The Lieography of Amelia Earhart: The Absolutely Untrue, Totally Made Up, 100% Fake Life Story of a Great American Aviator

by Alan Katz

Overview

Amelia Earhart, top aviator. You might know that her flight accomplishments were heralded across the globe. But what about the story of her teeth, which were so perfect that her dentist wanted to remove all of them to show his other patients? Or her refusal to read chapter nine in any book? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Amelia Earhart’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on this larger than life woman.

The book ends with a short—but true—account of Amelia’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about Amelia, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939100481
Publisher:	Tanglewood
Publication date:	10/15/2020
Series:	LieOgraphies
Pages:	72
Sales rank:	1,120,739
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	7 - 18 Years

About the Author

Alan Katz has written more than 40 highly acclaimed children’s books, including Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs, The Day the Mustache Took Over, OOPS!, Don’t Say That Word!, Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids, and two Awesome Achievers titles. Alan has received many state awards for children’s literature, and he frequently speaks at literacy conferences and schools around the country.

Alan is also a six-time Emmy-nominated writer for series including The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Taz-Mania, Pinkalicious and Peterrific, numerous Nickelodeon shows, and more. He hosted a long-running game show on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live channel, and he’s also created comic books, trading cards, theme park shows, and hundreds of others special projects for kids and their parents.

Editorial Reviews

Alan Katz’s Lieographies series is sure to provide a lot of laughs for young readers. The books will also introduce them to some very important historical figures, while encouraging them to find out more. Reading, laughing, and learning—what’s better than that?

Host and Executive Producer of Nickelodeon's "Double Dare" - Marc Summers

Alan Katz's new Lieography books made me laugh out loud!! This outrageously funny new series will surely be a hit with all my students! There's no doubt in my mind that these unique stories will not only motivate students to read, but inspire even the most reluctant readers to further research the true stories of the famous people who are introduced in these amusing tales.

Elizabeth Green School, CT - Amy Inzero

"Lieographies will be the next big series. Having taught for 24 years, I am sure kids will find this series entertaining, funny, but also intriguing. I can't wait to put these books in my students' hands!"

Weston CT - Shelby Jackson

"Lieographies lead to a unique opportunity for readers to develop ability to analyze fact from fiction. Using wit and humor, readers are given a chance to learn, think, and laugh a lot along the way. "

Dylan C. Teut

"Liographies will be the next big series. Having taught for 24 years, I am sure kids will find this series entertaining, funny, but also intriguing. I can't wait to put these books in my students' hands!"

Shelby Jackson, 5th grade teacher, Weston CT - Alan Katz

★ 11/01/2020

Gr 2–3—A humorous, imaginative telling of a young Amelia Earhart and the mini fictional adventures she goes through on her way to becoming a pilot. The book starts with baby Amelia making sounds that could be construed as stating she will fly when she grows up. In each chapter, Katz depicts silly scenarios that lead up to Amelia attaining her goal of flying. Although the book is predominantly written with a tongue-in-cheek tone, it bears grains of truth, such as the dentist telling Amelia, "Girls can't fly planes! That's a job for men." Earhart had to fight to prove that she could fly like any man. A minuscule snippet of Amelia's real life is included at the end, to distinguish fact from fiction. VERDICT Katz (The Day the Mustache Took Over), is known for his humorous children's books, and this wacky twist on history continues that tradition.—Annmarie Braithwaite, NYPL

School Library Journal

2020-07-28
All her life, Amelia has only one thing on her mind: flight.

At her third birthday party, all her presents are plane-themed. Her fifth grade class laughs at her eagerness to fly. She’s excited to attend a stunt-pilot show but misses it thanks to an out-of-date poster. Through it all, she clings to her pronouncement that “Someday I will fly.” Even when she finally procures a plane, she’s told that girls can’t fly (when proven wrong, the naysaying adult man apologizes). She perseveres and eventually makes big plans for her 50th flight. Katz lards the baldly fictional narrative with absurdities such as metafictive tricks, anachronisms, and gags of convenience. Blessedly, the book closes with “some factual facts” about Earhart’s life, most crucially noting that she apparently had “no particular interest in aviation during her childhood.” Thus, the book is self-admittedly what its title promises. The grayscale cartoons give no indication that any character is any race other than White. Rather, as Christopher Eliopoulos does in his illustrations of Brad Meltzer’s Ordinary People Change the World series, Hill depicts his protagonist the same way no matter her age, which becomes problematic when she’s 17 and still looks like a 3-year-old among tall, adult-proportioned figures. This read is best for those whose senses of irony and humor are developed enough to enjoy the foolishness and then dismiss it. Companion titles about Babe Ruth and Thomas Edison publish simultaneously.

Pure silliness: shelve far, far away from the biographies. (Fiction. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews