King George III was the strict king of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1820) and of Hanover (1814-20).  During his reign, the American colonies were lost after a seven-year war.  King George once stated, “I wish nothing but the good.  Therefore, everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel.”  Maybe if this king were a little more flexible he wouldn’t be known as “the king who lost America!”

In the Scholastic’s series, A Wicked History, students will devour these biographies which look at the lives of some of the malicious leaders in history.  The author does a fine job of consolidating information in a logical readable way to produce an engaging and definitely NOT boring biography.  Chapters are short and easily digestible.  The authors in this series always leave the reader with the question:  “Wicked?” –  A great way to spark discussion and debate.  The illustrations are well-chosen.  Each book has a Timeline of Terror section, a glossary, a Find Out More section, an index, and an Author’s Note and Bibliography.  I highly recommend this book and this series (I have read many) as a quick research resource for intermediate, middle school and high school students AND for anyone interested in a well-done informative entertaining biography.  NOTE:  As an adult reader, I personally find this series to be an extremely informative and enjoyable quick read; definitely not dry and dull.