Corpse Talk Season 2 product reviews

When I went to school, I had a history teacher who killed my interest in the past for a very long time. Her method of teaching was to target each lesson content to what was required in the pre-NCEA end of year exams and then dictate a model answer to each possible question. Boring!! The class had to learn this model answer by heart then reproduce it word for word next day. It was the ultimate turn-off, and I never did understand what I was supposed to be learning. And yes, I was always in trouble for not doing my homework!

How I wish we had access then to books like Corpse Talk 2 to make history learning fun. This is a totally different approach to learning - in graphic novel style with contemporary references and plenty of funny comments to amuse the reader. There is just the right amount of gruesome content, enough to make a few more sensitive adults squirm. Most twelve-year-olds, however, would find the idea of an exploding corpse or a skeleton sitting on a toilet really hilarious.

The book begins with a cartoon version of an archaeological dig complete with dates, amusing sketches, and lots of facts. It then goes on to present different characters being brought back from their graves to be interviewed. They are a diverse bunch of characters and the cartoons are nothing short of brilliant. Whoever knew that Shakespeare invented the Knock-Knock joke? Or that the Russian queen Catherine the Great was German? Neither did I! And I always thought that Francis Drake was one of the good guys. Wrong again!

The whole book is presented in the style of a TV talk show with celebrity interviews, hilarious comments, and colourful cartoons. If only history lessons could be all like this!