THE GIANT AND HOW HE HUMBUGGED AMERICA

 

 





Bibliographic Information:  Murphy, Jim. The Giant and How He Humbugged America. 2012. New York, NY : Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-439-69184-0.

Summary: 
In 1869, the “Cardiff Giant” – a purported ten-foot-tall "petrified man" – was reported to have been discovered in the upstate New York town of Cardiff.  Many experts were called in to determine if the giant was an actual man or a statue but they couldn’t agree. Thousands came to see for themselves the amazing giant upon hearing about it by word of mouth and newspaper reports.

Critical Analysis:

Jim Murphy has written 35 books (both fiction and nonfiction) for children and young adults, including more than 30 about American history.  He received the annual Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010, recognizing his cumulative "significant and lasting contributions to young adult literature.”  He has been a runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal twice and has won the Sibert Medal as well as three Orbis Pictus Awards, three Jefferson Cup Awards, two SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Distinguished Nonfiction, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.  He is certainly an expert in his field and The Giant and How He Humbugged America is simply one more example of his well-researched and interesting stories.

The book contains nine pages of source notes, two full pages of bibliographical references, a page of photo credits and a three page alphabetical index.  Even as Murphy exhaustively details his sources and backs up his research, he gives us a narrative that reads like a good fiction story.  He breaks each part of the timeline down into manageable parts and even provides a “cast of characters” in the first few pages.  The layout is ideal for skimming.  If a reader is only interested in the discovery of the Cardiff Giant, the truth of what was finally determined or the aftermath of the story, each chapter is clearly divided and labeled for easily finding just the part of the story readers need.

The photographs throughout the book are fascinating.  Hardly one page goes by where there isn’t a photo or two to vividly illustrate the story.  These, along with the cover illustration, make the book very inviting and encourage curiosity about just what the true dish on the “giant” was. Murphy writes in the style of a good mystery, never revealing the truth until the appropriate part of the story so that readers are curious and trying to figure out the end as they read.  This book is a wonderful example of what fun, interesting informational books for young readers should be.

Book Review Excerpts:

“Contextualizing this scam against the wider backdrop of the Gilded Age, Murphy adeptly explains how hoaxes like the Cardiff Giant helped accelerate reforms, such as the establishment of professional scientific organizations and journals.”  Staff (Reviewed September 17, 2012 in Publishers Weekly (vol 259, issue 38).

“A generous mix of newspaper illustrations, carnival posters and photographs lend a period feeling to the thoroughly engaging volume. After reading this fascinating story, young people will appreciate the old expression, spawned by this very hoax, "There's a sucker born every minute." - Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2012.

A “fun, exciting, and lively account.”  - Susan Shaver, Hemingford Public Schools, NE.  Reviewed September 1, 2012 in School Library Journal (vol. 58, issue 9, p165).

Awards:

The title doesn’t appear to have won any awards though it’s author, Jim Murphy, has won the Sibert Medal, is a Newbery Honor author and has been nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. 

Connections/Further Activities:
Students could discuss other such famous hoaxes in U.S. and world history. Murphy provides a list of them at the back of the book that would be a great starting point. 

Title Read-A-Likes:
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Fooled you! – Elaine Pascoe
Duped! – Andreas Schroeder
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb and Other Ancient Discoveries – Anita Ganeri