An American Plague Wins Sibert Informational Book Medal

The 2004 ALSC Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal winner is An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, by Jim Murphy. The publisher is Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Company. According to the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), "Information books are defined as those written and illustrated to present, organize and interpret documentable factual material for children." I was interested to note that An American Plague was also recognized as a 2004 Newbery Honor Book. The Newbery description states, "Integrating newspapers, diaries, personal testimonies and period illustrations, the narrative delivers a social and medical history of the times and raises chilling questions about the disease today."

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