When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS

Compassionate and arresting, this exploration of three major diseases that have changed the course of history—the bubonic plague, smallpox, and AIDS—chronicles their fearsome death toll, their lasting social, economic, and political implications, and how medical knowledge and treatments have advanced as a result of the crises they have occasioned. "A book that would serve well for reports, but it is also a fascinating read."—SLJ.

Best Books of 1995 (SLJ)
Notable Children's Trade Books in Social Studies 1996 (NCSS/CBC)
1995 Young Adult Editors’ Choices (BL)
1995 Top of the List Non Fiction (BL)
1996 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
Notable Children’s Books of 1996 (ALA)

James Cross Giblin is the author of eighteen books for young readers, many of which have received awards and honors. Twelve of his titles, most recently Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero and When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS have been named Notable Children's Books by the American Library Association. In 1996 he received the Washington Post--Children's Book Guild Award for Nonfiction for his body of work. Mr. Giblin lives in New York City.

The rhymes in this book come from conversations David Frampton has had with children. He crafted each line from the questions and comments they had about animals. It's true! A child asked him if a rhino's went "beep-beep." And so, the "My" in the title does not refer to David himself, but to the individual children who inspired each of the rhymes.

In his own words...

This is me with all the wood that I carved to make the woodcuts for this book. What is a woodcut? It is a picture that is cut into a piece of wood, then covered with paint and squeezed against a piece of paper. Each picture in this book is made from four separate woodcuts, one for each color. Did you ever step in a puddle and then leave footprints as you walked along? Well, making woodcuts is a bit like that and just as much fun.

New Hampshire is where I have been living and working on woodcuts for the past twenty-five years. We (my wife and two children) love our small town with its quiet ways and friendly people, Our house is near the town center, where you will find one store, a firehouse, and the town library that used to be a one-room schoolhouse. To complete the picture, add a moose, a bear, and a million trees. I have been making woodcuts for children's books for many years, but this is the first one that I have written and illustrated. our kids grew up without a television. No TV, but there were so many wonderful books. It was by reading to them night after night that I learned about the words and sounds and rhythms that kids love to hear. These are the sounds in my own stories--The Whole Night Through, as well as several new ones that I am currently working on.