The Great Plague

As my husband the history buff will tell you, I tend to start nodding off whenever someone brings up events that happened longer ago than yesterday. But if you’re going to read about history, this book is definitely the way to do it.

I was completely absorbed by the story of the Plague, as seen through Alice’s eyes. Looking at an even t in the first person (even vicariously) is so much more compelling than just reading a paragraph in a history text. The fear and horror come alive as the death toll rises and Alice wonders if the world as she knows it could really be coming to an end.

This is a great book for anyone curious about this historical period who doesn’t have the patience or stomach for something like Ken Follett’s World show more Without End (great story, though not as good as Pillars... and LONG). I’ll be passing this one along to my friend the 8th grade teacher for her classroom library. show less

A fictional diary of thirteen-year-old Alice Paynton who lives in the busy and crowded city of London in 1665. She lives with her father and her Aunt Nell, who has raised Alice since her mother died giving birth to her. Alice begins her diary writing her daily life. It is full of happy events, such as going to the theater. However, terror begins to come through London as the bubonic plague spreads. Alice then writes of her family's desperate struggle to survive as the disease takes hold of the city.
The text makes it very easy to understand what life must have been like in London at those terrifying and desperate times.

This is a great book for kids to learn about what life was like in London during the Great Plague of 1665.
Written in Diary form from the point of view of thirteen year old Alice Paynton, this story gives great descriptions of everyday life for a teenager in this period as well as the fear that gripped the city during those dark days.
At the end of the book, the author provides a chapter giving the facts of life in that era, followed by a timeline as well as copies of historical documents. Worth reading and showing to your kids.

This book is one in the My Story series. The books in this series are fictional diaries of young girls living during different periods of British, Scottish, and Irish history.

Thirteen-year-old Alice Paynton lives in the busy and crowded city of London in 1665. She lives with her father and his sister, her Aunt Nell, who has raised Alice since her mother died giving birth to her. Alice begins her diary writing of happy events, such as seeing plays at the theater. However, a dark shadow begins to fall over London as the bubonic plague spreads. Alice writes of her family's desperate struggle to survive as the disease takes over the city.

This was an excellent book about a young girl's experiences during a horrifying period in history. I show more have not read many novels set during the Great Plague, so I found it very interesting. I recommend it to all readers of the My Story series. show less

This story of a young teenage girl allows you to understand what it was like for girls in the Middle Ages at London during the great Plauge in 1665 as they had to face many difficulties in their lives.This realistic fiction book is all about how the main character-Alice's aunt catches a Plauge and Alice has to look after her.This is very difficult as it is nearly imposible to leave her house.I would definately recommend this book for upper primary kids looking for historical and realistic fiction books.

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

I like this series of books for kids as they make history very real.