Sunday, December 6, 2009

Houdini: The Handcuff King by Jason Lutes & Nick Bertozzi


Part non-fiction, part historical fiction, Lutes & Bertozzi begin with an introduction that speaks directly to youth, contextualizing Houdini’s keen marketing strategies in an era when newspapers were the primary form of mass media. With an almost cinematic feel, the graphic text imagines how one of Houdini’s more famous stunts might have been made possible with some help from his beloved wife and his own unrelenting pursuit of fame. Struggling readers may find a successful reading experience within this graphic text. Particularly helpful to teachers are the panel discussions that provide historical information for selected pages of the graphic text. A bibliography is also included.
Lutes, Jason, and Nick Bertozzi. Houdini: The handcuff king. New York: The Center for Cartoon Studies, 2007.

1 comment:

Abby M. said...

WOW! LOVE anything about Houdini. I do a lesson at the end of the year with 4th grade about Houdini. It was by far the most exciting topic they had learned about all year. There is no one more intriguing than Houdini. All of my students wanted to check out his biography. This is one of the best biography's I read all year!