Epidemics and Pandemics: Real Tales of Deadly Diseases - Hardcover

Dodge Cummings, Judy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1619306239 ISBN 13: 9781619306233

Publisher: Nomad Press, 2018

Synopsis

Feel a tickle in your throat? Do you still have that headache? Could you be falling victim to a deadly virus?

From history’s earliest days, bacteria and viruses have stalked humans. Stowing on wagons, ships, and airplanes, these diseases traversed the globe, infecting people in city streets and isolated hamlets. Epidemics and Pandemics: Real Tales of Deadly Diseases tells the tale of five of history’s most critical contagions.

In 1347, infected fleas hitched a ride from the steppes of Mongolia to the streets of Medieval Europe, bringing with them the Black Death. Five years later, one-third of Europe’s population was dead. When Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico in 1518, he carried a secret weapon―the smallpox virus helped Cortés defeat the mighty Aztec Empire and paved the way for European conquest of the New World as the disease destroyed the Native American population. A few years after the United States won independence from Great Britain, the capital city of Philadelphia faced an ordeal that threatened the nation’s survival―an epidemic of Yellow Fever. After the First World War, the Spanish Flu of 1918 killed 50 million people around the world in just months. Later in that century, in the 1980s, a mysterious virus struck down gay men in the United States. AIDS quickly became a pandemic, infecting people from all walks of life.

These five tales reveal the revolutionary power of disease to change history. In each story, readers learn about tragedy caused by ignorance and missed opportunity, but they will also discover heroic caregivers, civic leaders, and scientists determined to save their world. This is the eighth book in a series called Mystery & Mayhem, which features true tales that whet kids’ appetites for history by engaging them in genres with proven track records―mystery and adventure. History is made of near misses, unexplained disappearances, unsolved mysteries, and bizarre events that are almost too weird to be true―almost! The Mystery and Mayhem series delves into these tidbits of history to provide kids with a jumping-off point into a lifelong habit of appreciating history.

The five true tales told within Epidemics and Pandemics are paired with maps, photographs, and timelines that lend authenticity and narrative texture to the stories. A glossary and resources page provide the opportunity to practice using essential academic tools. These nonfiction narratives use clear, concise language with compelling plots that both avid and reluctant readers will be drawn to.

Nomad Press books in the Mystery & Mayhem series introduce readers to historical concepts and events by engaging them in an extremely popular genre―real-life adventure and mystery. Readers ages 9 to 12 are fascinated with the strange-but-true tales that populate history, and books in this series offer compelling narrative nonfiction paired with concise language that appeals to both voracious and reluctant readers. Nomad’s unique approach to the study of history uses tantalizing tales based in factual knowledge that encourage a lifelong curiosity in the historical events that shape our world.

Titles in the series include: Pirates and Shipwrecks; Survival; Weird Disappearances; Daring Heists; Rebels & Revolutions; Great Escapes; Tomb Raiders; Eruptions and Explosions; Epidemics and Pandemics; and Earth, Wind, Fire, and Rain.

About this title

Book Description:

• $40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series)
• Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including:
  American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members)
  National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members)
  American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members)
  Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members)
  Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members)
  National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members)
  International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members)
  Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members)
• Advertising in the following publications:
  SLJ display ads (3–4 times for series)
  Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3–4 times)
  Booklist/Booklinks online ads
  Follett Library
  Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times)
  Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds)
• Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences
• Extensive social media outreach via Facebook (www.facebook.com/JDodgecummings), Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, LinkedIn, and the author's blog (judydodgecummings.com)

From the Back Cover:

Feel a tickle in your throat? Do you still have that headache? Could you be falling victim to a deadly virus?

From history’s earliest days, bacteria and viruses have stalked humans. Stowing on wagons, ships, and airplanes, these diseases traversed the globe, infecting people in city streets and isolated hamlets. Epidemics and Pandemics: Real Tales of Deadly Diseases tells the tale of five of history’s most critical contagions and the havoc these diseases wreaked across the globe, including the bubonic plague, yellow fever, smallpox, Spanish influenza, and AIDS. This nonfiction book for early middle schoolers whets their appetites for history by combining real-life horror stories with primary sources and rich language.

• The setting, dialogue, plot, and character in these narrative nonfiction tales are drawn from historical documents and presented in a compelling way to appeal to both avid and reluctant readers.
• This topic helps readers understand the clash between Europeans and native people during colonial expansion and explore the themes of discrimination based on race and sexual orientation.
• Readers will learn of key turning points in world history and be exposed to some basic elements of epidemiology.

About this edition

• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1619306239
• ISBN 13: 9781619306233
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128