Epidemics and Pandemics: Real Tales of Deadly Diseases (Mystery & Mayhem) - Hardcover

School Library Connection: The Underground Railroad The third title in Cumming's Build It Yourself series leads students in an exploration of the tens of thousands of African-American men, women, and children who escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad with the help of those who risked their lives in the years before the Civil War. The book is filled with maps, timelines, graphs, charts, and primary sources of information. QR codes in each chapter lead students to further information sources. Each of the eight chapters is organized around an essential question, and thought-provoking sidebars are imbedded throughout. Twenty-five activity projects, easily identified by their colorful borders, allow students to explore even further and get real hands-on experience. In addition to the glossary, vocabulary is defined on each double-page spread. This book is an excellent resource for helping students understand the troubling times prior to the Civil War and could serve as a resource for an entire unit of study. Highly Recommended. Booklist Survival Warning: these feats aren't for the faint of heart. From icy depths and scorching valleys to the rumored consumption of human flesh, this entry in the Mystery & Mayhem series examines notorious survival stories. In five succinct chapters, each bookended by annotated expedition maps and a brief bill of historical context, McCarthy covers Ernest Shackleton's voyage from Plymouth, England, to Antarctica; William Bligh's trek to Timor; William Lewis Manly's slog through Death Valley; Charlotte Picard's course to Senegal; and the Donner Party's infamous tussle with an early winter. Although speculative musings ("Imagine how the remaining crew . . . felt") at times offset hard facts and direct quotations, the conversational tone, hair-raising anecdotes, and fairly comprehensive glossary make this a handy primer for any budding thrill seeker. Kirkus Reviews: Pirates and Shipwrecks Five true tales of pirates and shipwrecks spare none of the intriguing and grisly details. Employing a casual, conversational tone that reads easily, McCarthy spins five yarns of bloodthirsty pirates and harrowing shipwrecks. The first offering portrays the terrifying experience of sailors who survive a shipwreck only to land on a beach of decapitated, sun-bleached skeletons. The next, another account of nautical distress, tells of a lost ship, reports of possible cannibalism, and the expedition that set out to learn the truth. The third recounts the tales of two fierce female pirates who were just as ruthless and bloodthirsty as their male counterparts. The fourth and fifth deliver more tales of maritime mayhem and cutthroat (quite literally) pirates, keeping up the lively pace already established. McCarthy shows a good sense for the interesting and gory detail, offering up plenty of blood-soaked action while keeping it appropriate for a young readership. Included after each vignette are other notable facts of the time period, and at the end of the offering is a glossary and resources. Releasing simultaneously is Survival, a volume that follows the same format and offers accounts of events such as the Donner Party disaster. Recommend this to fans of the I Survived... series who might be seeking a bit more fact and a little less fiction. A breezy offering just right for fans of survival tales. (Nonfiction. 7-12)

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 Hern n Cort s arrived in Mexico in 1518, he carried a secret weapon--the smallpox virus helped Cort s 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.