Fact Friday: Fever Year: the killer flu of 1918 by Don Brown

Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Fever Year: the killer flu of 1918 by Don Brown. 96 p. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 3, 2019. 9780544837409. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Friday TMS Readers! Just three full weeks left of summer vacay! What are your plans - reading and otherwise? 

Fact Friday features Fever Year: the killer flu of 1918 by Don Brown. Brown is the award winning author illustrator of outstanding non-fiction graphic novels and picture books. His subtle watercolor panels and excellent storytelling affect and inform readers. Last year, he won a Siebert Honor (Informational literature award) for The Unwanted: Stories from Syrian refugees. 

In Fever Year, Brown meticulously recounts how the U.S. simultaneously entered World War I and contended with a national outbreak of what was called "Spanish Flu." The aggressive virus killed an estimated 5% of the world's population between 1918 and 1920. The arc I read did not have final art, but sample pages reveal a muted palette that effectively conveys the horror as the numbers of sick quickly outpaced the numbers to care for them or even to bury them. 

As usual in a Brown offering, back matter is excellent. I can't wait to see this finished volume come September. Another first purchase! If you are a graphic novel fan, you must check out Don Brown's work. If you are a student of the first World War, you should check Fever Year out as well! Happy reading!