Terrible But True

November 1, 2016

Gr 5 Up-Williams introduces readers to a variety of tragic events in chronological order. Famous and lesser-known topics are represented, including Revolutionary War prison ships, Philadelphia's Yellow Fever epidemic, the San Francisco earthquake, the Boston Molasses Flood, and 56 other occurrences. While many incidents are indeed tragic, others seem out of place. For instance, there is a chapter dedicated to the mercury-laden pills provided to the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition, but no injury or fatality came about from them. In relating the plight of Chinese railroad workers, Williams discusses their strike demands, but no mention is made of any resulting deaths until an inset at the end of the chapter. Likewise, scale is also an issue (the failed assassination attempt on Andrew Jackson in relation to other events that involved the deaths of many people). The chapters are extremely brief, and the narrative is overall uninspiring except for the quotations by witnesses. Readers should instead check out Jim Murphy's The Great Fire and An America Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 and Steven Otfinoski's The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Core Events of an Industrial Disaster. VERDICT Despite the promising premise and the introduction of many little-known tragic events, the flat narrative and the brevity in detail make this a secondary purchase.-Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2016
Grades 5-9 What's more alluring than a catastrophe? This compilation makes history a little more intriguing for young readers by bringing together more than 60 truly dreadful episodes from our nation's past. While some events are fairly well known (the Donner Party's descent into cannibalism, the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918), others, perhaps, not so much: Lewis and Clark's poison pills, safety coffins, and late nineteenth-century baby farms among others. An assortment of battlefield massacres, medical missteps, riots, fires, assassinations, natural disasters, and horrific working conditions are exposed, arranged in chronological order (1775 to 1936). Each individual entry provides sufficient background information and context so that audiences understand how and why the event happened and what lasting impact (if any) it had. Served up in accessible entries, with paragraphs set off by gruesome fonts, most episodes come in under four pages, bearing sensational chapter headings worthy of yellow journalism. Period photos, illustrations, charts, and sidebars complete each presentation. This easy-reading collection of calamities should attract both browsers and researchers like a magnet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)