Outbreaks, Epidemics, & Pandemics: Including the Worldwide COVID- 19 Pandemic

Outbreaks, Epidemics, & Pandemics: Including the Worldwide COVID- 19 Pandemic will reach ages 9 and older with a survey of germs and diseases that have changed the world. It is particularly recommended reading for its wide-ranging, inclusive approach that middle-schoolers will find absorbing and informational.

Carole Marsh blends science and history in a survey that reviews pandemics of the past, contrasting their environments, progression, and social and medical approaches to tackling their spread. Kids receive definitions of diseases, information about germs and their transmission, and chapters that contrast plagues of the past with Covid-19's recent challenges.

In contrast with other approaches for this age group, Carole Marsh adds observations and notes designed to personalize and bring to life the social issues underlying pandemics and epidemics: "Long ago, people spent a lot of time arguing about what, or who, caused a disease. Blaming others did not help anything. Leaders have been weak and ineffective in past plagues, and today we see politics often seeming to be more important that scientific facts. That does not help either. As I did my research, I was very dismayed to see that some people in the past (even in America during the Spanish Flu epidemic) actually lied about the disease, the facts, the numbers of infected and dead. So, it is sad for me to have to say that adults do not always act very responsibly during a time when speed, smarts, wisdom, good decisions and more are VERY IMPORTANT in any disease outbreak. It is life or death, after all."

Loved it!

A book for tweens and teens about Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics with a special focus on COVID-19.

Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics: Including the Worldwide COVID -19 Pandemic by Carole Marsh is a short book for kids 9 years and older. I’m sure an eager audience of kids awaits it because they are the curious onlookers these days to COVID-19 caused disturbances and disruptions happening worldwide, and they are keen to know more about it. Children know well that COVID-19 means something’s not well with the world, and in fact, it means trouble, restrictions, no work, and tragedy, but not what’s at the center of it all, or who’s responsible, why elders look so grim and preoccupied, why they aren’t allowed to go to school as before, why they can’t freely meet friends and socialize, and so on. This book aims at fulfilling that need. It’s educative and written especially with children (tweens and teens) in mind.

I believe this book has a distinct edge over similar books for children since it’s written by an author who is both a former schoolteacher and an experienced author, so her writing style is well-tuned by experience to communicate with young minds. The generously spaced single-liner paragraphs, large-print characters, cartoons, tables, illustrations, pithy sentences written in simple language, colored, large headings, and several sparsely filled pages, etc. give proof of this. The only worrisome point to me is it doesn’t tell a well-connected story that would readily interest children—it is like a compilation of interesting facts, data, and details about major infectious diseases, but in rather random order. I would prefer a more thoughtful reorganization and re-sequencing of the contents so that an interesting story for children emerges.

This book has extremely valuable content that covers a wide range of topics about major disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. Its relevance to our time is beyond doubt. While I enjoyed reading the whole of the part titled “COVID CALENDAR RECAP” (starting on p.63), I particularly liked the sections titled “Heroes & Helpers,” “How You Can Help!,” and “Pandemics as the Impetus to Invention!” (pp. 67, 68, and 71) in it. I believe these sections have the most power to inspire young minds to (i) engage in useful COVID-19 support activities immediately, and (ii) draw them to pursue relevant careers in medicine/healthcare/research enabling them to tackle major pandemic threats in their times with deep wisdom, maturity, and confidence.

The primary audience for this book is tweens and teens in the USA. However, I believe children all over the world can benefit from reading it, particularly children in native English-speaking countries. Younger children (ages 9-12) may need a parent or adult to read it out to them with suitable introductions for full appreciation and enjoyment.