I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures [Hardcover]

Carlyn Beccia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2010 | Age Range: 6 - 9 years | Lexile Measure: 1110L (What's this?)

It wasn’t too long ago that people tried all sorts of things to help sick people feel better. They tried wild things like drinking a glass full of millipedes or putting some mustard on one's head.  Some of the cures worked, and some of them…well, let’s just say that millipedes, living or dead, are not meant to be ingested.

Carlyn Beccia takes readers on a colorful and funny medical mystery tour to discover that while times may have changed, many of today’s most reliable cure-alls have their roots in some very peculiar practices, and so relevant connections can be drawn from what they did then to what we do now.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6–From chicken soup, honey, and mother's kisses to frog soup, mummy powder, and leeches, Beccia highlights some unusual cures for common illnesses that have been practiced throughout history. Organized by coughs, colds, sore throats, wounds, stomachaches, fever, headaches, and other sicknesses, the book first presents the cures and then challenges readers to guess which methods have been effective. In the ensuing pages, she describes the philosophy behind each treatment and notes its utility. While grounded in science, Beccia takes a holistic view, leading to some surprising results. Though the application of mummy powder to wounds may actually have spread more disease, bleeding may have sometimes helped by starving staph infections of iron. The “frog slime” involved in the titular cure is now used in some modern medications, and mother's kisses are an example of the beneficial power of placebos. Digital mixed-media color illustrations and manageable blocks of text invite reluctant readers to browse this high-interest title. While the figures are often awkwardly composed, their expressions as they confront each unpalatable cure are highly entertaining. In comparison, Richard Platt's Doctors Did What?! (Two-Can, 2006) covers slightly more ground through a time line approach, but the tone is sarcastic and the use of photos makes for a more appalling read. Beccia's approachable introduction is more suitable for younger readers and all those with sensitive stomachs.–Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MIα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Author-illustrator Beccia has gathered some of history’s strangest cures for what ails you. Some of these are silly (puppy kisses), some are sticky (spider webs), some are stinky (skunk oil), and some are sweetly sentimental (a mother’s kisses). Do any of them work? You bet, and part of the fun is guessing which ones (don’t you dare turn to the page where the answers are revealed). Arranged by malady (coughs, colds, fevers, etc.), each section is typically introduced by three possible cures, with wounds getting nine choices. The pages that follow reveal which cures work, why, and when and where they might have originated. Beccia’s droll text is greatly enhanced by her witty single- and double-page illustrations, filled with humorous details. Boys will especially enjoy the ickier cures (anyone for urine drinking?), while teachers and librarians will welcome the careful research and the useful appended bibliography. Grades 1-4. --Michael Cart

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (October 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547225709
• ISBN-13: 978-0547225708
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 11.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carlyn Beccia children's book have won numerous awards including the Golden Kite Honor recipient for picture book illustration, the International Reading Association's Children's and Young Adult Book Award and the Cybil Award for Non-fiction picture book. Beccia teaches digital painting throughout the United States and is author of the best selling, Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner. She paints with 'digital oil brushes' to create a unique and deeply textured art. She enjoys giving live demonstrations of how art is created on the computer and encourages kids to experiment with the digital medium.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This tantalizingly fun (and sometimes gross) book of cures will give the reader a case of the giggles and a learning experience! December 13, 2010

By D. Fowler TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Most youngsters remember when Mary Poppins cheerfully claimed that, "Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," but many, many years ago there were some pretty nasty, gnarly cures for whatever might ail a person. Take for example, in medieval times if you had a sore throat you just might have ended up with a real live frog down your throat or had a necklace strung with earthworms hanging around your neck. It sounds totally disgusting, but while the earthworms wouldn't have helped one iota, there was a faint possibility that the frog down the throat bit may have worked. When "certain species of frogs get annoyed, they secrete poisonous slime out of their skin." More than likely some poor kids got "terrible tummy aches," but these days "frog slime is sometimes used in antibiotics and painkillers." In pill form that is.

In this marvelously entertaining book there are cures aplenty to make you roll your eyes or chuckle as you imagine someone trying to inflict some awful cure on you. Some of these cures actually worked and, in some instances, are the basis for modern cures. There are cures for everything, but the most common school skipping excuse is the stomachache. Take a look at these three "cures:" A Urine B Dirt C Millipedes (YUK!) No, yes, no. Dirt really has been used throughout the centuries to cure stomachaches. You'll read all about why it has been and will find that Philips milk of magnesia has white clay as the main ingredient.

This tantalizingly fun (and sometimes gross) book of cures will give the reader a case of the giggles and a learning experience rolled into one. There are a selection of "cures" for the cough, cold, sore throat, wound, stomachache, fever, headache, and "every sickness." Each malady is lined up side by side and the reader can guess which cure, if any, actually worked. The origin of each cure is listed below an illustration. Once the page is turned, the young reader will have a blast reading about how successful the purported cure was. The illustrations are beautifully rendered with an appropriate dash of humor. Was a "dead man's skull" a successful cure for wounds? You'll just have to read the book to find out!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book...fantastic illustration! October 7, 2010

By Jamie C

Format:Hardcover

I got this book for my daughter and it quickly became her favorite book. She loves the content and the illustrations are great. You won't be disappointed!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating (and sometimes gross) "medicinal" cures from days gone by February 25, 2011

By Kendal A. Rautzhan

Format:Hardcover

By nationally syndicated children's book review columnist Kendal Rautzhan. Visit my website for more great book suggestions: Greatest Books for Kids (www.greatestbooksforkids.com)

Read aloud: age 8 - 9 and older.
Read yourself: age 9 - 10 and older.

Long ago, if you were sick, there were some mighty odd remedies used to cure what ailed you. In this clever book, author/illustrator Carlyn Beccia presents a fascinating look at such remedies by posing history's strangest cures for many common ailments.
If someone had a headache, what would help - putting a hole in the head, putting mustard on the head, or getting a shock from an electric eel? When someone had a stomachache, did any of these cures help - urine, dirt, or millipedes?
Citing the origin of each of the "cures," describing where and when such remedies were used, and zeroing-in on what worked, what didn't, and why, this wildly interesting book will have kids (and adults) pondering ancient, modern and future medicine in more ways than one.