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This is a great book that I found at the library book sale where I'm sure they were going to get rid of it one way or another to try and forget about the just--starting pandemic. It may have been written for "young readers", but I found it fascinating. The illustrations are wonderful, the kind I remember from old picture books of my childhood, filled with informative text material that is probably unknown, even to medical doctors, unless their specialty is epidemiology. I picked it up because I was curious and didn't have time to leisurely read it on the spot.
I have read Daniel DeFoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year" and have always found it interesting that these sweeping contagious illnesses can change the course of history in many ways outside of the mayhem and death that ensue. For example, Barnard explains how Cholera cleaned up cities and Yellow Fever impacted the slave trade. This book definitely has well-researched material for thought, and I would recommend it to any adult, "young reader", or precocious grade schooler with a love of history and interest in medicine. ( )

This says it's a children's book, but I found it fascinating from an adult viewpoint. It covers many of the plagues that have stricken humanity, giving their history and steps taken to find cures. The author takes a liberal viewpoint that unless all levels of humanity can receive the same medical care when ill, these microbes will go on evolving and eventually kill us all. ( )

One Sentence Theme: Informational young adult text about how the world's worst diseases changed history.

Plot summary: Disease impacts history in powerful ways. This book explores the world's worst diseases including cholera, tuberculosis, yellow fever, Black Death, small pox, and influenza. An interesting combination of science and history for young adult readers with many gross facts to maintain interest.
Personal response: This book both fascinated and grossed me out! What I found most unique is the blend of how religion and racism actually prolonged these diseases.

Curriculum Connections: I could use this book for both history and science or health lessons.

I put this on hold at the library, not realizing this is was a children's non fiction book. Ah, well, my Intro to Library Science professor said "If you want to get basic information on a topic, start with a children's nonfiction book." So I gave this book a shot. The pictures are great in this book, and there is a lot of text covering 6 different plagues occuring in the last thousand years. If is rather informative, but I'm not sure which kid would be interested in this. Despite its short length, I found parts of it rather dense. I had to put it down and come back to it throughout the day. It is very informative, which is a good thing in a non fiction book. So, if you have any interest in the Black Plague, Yellow Fever, and the Spanish Flu, and have little to no prior knowledge on the subject, I would recommend this book. If not, give it a pass. ( )