Nonfiction Book Reviews

Although I tend to focus on adult nonfiction books, I do occasionally review children’s nonfiction books too. This is one of those books - if you’re interested, you can find other reviews of children’s books here.

Before I started at the library, I had never heard of the “You Wouldn’t Want to…” series, but now I see the books pass through the library all the time.

You Wouldn’t Want to be an Aztec Sacrifice by Fiona MacDonald is just one of many in the series - other examples are You Wouldn’t Want to be a Viking Explorer or You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Railroads.  They tend to focus on the more gory aspects of history; the things that a boy in elementary school would think is fascinating, but which the “normal” textbooks tend to pass over.

In You Wouldn’t Want to be an Aztec Sacrifice: Gruesome Things You’d Rather Not Know, the author takes you from the beginning: Who the Aztecs are and who “you” are (yes, everything happens in the present tense, and it all happens to you - the author tells you “Now you are doing this.  Now you are feeling that.”  Etc.  Except not in a boring way, promise.)  Eventually, you get captured in battle and eventually end up as a human sacrifice to the gods (and in case you were wondering, no, no last minute save happens - you really do die as a sacrifice.  I had kinda thought that a “But wait!” moment would happen, and you’d be saved.  Nope - you die.)

The illustrations are bright, colorful, and eye-catching.  I found a two-page spread online that I could download, so here’s two pages in the middle of the book:

I found that the book was both gruesome and humorous. That’s not normally a combination I find in reading materials, but I think the book will strike just the right chord for its intended audience - 4th to 6th grade boys. It is historically accurate (okay, not so much the pictures per say, but the facts and history in the book) and for kids who normally find history “bor-ring!” and “Can’t we do something else?” this might be just the ticket to spike their interest.

MacDonald’s right - I don’t want to be an Aztec sacrifice, but I did enjoy this book, and I would want to read more in the same series.  With an eye towards my eventual job as a teacher, I have to say that I’m excited about this series - I think this is a great way to connect with kids who might not otherwise care.  I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Hava