Muhammad Ali Was a Chicken? (Wait! What?)

Dan Gutman's new approach to biography in this early reader series is AMAZING! Kids will love the silly, not often found facts about Ali. The format of a conversation between brother and sister leaves plenty of white space on thee pages and lots of room for young readers to feel successful in their reading of non-fiction.
I think this series could be a serious game changer for non-fiction and biography reading in the early elementary years!
Even as an adult, I couldn't stop talking about the fun things I learned in this book, even though I have read plenty of Muhammad Ali biographies.

Gutman takes his popular My Weird School style and applies it to a fact-based, reluctant reader-friendly biography of this boxing great. The bullet point lists help break up blocks of text and the banter back and forth between the narrators make this a fun and quick read. The title grabbed me and the writing kept me going.

I will definitely recommend this to readers of graphic novels and for teachers and parents who are looking for books to capture kids for summer reading.

Recommended for school and public libraries of all sizes and budgets.

I thoroughly enjoyed the style of this biography and I think my students will too. What a great way to learn those little known facts about a hero.

Humor, research, and history — Dan Gutman presents the perfect combination for capturing young readers. This is a book that belongs in classrooms, school libraries, and personal collections. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next in presenting eye-opening and powerful biography.

Dan Gutman is a well-known author of children’s books and his latest offering is a series of non-fiction reads that take a look at famous faces and reveal some of the more interesting facts and probably lesser-known details about their lives.

You’ve probably heard of the name Muhammad Ali, he was - after all - one of the greatest sporting icons of all time. He was a legend of the boxing ring, he was the man that floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee and liked to remind his opponents that, “The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.” But did you know that he got into boxing after a chance meeting with a part-time boxing instructor, or that he wrote poems about his opponents, or that he refused to join the army and faced the possibility of going to prison?

Siblings Paige and Turner know all sorts of irreverent, bizarre and unusual facts along with a few of the more normal things you need to know about Muhammad Ali and they are delighted to share their knowledge with you. The whole book is filled with facts and the kind of information that kids want to know. I mean, who doesn’t want to know that Ali employed a personal sweat-taster and a private magician. Or that as a child he would ask his brother to throw rocks at him so he could practice not getting hit. Or that he talked down a man who was on the verge of jumping out of the window of a tall building.

Every aspect of Ali’s life is covered, from his childhood and early boxing career, to becoming the greatest and the most hated, to retiring and becoming a hero. Gutman gives a rounded picture of Ali, not just as a boxing megastar, but as a man who divided opinion and whose outspoken views often offended. Readers get to learn about the highs and the lows and the good times and the bad times in the life of one of the most charismatic sportsmen the world has ever known.

The easy to read and chatty conversational style will appeal to many readers and there are plenty of lively illustrations that break up the text. Random facts are peppered throughout and are often presented as lists, including: people who share the same birthday with Ali, famous events that happened on the day he was born, unknown facts about his childhood (as a two-year-old, he threw a cheeky left hook that knocked his mother’s tooth out *disclaimer - I cannot actually confirm that it was a left hook), boxing facts, some of Ali’s wise-cracking quips and famous people with alternate names.

Whilst targeted at children, adults will be fighting to get their hands on this book, there is so much information and good trivia packed into it. I learnt a lot about the life of Muhammad Ali and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Ali had plenty of wins in the ring, he used his voice, charm and good looks to score victories outside of the ring, and this entertaining and informative read all about the life of the sporting icon is sure to be a knockout with young readers!

Recommended for 8+.

With thanks to Dan Gutman and Norton Young Readers for the advanced reader copy that was received via NetGalley.

I think this new series of biographies is going to be as popular as the Who Is/Was... series. This is not your average biography. It has tons of relevant and random facts about Ali and things that surrounded his life. There is also information about his life as a boxer. The story is told back and forth between two modern kids who act as narrators. Telling the story this way gives it some extra life. I think it would also make this an amazing audiobook.

There are fun and silly illustrations that depict some of these silly facts and some of the life events. This is exactly what I would expect from Dan Gutman and it does not disappoint.

With thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an early copy in return for an honest review.

I'm always looking for non-fiction titles to add to my classroom library and my students are fans of My Weird School, so I think they'll enjoy this series! An entertaining way to learn more about people of importance. I also like the first chapter which is about things your teacher probably wants you to know...so it covers the basic biographical details. And then gets into interesting tidbits about the person. I think my students will enjoy getting to know more about Muhammad Ali!

This is the first book in a new series meant to compete against the “Who Was” series. It’s structured as a conversation between a brother and a sister each trying to top the other with interesting facts about the person the subject. It works out really well. This book is informative and has lots of infobits that teachers are normally looking for in school subjects or for reports like who was born on their birthday or what big events happened on that person‘s birthday etc. It’s really well done and a fun read.

**Thank you author and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I'm always looking for non-fiction titles to add to my classroom library, so I think my students will enjoy this series, too! I think this new series of biographies is going to be as popular as the Who Is/Was... series which are a hit with my students. It has tons of relevant and random facts about Ali and things that surrounded his life. The story of his life is told as a dialogue between two kids who act as narrators. There are fun and silly illustrations that depict some of these silly facts and some of Ali's life events. It is truly Dan Gutman style and it did not disappoint. We will definitely be adding this to our non-fiction section in our classroom library!

Athletes are popular among the younger generation. They can serve as inspiration and role models for kids who share the same passions. Muhammad Ali Was a Chicken? (Wait! What?) steps away from just highlighting the obvious athlete achievements but gives children a different perspective on the famous boxer. Gutman does an excellent job of conveying facts through humor and many reluctant children will pick up this book and learn some history.