Kay has been reading with her ten year old granddaughter KC and this book called 'The Great Trouble' piqued my interest and I was able to borrow it from the library. It was an enjoyable, informative children's book, very well written and researched so I thought I would share with you. It is a story based on the 1854 cholera epidemic in London. They discovered the disease was being spread through drinking water and not through the air as was suspected.
The author Deborah Hopkinson attached a very informative reader's guide at the end of the book. She discusses where she gets her writing inspiration (from books she reads). She talks about the characters in her book, both fictional and historical, about the setting of the story and even includes an interesting discussion on cholera in general. It occurred to me that I would be a better writer if I had read more books like these as a child, especially if they included these helpful reader's guides.
