What makes you feel better when you have a headache? Most likely it would not be having hole bored in your head or getting a shock from an electric eel. Yet those are actual cures used over time and found in Carlyn Beccia's latest book I Feel Better With a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures.The response from students has been tremendous. Though their facial expressions indicate disgust and disbelief, their interest in the topics is high. The book is in great demand! After every class, the children beg to read it until their library time is finished. A group of ten gathered around one reader today to hear about stomachache cures! Sometimes a solitary reader finishes the whole thing himself.
Teachers have been just as interested as the children! One fifth grade colleague was happy her simple machines unit transferred to other learning opportunities. A student pointed out that the eighteenth century process of terpanning (making a hole in the skull) was done with a simple machine!
Go to ifeelbetterbook.com for more information about it.
I met Carlyn once, and I just passed this blog post on to her editor, who will pass it on to her. I'm sure she will be thrilled that her book is grossing out kids in your library!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect subject for young readers. Something they can sink their "love of barbarity" teeth into. A great way to rivet their interest and show that trial and error is the way humanity learns.
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