Nonfiction Book Review

Title: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Author: Jim Murphy

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Year: 2003

ISBN: 978-0-439-69389-9

Format: Print; Paperback, 165 pages including all back matter

Summary: Murphy recounts the terrible 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic that ravaged Philadelphia. The story follows several key doctors (Benjamin Rush for example) as they attempt to deal with the outbreak. The book concludes with a brief history of the disease at it struck notable cities, and then speculates what the future may be like if the disease returns.

Audience:  
The intended audience for this book is youths ages 10-12, or grades 5-7.  According to Scholastic, the book's interest range is grades 5-9, with a reading Lexile of 1130L.

Strengths:
An American Plague certainly possesses strengths that directly relate to best practices when it comes to crafting nonfiction.

• The book opens with an attention-grabber: great opening incident to draw in readers and set the state for the drama. This line particularly speaks to Murphy's descriptive detail: "No one knew that a killer was already moving through their streets with them, an invisible stalker that would go house to house until it had touched everyone, rich or poor, in some terrible way" (9). What a cool way to anthropomorphize the plague!
• Chapters are 10 pages or less (not too overwhelming in terms of details).
• Each chapter includes pictures or original news clippings with captions to add visuals for increased comprehension.
• Interesting map in the front of the book to pique curiosity and for a reference point as the story progresses.
• Written almost as a nonfiction novel; great use of narrative to teach.
• Tightly focused narrative that follows a select cast of characters while still teaching about all the key people and incidents involved in the tragedy.
• Helpful back matter: index, source citations, information for further reading, etc.

Weaknesses:
While An American Plague earns its honors through quality scholarship and literary merit, it does posses some weaknesses.

• No glossary, bold terminology, subheadings, or footnotes for unfamiliar vocabulary. This could be an obstacle for struggling readers.
• Small font
• A rather terrifying closing chapter that discusses the potential of the disease to resurface in modern time...while this information is certainly true and worth noting, it could cause young readers much anxiety. I think this is more of a caveat than an actual weakness, though.

Programming Connections:
This book would pair well with Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever 1793. These two titles would work well for teaching students about a topic while using multiple genres (Fever is fiction). This book would also work for studying the development of science, health, and medicine. 
  
Read-alikes:
Some similar titles to An American Plague include the following:

• Black Potatoes
• Blizzard! The Storm that Changed America
• The Great Fire, Truce, and other nonfiction titles by Murphy
• The Children's Blizzard
• Quite a bit of work from Steve Sheinkin such as The Notorious Benedict Arnold or B.O.M.B.

Awards:
An American Plague has received the following honors:

• Newbery Honor
• National Book Award Finalist
• Robert F. Sibert Medal
• Starred reviews by Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal, Horn Book Magazine, Bulletin for Children's Books
• Featured on NPR

Overall Rating:
I thought this book was quite fascinating. I was not aware that the federal government virtually shut down during the epidemic. Overall, Murphy did a wonderful job of creating an interesting, captivating, and informative narrative. I would give the book 4 out of 5 stars for informational text.