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Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award Nominees 2003 |
Connections |
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EPIDEMIC! Philadelphia in 1793 was the booming, thriving, capital city of the young United States of America. The most famous people of the time, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison lived or stayed in Philadelphia and frequented coffeehouses like the one young Maddie Cook's mother and grandfather owned. In August of that year, Maddie, 14, was rising to another hot, steamy day. She was not terribly excited about the tasks ahead of her-- helping her mother and Eliza the freewoman cook in another day's work in the coffeehouse. She could only think about how hot and difficult it was. But times were to become far more difficult in the days and weeks ahead, and Maddie would learn about the important things in life -- and death. More: Laurie Halse Anderson
Try to organize this list of words from the book into three categories. Some words have more than one meaning. Use the text in the story to help you figure out meanings. Keep a dictionary, thesaurus, or computer nearby. Know:: I know what it means Seen: I've seen this word before, but am not sure of its meaning. New:: I've never seen this word before.
Early Medicine Dr. Benjamin Rush was the medical advisor to the Lewis and Clark Expedition as well as a well-known physician during the Yellow Fever outbreak. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
MORE GOOD BOOKS A day in the life of a colonial doctor (The library of living and working in Colonial times) by Laurie Krebs Five smooth stones : Hope's diary / by Kristiana Gregory. In her diary, a young girl writes about her life and the events surrounding the beginning of the American Revolution in Philadelphia in 1776
This fast-paced story reads well. It would make a good read-aloud. It is also easily read by students reading at 4.5 and above. The author did a lot of research to create this story. Students may want to follow in her footsteps. Here are a few suggestions for extension activities. 1. Students keep track of the characters mentioned in the story and research their histories and background if they were living people. Create a character chart of real characters and include facts not mentioned in the story. 2. Research the organizations and places mentioned in the story. Find out more about them. Of special interest is the Philadelphia Free Black organization founded by Absolom Jones. 3. Compare Philadelphia today with Philadelphia of 1793. |
PEOPLE Some of the people mentioned in the story were real people who lived in Philadelphia during the 1790s. The author has research notes at the end of her book that explain a great deal about the historical aspects of the story. After reading
the story, which person do you think is Mr. Peale? Dr. Benjamin Rush George Washington
Painting of Washington by Rembrandt Peale, son of Charles Willson Peale Can you discover other connections that Dr. Rush had to American history? HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA MAP
Above is a map of Philadelphia during the early American period . At the point across the River from from West Jersey is the old center of Philadelphia. This is where the story takes place. Just northeast is Kensington, where Mrs. Cook was taken during her illness.
How Mattie dressed Benjamin Franklin
Where was Benjamin Franklin? Benjamin Franklin was not mentioned in this story because he died in 1790. The picture above was painted by Charles Wilson Peale.
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FOR THE TEACHER
Charles Wilson Peale Family 
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