Who Wins? 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to-Head and You Decide the Winner!
Created by Clay Swartz and Illustrated by Tom Booth
Workman Publishing (2016)
104 pages
Ages 8-12
Who Wins? is one of my favorite nonfiction books for both children and adults. It not only introduces young readers to 100 historical figures, it presents information in a fun way and encourages debate and social reading. Instead of trying to explain to you how the book works in an overly complicated and confusing manner, watch the video below:
As you can see, the format is well thought out, the illustrations are fun and vibrant, and provides a lot of different scenarios to go through. What you cannot see is that the book is sturdily constructed, a big benefit for a book which is constantly handled and flipped. Some of the decisions can be difficult, for example deciding who would sell the most girl scout cookies, Copernicus or Galileo. The book helpfully provides a couple of questions to guide you to an answer. For this example, the book asks “Who has the most business sense?” and “Who has what it takes to close a deal?” Providing these questions will help guide a confused reader and shows a level of thought given to how the game is played.
The age range is a bit narrow, I know plenty of teens and adults who would love this book. Perhaps 8 and up would be a better option. I would use this book as a leisure read, party game, or as a fun lesson in debating. Sometimes you need a break from debating weighty topics such as climate change and discussing whether Booker T. Washington or Ernest Hemingway would fare better in the Wild, Wild West is a lot more fun.
