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Who Was . . . ? Series
Who Was Michael Jackson?
Born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958, Michael Jackson was definitely not a regular kid. A superstar with The Jackson 5 before he was eight years old, he became the King of Pop as a solo artist. Michael was a creative--yet deeply troubled--genius who always remained devoted to his art right up until his death is 2009 before a much anticipated tour. He had a pitch-perfect voice and footwork that his idol Fred Astaire admired. Who will ever forget the Moonwalk? Kids today who only know Jackson through video performances are nevertheless fascinated by him. Megan Stine provides a sensitive, fair-minded depiction of this unique music legend.
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2015
About the author
Megan Stine
188 books63 followersMegan Stine is an American author and editor known for writing more than 100 books for young readers. Her work includes teen etiquette, tie-in fiction, and bestselling Mary-Kate and Ashley titles. She has also developed television projects and works as a portrait and fine art photographer for Real U Guides.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
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January 23, 2020Read this sometime in December but it didn't become a book until after that. Anyway it was cool to see how he got to where he was and him as a kid.
January 27, 2025
Michael Jackson is the king of pop. He was born on August 29, 1958. When he was a kid he was in the Jackson 5. He was the most famous, and youngest of the Jackson 5. Then when he was a teenager he left the Jackson 5 to make his own music. He was amazing at dancing, and singing. He also wrote a lot of songs. He sadly got addicted to drugs, and he died on June 25, 2009.
February 15, 2019
Who was Michael Jackson by Megan Stine was a great book. It has a lot of facts about him. like when his birthday was, where he lived. They have a big collection of many people. I chose this book because i wanted t0 know about him. Michael Jackson was one of my favorite singers.
November 16, 2018
This book was very interesting and informational. From the title, you can probably guess that it is about Michael Jackson and his life story! If you don't already know much about him, I suggest reading this biography! I gave it four stars because I personally am not a fan of Non Fiction.
May 8, 2018
I think it is sad that he brought happiness to so many people yet had a hard time finding it for himself.
February 2, 2020
I love Micheal’s music!
May 9, 2019
Wow, it sure seems like the cards were stacked against Michael from the start; this book does a great job of portraying his perfectionist nature and how he never seemed to be happy unless he was performing onstage. I found it surprising how both his late-life odd behaviors and legal issues are included, and respect that Stine wanted the material to paint a complete picture about the complicated person that Michael was by including both his good and bad aspects. The illustrations here are truly impressive and give the book a little something extra.
October 31, 2022
I really like these Who Was books for my kids. They're quick and easy to read or listen to.
March 17, 2019
First off I LOVE Michael Jackson from the first time listened to Thriller till I performed We Are The World. It has so many interesting facts I never even knew about him. I definitely recommend this book for you guys who don't know a lot about Micheal Jackson.
August 31, 2022
Makes me question the news.
How much is the truth vs. what his heirs want remembered?
How much is the truth vs. what his heirs want remembered?
January 19, 2021
I’ve finished reading the book “Who Was Michael Jackson?” by Megan Stine, and I can say with certainty that it disappointed me deeply.
The author shows cleverness at describing the early stages of Michael’s life, but when it comes to the late ‘80s till his passing, she was being too abbreviated and even took some of the rumors for granted.
We all know that Michael Jackson didn’t request to be called The King of Pop, it was Elizabeth Taylor who first had called him by this nickname in MTV music awards 1988, Michael talked about that in Winfrey’s interview with him in 1993, but in the book the author said that Michael Jackson told everyone to call him on the awards’ ceremony by this nickname, the book also admitted that Michael had so many plastic surgeries, which in the very same interview Michael declares that he only had two plastic surgeries on his nose, also, the author of the book claimed that Michael was the one who was messing with the press to get bad publicity by taking a picture of himself in an oxygen chamber, telling the world that he is buying the Elephant Man bones (Joseph Merrick), and having the chimpanzee bubbles as a pet, again, Michael had told Oprah that he was not sleeping in an oxygen chamber nor buying any bones at all, and clearly Michael had so many other animals too.
So, what I conclude is that there are two possibilities:
1. The author didn’t know about what Michael said on the ‘93 interview, thus she spoke of what she knew.
2. The author assumed that Michael was lying and she didn’t believe what he said.
And in both cases, one should say that this book was supposed to hold facts and the writer of a book should have all the proper information about the matter that they’re writing about.
The book mentioned the Child Accusations against Michael only in one page, the author mentioned the 1993 case settlement, the 2005 court vindication and Michael insisting on his innocence, all written in abstract in only one page, and that is fair to me because she didn’t say anything but informing the reader about what had happened without going into much unnecessary details, she was objective.
But that doesn’t mean that the book was bad at all, there were times when the author seemed to be in Michael’s side being amazed by his work as an entertainer and his message about healing the world and his humanitarian work, she also spoke about Michael’s activism against racism.
In conclusion, the book is great in terms of showing Michael’s early life and splendor talent, but it didn’t do good on the personal level.
And, I sincerely believe that we should separate the art from the artist, loving the work of an artist doesn’t mean that one shall know every personal detail available about them, the artist is a person who is sharing his capacities and talent with others, of course we must value them and for that reason we must understand that we have to be reasonable.
It hurts me a lot when I learn about Michael’s suffering because of people invading his personal space and privacy, I think it shall be a lesson for everyone to stop.
I recommend reading the book but with caution and checking every piece of information.
Have you read it already? Let me know your thoughts.
The author shows cleverness at describing the early stages of Michael’s life, but when it comes to the late ‘80s till his passing, she was being too abbreviated and even took some of the rumors for granted.
We all know that Michael Jackson didn’t request to be called The King of Pop, it was Elizabeth Taylor who first had called him by this nickname in MTV music awards 1988, Michael talked about that in Winfrey’s interview with him in 1993, but in the book the author said that Michael Jackson told everyone to call him on the awards’ ceremony by this nickname, the book also admitted that Michael had so many plastic surgeries, which in the very same interview Michael declares that he only had two plastic surgeries on his nose, also, the author of the book claimed that Michael was the one who was messing with the press to get bad publicity by taking a picture of himself in an oxygen chamber, telling the world that he is buying the Elephant Man bones (Joseph Merrick), and having the chimpanzee bubbles as a pet, again, Michael had told Oprah that he was not sleeping in an oxygen chamber nor buying any bones at all, and clearly Michael had so many other animals too.
So, what I conclude is that there are two possibilities:
1. The author didn’t know about what Michael said on the ‘93 interview, thus she spoke of what she knew.
2. The author assumed that Michael was lying and she didn’t believe what he said.
And in both cases, one should say that this book was supposed to hold facts and the writer of a book should have all the proper information about the matter that they’re writing about.
The book mentioned the Child Accusations against Michael only in one page, the author mentioned the 1993 case settlement, the 2005 court vindication and Michael insisting on his innocence, all written in abstract in only one page, and that is fair to me because she didn’t say anything but informing the reader about what had happened without going into much unnecessary details, she was objective.
But that doesn’t mean that the book was bad at all, there were times when the author seemed to be in Michael’s side being amazed by his work as an entertainer and his message about healing the world and his humanitarian work, she also spoke about Michael’s activism against racism.
In conclusion, the book is great in terms of showing Michael’s early life and splendor talent, but it didn’t do good on the personal level.
And, I sincerely believe that we should separate the art from the artist, loving the work of an artist doesn’t mean that one shall know every personal detail available about them, the artist is a person who is sharing his capacities and talent with others, of course we must value them and for that reason we must understand that we have to be reasonable.
It hurts me a lot when I learn about Michael’s suffering because of people invading his personal space and privacy, I think it shall be a lesson for everyone to stop.
I recommend reading the book but with caution and checking every piece of information.
Have you read it already? Let me know your thoughts.
April 20, 2016
it was so good i loved it.
i do respect with his generous to his children. i think they'll might miss him when he died at age of 50. and save the donation money to sick children or had cancer.
so, yeah um...i do miss him. but i still love his music.
and i guess no one won"t ever forget the moonwalk.
and of course his chimp named bubbles.
he do sometimes get misunderstood but he was a true humanitarian and a gentlemen.
i don't care because he never did something wrong to children because of the trial but was found not guilty.
the problem is,he wasn't that the most happiest person the world. but that his emotions.
he had sensitivity. it's only because he never had a childhood because of as a kid never gets to play outside with his brothers and sisters because of his strict father who was very tough and mean a lot.
every-time he thinks about his father and his past that was very horrible, he usually get very sensitive and cry a lot.
all of his fans on stage would might be saying ok? why's he crying?
p.s, no really it is true actually. he always does whatever he sang "i'll be there" or "she"s out of my life" during the live since 1992 or something like that.
he might be probably be miserable because of the way he feels about his bad teenage life of not looking the way he looked or about his father.
for example which is true, his father called him" a fat nose" it wasn't nice and it does hurt his feelings and so does"wacko jacko"
but his mother was a religious person and loves his son.
i'm not trying to be too dramatic. i still love his dancing.
R.I.P king of pop.
so, rest in peace Michael Jackson.
i do respect with his generous to his children. i think they'll might miss him when he died at age of 50. and save the donation money to sick children or had cancer.
so, yeah um...i do miss him. but i still love his music.
and i guess no one won"t ever forget the moonwalk.
and of course his chimp named bubbles.
he do sometimes get misunderstood but he was a true humanitarian and a gentlemen.
i don't care because he never did something wrong to children because of the trial but was found not guilty.
the problem is,he wasn't that the most happiest person the world. but that his emotions.
he had sensitivity. it's only because he never had a childhood because of as a kid never gets to play outside with his brothers and sisters because of his strict father who was very tough and mean a lot.
every-time he thinks about his father and his past that was very horrible, he usually get very sensitive and cry a lot.
all of his fans on stage would might be saying ok? why's he crying?
p.s, no really it is true actually. he always does whatever he sang "i'll be there" or "she"s out of my life" during the live since 1992 or something like that.
he might be probably be miserable because of the way he feels about his bad teenage life of not looking the way he looked or about his father.
for example which is true, his father called him" a fat nose" it wasn't nice and it does hurt his feelings and so does"wacko jacko"
but his mother was a religious person and loves his son.
i'm not trying to be too dramatic. i still love his dancing.
R.I.P king of pop.
so, rest in peace Michael Jackson.
September 8, 2021
This book talks about the backstory of Michael Jackson. Not only does it talk about Michael Jackson but it talks about the Jackson 5 and their rise to fame. I recommend people of all ages but mainly children an teens to read this because the level of influence that this man had on the world will inspire them to be the best a i what ever filed they're in and have and have an effect so that people like us can see and want to make a change. I want to have an influence on people in a field that I want t be in on kids teens and adults no matter what field they're in. I'll give this book a 9/10 rating.
April 19, 2021
This is not my favorite book in this series. Michael was not my favorite pop star and this biography highlighted some of my concerns. This is a better book for adults wanting a quick look at this music legend than for young fans hoping to moon walk in his shoes.
January 2, 2017
Detailed Read for Kids. They even wrote about the child molestations charges and his medication use.
January 27, 2021
i love michael jackson
March 29, 2021
Louie's pick for read aloud.
March 29, 2022
This was an interesting book about Michael Jackson.
June 29, 2022
I personally felt like some of the things were untrue. I don't know for sure but I feel like some of the things aren't proven and they state it like a fact. I might be wrong though.
October 5, 2017
Michael Jackson is such a huge name, but my guess is many people don't know anything about his life. I certainly didn't. I had to hurry and read this book so I could help one of my students with their Wax Museum report.
Michael Jackson's life was all about becoming a star.
When he was just a young child, his dad pushed his kids to become the famous "Jackson 5." He worked them and worked them. Luckily, they did have a lot of natural talent. MJ had perfect pitch. His dad was abusive, though, and would often hit the children if they weren't doing what they were supposed to.
They first sang for Motown, but MJ broke away so he could have more control. He wanted to write his own songs and even star in movies. He starred in a movie called The Wiz with Diana Ross.
After the movie, MJ fired his dad as his manager and started working with Paul Quincy more on his own. It was at this time that he performed Thriller and the other songs he's famous for. He one the R&B Grammy award, but it made him mad because he thought of it as the "black" award and he felt he deserved the pop award. He started working harder.
He told MTV that he would only appear on their award shows if they called him "the king of pop." They did and it stuck.
He donated a lot of his money to charities, like a burn unit and helping kids with cancer.
He really loved his children and lived all over the world with them. He overspent and wasn't making any new songs so he got into serious debt. It was when he was trying to make a comeback that he died of an accidental drug overdose.
He also bought the rights to the Beatles songs and was kind of a dick to Paul McCartney and refused to give them more of the profits. Not cool.
It was interesting learning a little about this American legend.
Michael Jackson's life was all about becoming a star.
When he was just a young child, his dad pushed his kids to become the famous "Jackson 5." He worked them and worked them. Luckily, they did have a lot of natural talent. MJ had perfect pitch. His dad was abusive, though, and would often hit the children if they weren't doing what they were supposed to.
They first sang for Motown, but MJ broke away so he could have more control. He wanted to write his own songs and even star in movies. He starred in a movie called The Wiz with Diana Ross.
After the movie, MJ fired his dad as his manager and started working with Paul Quincy more on his own. It was at this time that he performed Thriller and the other songs he's famous for. He one the R&B Grammy award, but it made him mad because he thought of it as the "black" award and he felt he deserved the pop award. He started working harder.
He told MTV that he would only appear on their award shows if they called him "the king of pop." They did and it stuck.
He donated a lot of his money to charities, like a burn unit and helping kids with cancer.
He really loved his children and lived all over the world with them. He overspent and wasn't making any new songs so he got into serious debt. It was when he was trying to make a comeback that he died of an accidental drug overdose.
He also bought the rights to the Beatles songs and was kind of a dick to Paul McCartney and refused to give them more of the profits. Not cool.
It was interesting learning a little about this American legend.
January 28, 2023
was surprised to find this book had good info on michael jackson considering how false many of his unauthorized biographies are, but was once again disappointed that it focused on the unimportant things. while the book does mention that michael gave to charities and assisted many children, it seemed to emphasize his plastic surgery and painkiller reliance more.
“but he had tried to get attention in the wrong way” suggests that michael deserved the inhumane treatment by the media, and the malicious press attacks were of his own doing—no one wants that for themselves and michael never provoked any of it.
i did appreciate the fun quotes like “quincy jones’s recording engineer said michael jackson was one of the few people whose singing never had to be fixed in the studio. it was always perfect, just the way he sang it,” which underscore his insane talent.
the book doesn’t seem to take a stance on michael jackson’s innocence, which is weird because it should be crystal clear after performing enough research to write a book on him. i only wished the author made it more clear that he was a legendary humanitarian. after looking at the bibliography, which is only a mere 4 sources, i realized why this book was still lacking. to delve into one of the most misunderstood yet iconic figures in history but only rely on 4 sources is wild. especially when only 1 of them are from michael jackson himself and the rest are extremely biased and unreliable pieces—no one should read “michael jackson: the magic, the madness, the whole story.”
this was a quick and easy read but not fully accurate. still better than most books i’ve read on MJ
“but he had tried to get attention in the wrong way” suggests that michael deserved the inhumane treatment by the media, and the malicious press attacks were of his own doing—no one wants that for themselves and michael never provoked any of it.
i did appreciate the fun quotes like “quincy jones’s recording engineer said michael jackson was one of the few people whose singing never had to be fixed in the studio. it was always perfect, just the way he sang it,” which underscore his insane talent.
the book doesn’t seem to take a stance on michael jackson’s innocence, which is weird because it should be crystal clear after performing enough research to write a book on him. i only wished the author made it more clear that he was a legendary humanitarian. after looking at the bibliography, which is only a mere 4 sources, i realized why this book was still lacking. to delve into one of the most misunderstood yet iconic figures in history but only rely on 4 sources is wild. especially when only 1 of them are from michael jackson himself and the rest are extremely biased and unreliable pieces—no one should read “michael jackson: the magic, the madness, the whole story.”
this was a quick and easy read but not fully accurate. still better than most books i’ve read on MJ
January 30, 2020
This book really told me the Michael Jackson had a really great but awful life at the same time. His life starts as a little kid in Indiana with 8 other siblings and a mom and dad to live with. And their house was really small. His career started when his brother Tito got caught playing his father's guitar. But instead of getting beat since his father was really strict, his father figured out that his father had talent. So he formed all the brothers into a band all the “Jackson 5”. Which later broke after the father's mental and physical abuse. Turns out, Michael had a great voice by himself. So he became a solo artist and had made lots of money and popularity with his songs Thriller, Billie Jean, Man in the Mirror, and etc. He later started getting a lot of plastic surgery on his nose after his dad made fun of his “Big Fat Nose” all the time. He also said he had a skin disease that turned him white after time. But people think that he bleached his skin all the time. He also later got accused of rape accusations to little kids. To which he ended up winning all the cases. In 2009, he announced his final worldwide tour of all his hit songs fans loved. But the day after practice performing, He was sent to the hospital after having a cardiac arrest. He died when he got to the hospital. One of his assistants was accused of killing him by giving him too many sleeping pills. After reading this, I now know that Michael was one of the most iconic artists in the music industry. I would recommend this to Michael Jackson lovers even though I don't really listen to his music.
January 1, 2026
Who Was Michael Jackson? is an engaging and accessible introduction to one of the most influential entertainers of all time. The book does a great job balancing Michael Jackson’s extraordinary talent and global impact with an honest look at his life story, making it both informative and easy to read.
Even as someone who thought I already knew a lot about Michael Jackson, I was surprised to learn a few new things about his early career, creative process, and the challenges he faced along the way. The timeline is clear, the writing is approachable, and the book provides helpful context that makes his achievements even more impressive.
Overall, this is a thoughtful and well-written biography that deepens appreciation for Michael Jackson’s legacy while remaining appropriate and engaging for a wide range of readers. I would highly recommend it to anyone curious about his life, his music, and the impact he had on pop culture worldwide.
February 20, 2019
Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana. Him and his brothers started music band when Michael was about 9 years. In 1978 he stars in Wizard Of Oz with Diana Ross. In 1984 he wins 8 Grammy’s. And he burned during filming of Pepsi commercial, Buys the Beatles’ song. In 1994, he marries Lisa Marie Presley. In 1996, he divorces Lisa Marie Presley and Marries Debbie Rowe. In 1997 his first son was born Prince Michael Jackson. In 198 his first daughter was born, Paris Katherine Michael Jackson. And in 2002 his second son was born, Prince Michael II. In 2009 he got sick and decided to go to the hospital an the doctor gave him a shot that killed him at the age of 50. And that is the story of Michael Jackson.
November 11, 2025
If someone donated a bunch of ‘who was/is’ or ‘what was/is’ books and Michael Jackson’s was a part of it. I would not throw away that book. That being said, I do not know how much I would condone reading this book.
This book does a really good job of summarizing his life, but more specifically it doesn’t really good job of being unbiased. Which is why I may not condone it.
Doing more research I truly do not know if Michael Jackson is innocent or guilty for the accusations on Neverland. I think I would be a hypocrite if I ruled him out and continued to love Michael Jackson as much as I used to. Fame and fortune are not equivalent to morals and good intention. It honestly makes me sick to my stomach, thinking about it.
This book does a really good job of summarizing his life, but more specifically it doesn’t really good job of being unbiased. Which is why I may not condone it.
Doing more research I truly do not know if Michael Jackson is innocent or guilty for the accusations on Neverland. I think I would be a hypocrite if I ruled him out and continued to love Michael Jackson as much as I used to. Fame and fortune are not equivalent to morals and good intention. It honestly makes me sick to my stomach, thinking about it.
November 8, 2017
This was a great book. I love how the authors in this whole series do a great job explaining the person's life. I learned a ton about Michael Jackson that I had never known before. This is a great educational series, and I have read a lot of them. If you are looking for a quick, easy read, and want to learn more about famous musicians or singers, this is the book for you. If I had to say one thing I didn't like about the book, it would be that I wish that they said more about the songs he made, and how they were made, and what the process was of writing them, because it really only talked about three songs and I wanted to learn more. However, this is a great book and I really learned a lot.
November 6, 2024
I enjoyed this book. There was a lot of good information but the book still managed to keep me engaged. I liked how the book was formatted, it pointed out key locations, people, and events that happened in Michael Jackson's life. Throughout the entire book, we hear about Michael Jackson's life from start to finish. The book ends with a timeline that is super helpful to visualize al the accomplishments Michael Jackson achieved in his life. I would use this book to introduce biographies to my students via a read-aloud. I fell students would like this book because of its content and detailed pictures.
July 28, 2018
The best thing about this book was reading it with my ten-year-old son.
This series does a great job of introducing a variety of different people (both contemporary and those in the past) to children. In addition, they've extended their offerings to include "What Is/Was" books as well as "Where Is/Are" books.
This series does a great job of introducing a variety of different people (both contemporary and those in the past) to children. In addition, they've extended their offerings to include "What Is/Was" books as well as "Where Is/Are" books.
June 2, 2022
I read this to my students when we had extra time at the end of music class - it's an age-appropriate biography of Michael Jackson for older elementary kids. My students really seemed to enjoy it and I learned a bit I didn't know about one of my favorite musicians. Definitely recommend this for kids maybe 8-12 who are interested in Michael Jackson.
January 23, 2026
I have loved Michael Jackson for a long time and the stuff in this book is so accurate and the illastrater did so well on the drawings. It was pretty dull but that's because I already know everything about Michael Jackson other than that amazing and when it talked about the allegations it didn't go to into detail witch is good because some kids hearts would probably be shattered if they were raised on the king of pop. So overall good for kids so if your scared to let your children read cause of the allegations don't worry it dosent go to deep the deepest it goes is "for touching kids how adults are not supposed to touch kids " and really it was talking about court more than the allegations .It only talked about the allegations on like one or two pages. BTW if you already know everything about Michael Jackson it might be dull .P.S it kinda all meged into one another
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews