New York Times Deadly Invaders: Virus Outbreaks Around the World, from Marburn Fever to Avian Flu by Denise Grady

Summary: Grade 7 Up–This readable and riveting text introduces students to the new age of viral epidemics. Grady begins with an account of her trip to Angola in 2005 to cover an outbreak of Marburg fever as a reporter for the New York Times. Her writing is informative and compelling. She persuasively relays the challenges of fighting a viral epidemic in a city that lacks such basic services as running water. The medical professionals also had to cope with language barriers and cultural differences. Grady clearly conveys the difficulties of confining and halting the spread of diseases in an age in which air travel makes it possible for an infected individual to spread a disease worldwide in a matter of hours. A map shows how one person infected with the SARS virus infected 400 individuals from around the globe while staying at a hotel in China. Boxed areas highlight information and individuals. For instance, one profiles Maria Bonino, an Italian pediatrician who died of Marburg during the outbreak. The layout is appealing and includes good-quality, full-color, relevant photographs on almost every spread. After relaying her experiences reporting on the Marburg outbreak, Grady profiles other deadly diseases, including Avian Flu, HIV and AIDS, SARS, and West Nile. A fast-paced, timely, and important book.–Maren Ostergard, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching Points: Determining Importance (Skill)-->Create a T-chart with one side writing the fact and the accompanying side writing how that fact helps them understand the subject better and/or why the fact is important to the whole picture (Strategy).

Classroom Implications: Students could work on the skills: determining importance and predicting while reading and using this text. This text also would match well with Invisible Enemies and Invisible Allies.

Purchase