23. An American Plague by Jim Murphy

AN AMERICAN PLAGUE: THE TRUE AND TERRIFYING STORY OF THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793 by Jim Murphy (Clarion Books, 2003)

GENRE: Nonfiction

HONORS: Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, James Madison Book Award, John Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award Finalist, Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

REVIEW:

It is the summer of 1793 and a fever has gripped the people of Philadelphia, America’s largest city and home to the government.  An American Plague is the true story of how the yellow fever epidemic slowly ravages the city, forcing the rich to flee to the country and the government to completely shut down.  Left with few doctors and no idea of the fever’s cause, Philadelphia becomes a city full of fear, distrustful of its own citizens and ostracized by its neighbors.

OPINION:

This nonfiction book about the plague that hit Philadelphia in 1793—and subsequently more times in the next decade—is a definite page-turner.  Filled with quotes from the doctors and citizens of Philadelphia at the time, as well as newspaper clippings detailing the city’s state, An American Plague gives young readers an up close look at a terrifying time in American history that is not much written about in school history books.  Murphy also brings the danger up to the present in the last chapter, discussing other mosquito and animal-related disease outbreaks, as well as the possibility of another yellow fever outbreak in the near future.  His final words are a bit ominous, but it shows that he is not dumbing anything down for his young audience, instead informing them about the real threats that exist.

IDEAS:

This book would be great for library displays featuring nonfiction books and books about American history.  It would also be helpful to include it on a list of historical topics for students to conduct school research.