Whatever Happened to the Quiz Kids?

Perils and Profits of Growing Up Gifted

Non-Fiction - Memoir
413 Pages
Reviewed on 05/16/2015
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Roy T. James for Readers' Favorite

Whatever Happened to the Quiz Kids? by Ruth Duskin Feldman traces the path followed by the famous Quiz Kids, the protagonists of the popular radio program of the 1940s, the ones who always answered the impossible. A Quiz Kid herself, this book chronicles how she makes her mark at school and home, and the attempts to bring her to the notice of the quiz management team. How she applies to the Quiz Kids program and becomes an instant hit at seven years of age, writes a book introducing concepts of chemistry to children by the age of twelve, and the controversies always surrounding fame are beautifully presented here. Of course, there are also occasions when she gets caught with her foot in her mouth. Once the hostess catches her staring into space and asks, “A penny for your thoughts?” “Oh,” she replies, “I’m just playing a thinking game that I play when I’m bored.”

The author continues with Gerard Darrow, the youngest of the original Quiz Kids, who had spent a good portion of his final years on welfare; Joan Bishop, “Chicago’s Versatile Child Prodigy”; Claude Brenner who was an intriguingly complex personality; Jack Lucal, who became a Jesuit priest; Margaret Merrick, the kid on crutches; Richard Williams, Joel Kupperman, Lonny Lunde, Patrick Conlon, Naomi Cooks, Harvey Dytch, and many others.

Whatever Happened to the Quiz Kids? by Ruth Feldman is written to show more of the human souls safely hiding behind the intellectual image of the Quiz Kids. This book also paints an honest picture of the trials and tribulations in each one's life. It is written dispassionately, but with sympathy, and reading this book leaves one with a lot to cherish.

Minorkle

The book is written dispassionately but with sympathy. Human souls were safely hiding behind the Quiz Kids intellectuals image.