merely out of line—but they all got Caught! as detailed in this fascinating and funny study of crime, culture, and forensic science.

FEATURING HISTORY'S MOST WANTED: Joan of Arc, Sir Walter Raleigh, Caravaggio, Blackbeard, John Wilkes Booth, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Mata Hari, Typhoid Mary, Rasputin, Vincenzo Peruggia (Mona Lisa thief), Bernard Kuehn (Pearl Harbor spy), Anna Anderson (Anastasia impersonator), and Al Capone

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524767419
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	283,491
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	1020L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Georgia Bragg is the author of the award-winning How They Croaked and How They Choked, as well as Matisse on the Loose, a middle-grade novel. Before becoming a writer, Georgia was an artist, printmaker, and script supervisor. She has two grown children. Georgia lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two cats. Visit her at georgiabragg.com.

Kevin O'Malley is the illustrator of How They Croaked and How They Choked, the coauthor and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series, and the author and illustrator of picture books The Perfect Dog, Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude, and the New York Times bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife. You can follow him on Facebook or visit him at booksbyomalley.com.

Read an Excerpt

Everyone in this book got caught for doing something; most were guilty, some were not. A handful had trials, others were hunted down, and a few were framed. A large number had second chances that they didn’t take.
Whether cheating on a test or plotting to kidnap the president, no one likes to get caught. Billy the Kid, Blackbeard the Pirate, and everyone else in this book line up to a unique time in history. As Robert Kennedy said, “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves.” There would be no Al Capone without Prohibition, no Anastasia impostor without the Russian Revolution, and no Joan of Arc without the Inquisition, because you can be sure if Joan of Arc lived today, no one would accuse her of being a witch. The times made the people, and the people made history.
This group of characters was more likely to murder, cheat, and hoard prize money than do good, but whatever they did, it put them on the map. In some way or another, they sparked the imagination and broke free of the pack with their catchy names and noteworthy deeds.
Gangsters, con artists, thieves, spies, and assassins—whether they were a force of change, entrapped by the narrow-minded, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, they were all caught. Why read about these folks since their stories are unlikely to turn up on a school test? Because they changed history and made the world not only a more fascinating place, but a place that requires criminal forensics, mug shots, fingerprinting, ballistics, and DNA testing.
Caught! is full of history you can almost use.

Editorial Reviews

08/05/2019

This scattershot survey of infamous criminals throughout history by Bragg (How They Croaked) offers mixed results. Covering such subjects as Joan of Arc and Al Capone, among others, Bragg limits her scope to Europeans and Americans—some of whom committed crimes, while others were judged unjustly. Each chapter includes “Facts and Stats,” such as the reward money offered for various criminals ($500 for Billy the Kid) and a few vocabulary terms. The profiles’ humorous language can sometimes feel intrusive (a claim that Blackbeard was a “trendsetter” who “wasn’t that bad”) or even inappropriate (is “evil jerk” a strong enough phrase to describe Adolf Hitler, pictured but not mentioned in the chapter on WWII spy Bernard Kuehn?), though O’Malley’s cartoons add amusement and interest. And while Bragg claims that all of these individuals “changed history,” which certainly seems true for Joan of Arc and John Wilkes Booth, the connection is less obviously clear for other figures, such as artist and murderer Caravaggio. While some readers may enjoy the flip approach, the uneven tone makes this a secondary purchase. Ages 10–14. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Bragg reins in the humor and delicately balances the facts with a lighthearted but reverent tone that offers historical context and thoughtful perspective.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Highly entertaining and assiduously researched, offers a fascinating glimpse into different periods of history and human nature both.” —Booklist, Starred Review

“Lighthearted and clever writing….  Facts and illustrations abound in this quick read with broad appeal to reluctant readers.”  —VOYA

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2019

Gr 4–9—Bragg's previous two books, How They Croaked and How They Choked, can sit comfortably next to the newest companion focused on a handful of history's most wanted. Famous criminals like Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth are mentioned, but there are also lesser-known individuals like the Pearl Harbor spy Bernard Kuehn and Anna Anderson, who spent most of her life pretending she was Anastasia Romanov. In Bragg's signature style, each person is introduced with an illustration, followed by a brief biography focused on the subtitled topic of "nabbing history's most wanted" interspersed with lighthearted art and ending with a spread of facts, statistics, and defined jargon. Nothing is more captivating than Bragg's storytelling. As a package, the book's 14 personalities spanning 1412–1899 are collectively fascinating under the umbrella of unenviable criminality. In some cases, the accusations outweighed the truth. Individually, the book can provide background to a historical time period or material for a biography. Nonetheless, Bragg reins in the humor and delicately balances the facts with a lighthearted but reverent tone that offers historical context and thoughtful perspective. VERDICT Do not escape purchasing at least one copy for public and school libraries to round out a collective biography section. This can be used for a read-aloud or a history revealed display.—Alicia Abdul, Albany High School, NY

School Library Journal

2019-06-16
In this third collaboration (How They Choked, 2014, etc.) with illustrator O'Malley, Bragg profiles 14 famous and infamous characters from the Middle Ages through the 20th century.

Though the cover illustration of a prisoner behind bars suggests all the subjects were criminals, the thematic connection is looser than that, gathering together individuals who were pursued with hopes of capture for a variety of reasons. "Everyone in this book got caught for something; most were guilty, some were not," Bragg explains. Profiles include spies Mata Hari and Bernard Kuehn, "Typhoid Mary" Mallon, con artist Rasputin, Princess Anastasia impersonator Anna Anderson, Joan of Arc, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Even the connections among those generally acknowledged to be criminals, such as pirate Blackbeard, assassin John Wilkes Booth, and art thief Vincenzo Peruggia, appear vague and arbitrary. Despite this lack of definition, the individual profiles are entertaining and informative. Bragg's flippant tone and chatty prose style are nicely complemented by O'Malley's cartoon illustrations. Between each chapter is a page or two of information related to the activities of those profiled and their times. One noticeable weakness is the lack of source notes for quotes attributed to historical figures. Did Dr. George Soper really say to Typhoid Mary, "You, Mary Mallon, cooking in the kitchen with icky bathroom germs on your hands"?

Readers who enjoyed Bragg and O'Malley's previous collections will likely find this fun and interesting, loosey-goosey theme and all. (bibliography) (Collective biography. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews