Micro review: Spirit Sleuths by Gail Jarrow

+ an interview with the author

I first discovered Gail Jarrow in 2023, when someone I know raved about her book, American Murderer: The Parasite That Haunted the South.

Of course I put it on hold, got it from the library, and devoured it like a foul organism traveling through the skin of someone’s foot, then up into their gut, to then suck their blood like a very real vampire until they die! I was hooked. (DID YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE!)

Anyway, this one outstanding Gail Jarrow book led to another outstanding Jarrow book (Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat) until I was literally texting one of my best friends (who puts up with all of my weirdness, especially of the literary variety) in all caps about Jarrow’s genius. I think my exact words were, “No one is writing books like this.”

And it’s true: Jarrow is a genius and no one else is writing books like this. So for the first time, I reached out to a publisher (rather than the other way around) and asked if I might get my hands on a review copy of her most recent title, Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes, which came out yesterday.

Micro review: Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes by Gail Jarrow (2024)

I received a copy of this book from Calkins Creek — opinions are my own

Hands down, my favorite part of Jarrow’s work is her choice of topics — her background in science, coupled with an interest in history and biography, has produced some ideas that, to me, are just wild. (See: an un-put-down-able book about hookworms.) She not only breathes life into fascinating subjects and intriguing people, she writes in a way that is nothing less than gripping — and this is her great gift to children’s nonfiction. (Where were these books in my middle school social studies classes, I would like to know.)

Spirit Slueths is yet another title from Jarrow that animates a topic previously overlooked — the world of ghost hoaxes, where magicians, detectives, and skeptics collaborated to expose fraudulent mediums and spiritualists. You want to know more about the intersection of science, magic, and the supernatural in the 19th and early 20th centuries? This book has it. You want some very cool, mostly unknown information about Harry Houdini and other people who used their skills to debunk paranormal claims? Here you go.

Jarrow’s incredibly well-researched narrative, along with her accessible style and tons of photographs, images, and other primary source material, makes this an excellent read for kiddos ages 10+ (including adults, ahem) into history, or those intrigued by the world of illusions and debunking.

(It’s also the perfect book for heading into spooky season 👻)

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An interview with Jarrow

Gail Jarrow, in a photo from her website

Here’s teeny-tiny bit about Gail, culled from her website:

Gail Jarrow is the author of nonfiction books and novels for ages 8-18. She has won a metric ton of awards, which you can see here. She currently lives in Ithaca, New York.

There are plenty of authors writing nonfiction for ages 8-18, and plenty writing science, history, and biography, but your books are deeply unique. Every time a new one comes out, I think, where on earth did she come up with this topic? How do you decide what to write about? 

My books are always about an aspect of American history. I look for little-known topics that haven’t been explored by other middle-grade and young adult authors. Sometimes I find a subject while doing research for other books. That’s the case with Spirit Sleuths. Or I stumble on an idea in my outside reading or traveling. Because of my science background and curiosity about history, I usually end up combining these areas.

When I consider a book subject, I ask myself several questions. Among them: 

• Did this event/person affect the course of history, making it significant enough to cover? Is it relevant today? 

• Will readers ages 10-17 find the true story interesting? 

• Will the topic keep me involved and excited for more than a year of researching, writing, and editing?  

• Are there enough primary sources to enable deep research?

• Are there available supportive photographs to illustrate the book? I like to use images and captions to enhance the narrative and provide additional content. For some readers, these serve as their entry point to the book.  

Can you tell us a bit about your research process? 

I came to Spirit Sleuths after learning about magic and spiritualism when I wrote The Amazing Harry Kellar, Great American Magician (Calkins Creek, 2012) and about gullibility and deception when I wrote Spooked! How a Radio Broadcast and the War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America (Calkins Creek, 2018). Because of that previous research, I already had leads on resources. But to write this new book, I needed to find out much more. I began with an overview, reading academic books and journal articles. Following bibliographies, I expanded to biographies, historical newspapers and magazines, autobiographies, letters, and diaries. To get a more complete picture, I visited relevant places and interviewed experts. For example, I watched mediums in action at a spiritualist camp, and I talked to magicians about the tricks used by today’s psychics.

How is writing nonfiction for children different from writing nonfiction for adults? 

Adult nonfiction typically relies on the audience’s reading sophistication. The prose might have long, complicated paragraphs of  jargon. It might assume familiarity with the subject and the reader’s patience and desire to learn more. It often has a strong viewpoint and bias that an experienced reader easily recognizes.

I have to be more conscious of the prose so that my audience stays engaged and doesn’t get lost or bored. Keeping in mind the young readers’ knowledge base, I add context and background to fill in what they likely haven’t yet learned or heard about. I carefully define new vocabulary, such as medical or scientific terms, in the narrative and also in the back matter glossary. Yet I strive to do all that in a way that doesn’t slow down or detract from the story at the heart of the book. I avoid the didactic tone. In fact, one of my goals is to encourage readers to question and think critically.

[Ed: she does all of the above so seamlessly and so well, it’s incredible.]

What do you enjoy the most about it?

I enjoy the challenge of digging into a complex subject, researching it thoroughly (kids deserve accuracy), boiling it down for my audience, and presenting it in a fascinating way. 

Why is nonfiction important for middle-grade and young-adult readers? 

I believe in the value of exposing students to ideas and knowledge that will broaden their understanding of the world. That’s why I chose to teach upper elementary and middle school for several years. As an author, I reach many more young people than I ever could as a classroom teacher. Nonfiction books expand horizons far beyond a textbook. 

Besides that, I think the act of reading a nonfiction book improves a person’s ability to absorb and process written information. That’s an essential skill as we advance in school, perform our adult jobs, and conduct our personal business. 

What are a few titles, recent or otherwise, nonfiction or not, that have stood out to you as being so excellent you wish they were on the shelf in every home and classroom? 

Because the importance and quality of a book depends on who is reading it and how it meets that person’s needs and interests, I would be presumptuous to list specific books for others.

But as a writer, I personally found Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style to be a useful basic guide for improving my prose. Online grammar sites aren’t sufficient. 

As a student of American history and a consumer of national current events, I've learned valuable information by reading the U.S. Constitution. In a 2022 survey, fewer than half of U.S. adults could name all three branches of the U.S. government. A quarter failed to name a single one or know any of the First Amendment rights. When civics education is lacking, people become  susceptible to propaganda and disinformation. 

What’s next for you? Are you working on anything new you can tell us about?

My next nonfiction book after Spirit Sleuths will be released in Fall 2025 — called White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups. This book for ages 10-14 will explore serious presidential illnesses that were intentionally hidden from the public. Many of these medical conditions had important negative consequences, yet they remained secret, sometimes for decades. 

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(SEE? Isn’t she amazing?! And sign me right up for White House Secrets!)

Thank you to Jarrow for taking the time to grant me this interview.

For more information about Jarrow’s work, visit her website. And be sure to seek out her books at your local library and bookstore, or order them online. They are truly awesome additions to any library, in homes, classrooms, libraries, and beyond.

Read good books and take good care 😘
Sarah

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