If you would prefer a nonfiction book on this topic, I would recommend An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy. Murphy's nonfiction is as engrossing as fiction. He is one of my favorite authors of both historical fiction and nonfiction.
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson is the story of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, has to learn about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died and bodies were left piled on the street until someone could dispose of them.
If you would prefer a nonfiction book on this topic, I would recommend An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy. Murphy's nonfiction is as engrossing as fiction. He is one of my favorite authors of both historical fiction and nonfiction. Having grown up in the South, I have always been fascinated by the Civil War and particularly by Stonewall Jackson, for whom the little town of Stonewall, N.C. was named. That is the community where I grew up from age 2 through age 13.
The book Stonewall's Gold by Robert J. Mirazek added a new dimension to my knowledge of Jackson and of the place that has been my home since I was 15. This book is actually based on documents found in the basement of the Rockingham County Court House. The narrator Jamie Lockhart lives in Port Republic. Jamie learns a secret concerning a Union gold shipment that many people on both sides of the conflict would kill to keep hidden. Awards and Honors:
If you enjoy reading about the Civil War and places you know, you might also like With Every Drop of Blood by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. The narrator of this book lives on the mountain just east of Elkton, Virginia. You might also like Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells which takes place near Clarke County, Virginia. The lives of coal miners and their families have always been difficult, but during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries things were especially hard. Boys had to go to work as soon as they were able, in order for the families to survive. My own grandfather went to work in the mines when he was thirteen and a great uncle started when he was eight. The rule of thumb in many families was that, if the boy could carry his lunch bucket at his side without it dragging on the ground, he was big enough and old enough to go to work in the mines. The mining companies controlled everything. The owned the housing around the mines. They paid the miners with company script (not money) that could only be spent in the company owned stores. (Think of the old song "Sixteen Tons." The miner says, " Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go. I own my soul to the company store.") The work was difficult and dangerous.
In The Breaker Boys by Pat Hughes, Nate Tanner is a rich boy whose family owns coal mines near Hazleton, PA. He has everything a kid could want or need - except a friend. Then he meets Johnny an easygoing Polish American boy who works sorting coal in a filthy, dark building called a breaker. Unaware that Nate is the boss's son, Johnny invites him to play baseball with the breaker boys. As the summer of 1897 progresses, Nate finds himself piling lie on top of lie to keep his identity a secret from Johnny, and the friendship a secret from his family. It also becomes harder and harder for Nate to accept the treatment of the miners and their families. You might also like the following books from the TA library: Fiction
Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743 (Royal Diaries series) by Kristiana Gregory is a fictional diary of Sophie Augusta Fredericka, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst. Sophie's mother Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp was a cold, abusive, ambitious woman who loved gossip and court intrigues. Johanna's hunger for fame centered on her daughter's prospects of becoming empress of Russia, but she was cruel to the child calling her names like “duck-face.”
Luckily for Princess Sophie, later named Catherine, Empress Elizabeth of Russia detested Johanna and had her thrown out of the country as a spy. Catherine endeared herself to the Empress and the Russian people by determining to embrace the language and culture of her new country. At age fifteen she married to her second cousin Peter, Grand Duke of Russia, who would one day be Emperor. The book includes historical notes on her later life. If you enjoy reading about Russian royalty, you might enjoy these books from the TA library: Fiction
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AuthorI am a former high school English teacher and now a high school librarian. Archives
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