Fooled You!: Fakes and Hoaxes Through the Years

by Elaine Pascoe, Laurie Keller (Illustrator)

Hoaxes are meant to fool the world―and some people fall for them. Would you? Crop circles. Aliens on earth. Fairies caught on film. Giant cats. What do these phenomena have in common? They are all hoaxes. Elaine Pascoe presents well-researched chapters on nearly a dozen infamous hoaxes―from the 1800s to the present―exploring the stories behind them (how they came to be as well as who instigated them) and pondering why people were so easily fooled. These tantalizing accounts hold tremendous appeal for all ages and are as much about the craftiness of perpetrators as about the gullibility of believers. Would you have been fooled? You'll just have to read Fooled You! to find out.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade, History, Juvenile

96 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have loved this when I was a kid. This is a very basic book about some classic hoaxes. I think it is great that it points out the people who continued to insist something was supernatural or otherworldly even when there were people who admitted to faking it (crop circles, for example). A fun book that would be useful in discussing fake news with kids.

[Mrs. Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crop circles. Aliens on earth. Fairies caught on film. Giant cats. What do these phenomena have in common? They are all hoaxes. Elaine Pascoe presents well-researched chapters on nearly a dozen infamous hoaxes—from the 1800s to the present—exploring the stories behind them (how they came to be as well as who instigated them) and pondering why people were so easily fooled. These tantalizing accounts hold tremendous appeal for all ages and are as much about the craftiness of perpetrators as about the gullibility of believers. Would you have been fooled? You'll just have to read Fooled You! to find out.

[K.C. Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little outdated now but still good. Since it's for younger readers some of the more complex issues are simplified, but entries are accurate. It's also fair-minded rather than dogmatic or disdainful of people who believed hoaxes. The illustrations are fun too.

[Debi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read some of this aloud to classes, and they loved it!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book to read with your kids!!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boys are so interested in the paranormal right now. They are always wanting to read books about cryptids. This book was a nice balance to what they have been reading. It gives a brief history of some fakes and hoaxes, even disproving some that I had heard of as a child. The chapter about Internet hoaxes was especially thought-provoking as the boys have begun exploring the world of e-mails and SPAM.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fooled You! Fakes and Hoaxes Through the Years" by Elaine Pascoe contains 11 true stories of fake stories that have been pulled on the public throughout history. From the proof that fairies exist to finding bigfoot to internet hoaxes, this book contains fun stories that seem impossible to believe. When you read it, ask yourself, would I have been fooled?

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun little book that introduces the reader to just a few of the more famous hoaxes that have happened around the world. Easy to read and funny illustrations make this book a joy to read for any level reader.

[Jean Giardina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edgar Allan Poe sold fiction as fact. A farmer buried a stone giant in his field. P.T. Barnum was a master of the long con.

Fun middle grade non-fiction about some of the greatest hoaxes of all time. The cartoon illustrations are charming, too.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paperback edition of the 2005 book on impostors and their tricks, in eleven chapters, from the early 19th century up to 2001. Clear, descriptive writing with whimsical silly cartoons. A fun recreational romp through the better-known cons of the last century and a half.

[Nbkyouth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juv 001.95 PAS
Entertaining, browsable, accounts of famous hoaxes perpetrated by very clever people and the fools who were tricked.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a book for kids. Short and quick stories.