Dana Kaput

LIS 721
October 30, 2016
Informational Book Review

Beccia, Carlyn. I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: Historys Strangest

Cures. Illustrated by Carlyn Beccia. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. 48
pages. Tr. $17.99, ISBN: 978-0-547-22570-8.

Test your knowledge of medical remedies, but, be warned, historys cures for illness

were not always pretty. Traditionally trained artist and amateur historian Carlyn

Beccia takes readers on a sometimes gross, but always entertaining tour of some of

historys strangest cures. Using a quiz-like format, readers are given three to nine

historical remedies for common illnesses (cough, cold, sore throat, wound,

stomachache, fever, headache, and general illness) and asked to guess which one

really worked. The preceding pages offer historical, scientific, and sociological

reasons behind these cures and answer the all-important questions of what worked

and what is still used to cure illness today. Each page of the relatively short tome

offers full-page colored digital mixed media illustrations that are strikingly

reminiscent of oil painting techniques. The mix of technical painting expertise with

quirky character expressions and situations lend themselves well to the sarcastic

yet informative tone of writing. After all, skunk oil may not have cured a cold, but it

did encourage the patient to make a speedy recovery and escape from bed. While

most of the cures described originate in Western medicine, some attention is paid to

ancient Asian, Prehistoric, and North American remedies. A bibliography encourages

readers to learn more about the history of medicine by visiting the library or doing

online research. Upper elementary students, reluctant readers, budding scientists,

and history aficionados will appreciate the wit, concisely blocked text, and
dominating illustrations as they discover the strange, the familiar, and sometimes

the gross history of medicine.