An Epic History of Failure

Natalie Younger's An Epic History of Failure takes history's most spectacular blunders — the Titanic, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Columbus's navigational wanderings — and turns them into a 48-page celebration of resilience. Ella Kasperowicz's wacky, colorful illustrations keep the tone light, and the core message is genuinely useful: failure is universal, instructive, and sometimes pretty funny. This is a book that works especially well for reluctant readers because it never takes itself too seriously. The caveat is its brevity — at 48 pages, no single topic gets much depth, and the 5–8 age band is fairly narrow. But within that window, it does exactly what it promises. Completely family-safe. Worth It.