Who Said That?: Famous Americans Speak

by Robert Burleigh, David Catrow (Illustrator)

Have you ever stumbled upon a famous quote and thought, "Who said that?" Well, now you can find out in this amusing and informative introduction to quotes and quoters.
Here's a little quiz. Who said:
"Ain't I a woman?"
" The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
"I've been on calendars--but I've never been on time."

If you guessed Sojourner Truth, Franklin Delanor Roosevelt, and Marilyn Monroe, you're right. From the serious, to the sublime, to the witty, Robert Burleigh's spirited text gives us the stories behind the words and the people who voiced them, while David Catrow's drawings provide satirical insights into the lives and times of these noted Americans.

So are you ready to start guessing?
"Man, if you have to ask, you'll never know."
If you want to know who said that--read on.

46 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 1997

About the author

Over the past 35 years, I have published poems, reviews, essays, many filmstrips and videos, and more than 40 children's picture books.

Born and raised in Chicago, I graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. I've published books for children since the early 1990s. My books - including numerous unpublished ones! - run a broad gamut, from stories geared for pre-schoolers to survival stories and biographies aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds. My work is wide-ranging because, basically, I'm a generalist by experience - and inclination!

In addition to writing, I paint regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist and have shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.

-from robertburleigh.com

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

I'll give this a 3 for text and 5 for illustrations. David Catrow's caricatures of famous people are a treat. Some of the quotes were ones that everyone has heard of: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and "I have a dream." Others were quotes I doubt any young person has heard; nor do I think they will have heard of the people who said them (example: "I am nature" by Jackson Pollock). I thought it was an odd collection of quotes, and was unsure if the emphasis of the book was supposed to be on the quote or on the famous person who said it. Still, I enjoyed it for the illustrations.

[Ryan]

This is an interesting book and not at all what I thought it would be. It is a book of quotations, but it goes further than that and explains the quotations and where they came from. Some are very famous sayings, and others are just by famous people. You normally expect one thing when you pick up a David Catrow illustrated book, and while the illustrations are great, they are all black and white and do nothing to move the story forward. They just make an interesting book more interesting.