Outlaws

Children's Literature

Billy the Kid—born Henry McCarty—lost his mother to tuberculosis when he was a teenager; his father had died or run off years earlier and it was a short road to becoming a small-time thief. In the 1880 census he listed his occupation as "one who works with cattle"—he had become a big-time cattle rustler. Jesse James spent his life devoted to his mother but angered about the defeat of the South in the Civil War. James and his brother Frank robbed banks and railroads; and because neither banks nor railroads were very popular with the public, people were often more delighted than outraged by the James gang. Each title in the "Bad Guys" series recounts the exploits of actual criminals from the 17th to 20th centuries, either in Europe for Highwaymen and Pirates or in America for Swindlers, Outlaws and Gangsters. A series entitled "Bad Guys" should certainly attract reluctant readers as well as any youngster more intrigued with getting around the rules than sitting still. Unfortunately in this case, it's a well-intentioned effort gone awry. The five book series looks, reads and feels like a textbook, with many pages of unrelieved text and illustrations that are almost exclusively black-and-white woodcuts, old photos or engravings. The vocabulary is often beyond young readers ("ambivalent," "mol," "intrepidity"). However, as it is one of the few compilations of this kind of information written for young people, the series could be useful for student reports in social studies or history classes. Each book does have a glossary and index, additional resources and notes to identify the source of frequent quotations. 2002, Marshall Cavendish, $27.07. Ages 10 to 15. Reviewer: KarenLeggett

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Blackwood serves up attention-getting biographical sketches of notorious and lesser-known "bad guys." Entries include Al Capone, Dick Turpin (the "Butcher Highwayman"), and Billy the Kid. Each title begins with an explanation of the cultural context in which the subjects lived and provides a basic background on their particular criminal activity. Biographical entries are brief (five-to-six pages), and discuss only the most intriguing aspects of the subjects' lives. In Highwaymen, Blackwood tells of one woman who swallowed her wedding ring rather than relinquish it during a robbery. Undeterred, William Cady killed her and cut her open to retrieve it. Vivid photographs, reproductions, and illustrations effectively complement the text. One photo in Outlaws shows victims of the Northfield raid. The Younger brothers and other outlaws are eerily presented sitting upright with open eyes and bleeding bullet wounds. The author makes no attempt to psychoanalyze or speculate as to what led these people to pursue lives of crime; he sticks to the facts and colorful details, rendering simultaneously entertaining and informative reading.-Laura Glaser, Euless Junior High School, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.