Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918
The Spanish Flu was the worst epidemic in this country's history, and the search for its cause is still one of science's most urgent quests. In this riveting account, acclaimed nonfiction author David Getz tells young readers the story of the mysterious flu known as the Purple Deaththe virus responsible for the worst epidemic in American history.

It was 1918, the last year of World War 1. Thousands of men lived in the crowded army training camps that were scattered all across the United States. That spring, a strange flu struck the soldiers at a camp in the Midwest. Healthy young men went to the hospital complaining of sore throats and fevers. Within hours they had suffocated, their skin taking on a terrible purplish hue.

The devastating flu spread like wildfire across the country, infecting soldiers and civilians alike. It killed more than half a million people in a matter of months, then disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

To this day, no one knows what caused a common flu to become so deadly, but scientists are still searching for answers. What they discover could save millions of lives if another common flu virus suddenly turns into a killer.

Praise for Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918:

"Combining cogent accounts both of a worldwide tragedy and some classic medical detective work, this is certain to please and to sober a wide audience." —Kirkus Reviews

"Illustrated with riveting black-and-white photographs as well as haunting pencil sketches, this short and easily accessible book traces the desperate search for the cause of and cure for the flu. Especially intriguing are the descriptions of efforts to obtain 'live' samples of the virus." —VOYA

"Soft, charcoal-pencil drawings capture the somber mood. . . . The painstaking and heroic deeds scientists must take on in order to identify a disease and develop a cure will be interesting to budding scientists." —School Library Journal

"With the same mysterious, intriguing style of his previous books about frozen mummies, the author tells a gripping story of the influenza pandemic of 1918 that infected two billion people." —Children's Literature

“[Getz] writes clearly and dramatically, whether he's describing how vaccines work, how pneumonia was treated before the discovery of antibiotics, or what today's researchers are doing to find the flu virus preserved in the lungs of frozen bodies. . . . And always there's the question, What if there's a pandemic today?" —Booklist

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Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918
The Spanish Flu was the worst epidemic in this country's history, and the search for its cause is still one of science's most urgent quests. In this riveting account, acclaimed nonfiction author David Getz tells young readers the story of the mysterious flu known as the Purple Deaththe virus responsible for the worst epidemic in American history.

It was 1918, the last year of World War 1. Thousands of men lived in the crowded army training camps that were scattered all across the United States. That spring, a strange flu struck the soldiers at a camp in the Midwest. Healthy young men went to the hospital complaining of sore throats and fevers. Within hours they had suffocated, their skin taking on a terrible purplish hue.

The devastating flu spread like wildfire across the country, infecting soldiers and civilians alike. It killed more than half a million people in a matter of months, then disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

To this day, no one knows what caused a common flu to become so deadly, but scientists are still searching for answers. What they discover could save millions of lives if another common flu virus suddenly turns into a killer.

Praise for Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918:

"Combining cogent accounts both of a worldwide tragedy and some classic medical detective work, this is certain to please and to sober a wide audience." —Kirkus Reviews

"Illustrated with riveting black-and-white photographs as well as haunting pencil sketches, this short and easily accessible book traces the desperate search for the cause of and cure for the flu. Especially intriguing are the descriptions of efforts to obtain 'live' samples of the virus." —VOYA

"Soft, charcoal-pencil drawings capture the somber mood. . . . The painstaking and heroic deeds scientists must take on in order to identify a disease and develop a cure will be interesting to budding scientists." —School Library Journal

"With the same mysterious, intriguing style of his previous books about frozen mummies, the author tells a gripping story of the influenza pandemic of 1918 that infected two billion people." —Children's Literature

“[Getz] writes clearly and dramatically, whether he's describing how vaccines work, how pneumonia was treated before the discovery of antibiotics, or what today's researchers are doing to find the flu virus preserved in the lungs of frozen bodies. . . . And always there's the question, What if there's a pandemic today?" —Booklist

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Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918

Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918

Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918

Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918

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Overview

The Spanish Flu was the worst epidemic in this country's history, and the search for its cause is still one of science's most urgent quests. In this riveting account, acclaimed nonfiction author David Getz tells young readers the story of the mysterious flu known as the Purple Deaththe virus responsible for the worst epidemic in American history.

It was 1918, the last year of World War 1. Thousands of men lived in the crowded army training camps that were scattered all across the United States. That spring, a strange flu struck the soldiers at a camp in the Midwest. Healthy young men went to the hospital complaining of sore throats and fevers. Within hours they had suffocated, their skin taking on a terrible purplish hue.

The devastating flu spread like wildfire across the country, infecting soldiers and civilians alike. It killed more than half a million people in a matter of months, then disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

To this day, no one knows what caused a common flu to become so deadly, but scientists are still searching for answers. What they discover could save millions of lives if another common flu virus suddenly turns into a killer.

Praise for Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918:

"Combining cogent accounts both of a worldwide tragedy and some classic medical detective work, this is certain to please and to sober a wide audience." —Kirkus Reviews

"Illustrated with riveting black-and-white photographs as well as haunting pencil sketches, this short and easily accessible book traces the desperate search for the cause of and cure for the flu. Especially intriguing are the descriptions of efforts to obtain 'live' samples of the virus." —VOYA

"Soft, charcoal-pencil drawings capture the somber mood. . . . The painstaking and heroic deeds scientists must take on in order to identify a disease and develop a cure will be interesting to budding scientists." —School Library Journal

"With the same mysterious, intriguing style of his previous books about frozen mummies, the author tells a gripping story of the influenza pandemic of 1918 that infected two billion people." —Children's Literature

“[Getz] writes clearly and dramatically, whether he's describing how vaccines work, how pneumonia was treated before the discovery of antibiotics, or what today's researchers are doing to find the flu virus preserved in the lungs of frozen bodies. . . . And always there's the question, What if there's a pandemic today?" —Booklist


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781250139092
Publisher: Square Fish
Publication date: 09/19/2017
Pages: 96
Product dimensions: 7.40(w) x 4.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range: 7 - 10 Years

About the Author

David Getz is the award-winning author of the middle-grade novels Thin Air and Almost Famous, and the nonfiction books Frozen Man and Frozen Girl. When not writing, Mr. Getz works as an elementary-school principal in New York City.

Peter McCarty has been writing and illustrating picture books since graduating from The School of Visual Arts in 1992. Little Bunny on the Move, Hondo and Fabian, Moon Plane, Jeremy Draws a Monster, Henry in Love, Chloe, and Bunny Dreams are among his favorites. His books have won many awards over the years including the Caldecott Honor for Hondo and Fabian. Peter grew up in a big family and has been drawing pictures out of his bedroom since he was four years old, and he has never stopped. He draws with pens, inks, and watercolors. The Five Wolves is his latest book.

Table of Contents

Picnic3
War Fever10
Even the Circus Stopped Touring17
The Hunt Begins27
Stop What You Are Doing! Make More of Me!33
Alaska38
The Death of Private David Lewis49
The Longest Walk of Her Life56
A Note Left Behind65
Epilogue: Waiting for the Flu72
Bibliography77
Index81
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