| Booktalk
#1
In Fever 1793, we are introduced
to young Mattie Cook who along with her mother and grandfather runs the
Cook Coffeehouse, a popular eating house at the corner of 7th and High
Streets through in the new capital of Philadelphia. It is mid August 1793
and the city is sweltering a seemingly endless hear wave when news comes
of a fever taking hold of the city. Fear and panic spread as the death
toll climbs and the cemeteries begin to fill up. "Bring out your dead,
bring out your dead!" Philadelphia almost seems to be a medieval plague
city. Worrying that Mattie will fall ill with the fever, her mother sends
her to the country to wait it out with friends. But Mattie never reaches
her destination in the country. She, too, falls victim to the fever. Is
she strong enough to survive this deadly disease? Take a step back in time
to wander through Philadelphia and the countryside with Mattie Cook during
the great yellow fever epidemic of 1793, a true historical tragedy from
our country's earliest days. (Jeannie Bellavance bellavance@erols.com
for Pennsylvania
Young Reader's Choice Awards)
Booktalk #2
Yellow Fever quickly spreads
through Philadelphia in 1793. Up until that tragic summer, teenager Mattie
Cook lived a comfortable, interesting life with her mother and grandfather,
who together run a profitable coffeehouse. All of this is shattered by
the epidemic and Mattie must fight for her survival while facing hardships,
illness, and death. This well-researched, riveting historical fiction novel,
packed with drama and action, will appeal to a broad range of readers.
(Sunshine State Young
Reader’s Award Program, 2004-2005) |
