Plague!: Epidemics and Scourges Through the Ages

by John Farndon, Venitia Dean (Illustrator)

Overview

Being sick is horrible. But it used to be worse. Inside this book, you'll see evidence of the plagues of the past—rotting skin, dissolving lungs, and sinister swelling all over the body. Diseases like the Black Death wiped out whole towns and villages. Tuberculosis consumed young people like a bloodsucking vampire. And Smallpox left its victims scarred for life—if they survived. At the time, no one knew where these killer diseases came from or how to treat them. But eventually doctors discovered how these diseases and others were spread. Being sick isn't quite as sickening as it was in the past!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781512430752
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Series:	The Sickening History of Medicine
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	1080L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 11 Years

About the Author

John Farndon is a Royal Literary Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, and the author of a huge number of books for adults and children on science, history, technology and nature, including such international best-sellers as Do Not Open and Do You Think You're Clever? 

Venitia Dean is a freelance illustrator who grew up in Brighton, UK. She has always loved drawing, ever since she could hold a pencil! As a teenager, she discovered a passion for figurative illustration, and then when she turned nineteen she was given a digital drawing tablet for her birthday and started transferring her work to the computer. She hasn't looked back since! As well as illustration, Venitia loves reading graphic novels and walking her dog, Peanut.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6

The Oldest Killer 8

Deadly Blisters 10

The Black Death 12

The Great Plague 14

The White Plague 16

The Pox 18

Napoleon's Nightmare 20

Cholera 22

Yellow Fever 24

Spanish Flu 26

Terrible Times 28

Gruesome Symptoms 30

Glossary 31

Index 32

Editorial Reviews

"Reluctant readers, history enthusiasts, and trivia buffs are but a few of the kids who will enjoy the content in these repulsive reads."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2017-02-01
Gory bits of information offered in brief text and amusing cartoon illustrations combine for a quick exploration of various epidemics throughout history.Problems, like diseases, are legion in this entry (and the three others in the Sickening History of Medicine series). Each double-page spread provides ever so superficial coverage of a major epidemic, including the Black Death of 1346-1353, malaria, tuberculosis, smallpox, and the influenza epidemic of 1918. Illustrated panels include some vignettes related to the disease but seemingly chosen for their value to titillate and to amuse more than to inform. One box, "Don't Blame the Rats," reports that Black Death may have first originated in gerbils rather than rats, although on the next spread a "Plague Pathway" shows and describes the usual mode of transmission from rats as well as gerbils to fleas to humans, leaving the rats…blameworthy. There are no source notes to indicate where these "facts" were collected, but many appear dubious: "If someone throws up, their vomit often seems to contain carrots even if they haven't eaten any! These are actually parts of the stomach lining that have come off," is typical. The humorous, neatly rendered illustrations are eye-catchingly bright, by far the best aspect of the series. Other entries suffering from the same issues but to a lesser extent are Quacks & Con Artists, Strange Medicine, and Tiny Killers. Pass this regrettable title and its companions by. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews