Mural Culture

An easy way to learn about Dead Famous people

« Yes, even though he’s dead, Spartacus is still full of surprises »

Photo : Vanessa Carronnier Scott

This rather unexpected phrase is a typical example of what you can find on the back of a book part of the Dead Famous collection, published by the Scholastic editions. This company commits to develop reading in children and to support their parents as well as their teachers. For this purpose, they essentially provide books which can be used as learning products.

One of their star products would be the Horrible Histories and the Dead Famous series which aim at getting children interested in history by focusing on the trivial, the gory or the unpleasant. Historical facts concerning a precise period or character are thus presented in the most unusual way. For instance, you are able to “read the inside story in Spartacus’ diary, catch up on the latest battle results in The Daily Gladius, and find out how to keep the mighty Roman Empire at bay with just a few trusty  followers and a cunning plan”.

The books cleverly maintain a younger public’s attention on subjects which would generally not appeal to them, such as Winston Churchill’s biography or the Tudors, using comics, irony and the typical British sense of humour. To stay in its pedagogical perspective, the author often addresses himself directly to his reader to indicate whether the facts have been verified or if the following lines happen to be the most commonly accepted version by historians.

The books have been published in several countries across the world in their original version. Surprisingly for the British sense of humour, they have also been translated. In all cases, they can truly be considered as an alternative way of learning.

These short novels can be ordered for a couple of pounds on commercial websites. Thus, after a long day, if you fancy having a laugh (or trying to understand a weird sense of humour ) and gaining a couple of words of vocabulary, “Spartacus and his glorious gladiators”, “the Angry Aztecs” and “France’s horrible history” as well as the other titles, are trustworthy.