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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
History | Nonfiction | Religion | Science

Historical Time Period
Colonial America | Early Modern
Date
1700s
Topic
Puritans | Small Pox | Vacines
Geographic Region
Massachusetts | United States - America
Format
Book

Pox and the Covenant, The: Mather, Franklin, and the Epidemic That Changed America’s Destiny

Author: Williams, Tony

For one hundred years, God had held to his promise, and the colonists had as well. When the first Puritans sailed into Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, weak from the ocean journey, they formed a covenant with each other and with God to establish a city on a hill-a commitment to live uncorrupted lives together or all suffer divine wrath for their collective sin. But now, a century later, the arrival of one doomed ship would put this covenant to its greatest test. On April 22, 1721, the HMS Seahorse arrived in Boston from the West Indies, carrying goods, cargo, and, unbeknownst to its crew, a deadly virus. Soon, a smallpox epidemic had broken out in Boston, causing hundreds of deaths and panic across the city. The clergy, including the famed Cotton Mather, turned to their standard form of defense against disease: fasting and prayer. But a new theory was also being offered to the public by the scientific world: inoculation. The fierce debate over the right way to combat the tragedy would become a battle between faith and reason, one that would set the city aflame with rage and riot.

The Pox and the Covenant is a story of well known figures such as Cotton Mather, James Franklin, and a young Benjamin Franklin struggling to fight for their cause among death and debate-although not always for the side one would expect. In the end, the incredible results of the epidemic and battle would reshape the colonists’ view of their destiny, setting for America a new course, a new covenant, and the first drumbeats of revolution.

Praise for Pox and the Covenant:

“A welcome shade of gray into the traditional depiction of Puritans as repressive and closed-minded” – Boston Globe

“A fascinating aside to American medical history.” – Publisher’s Weekly

“With present-day controversy over vaccination, everything old is new again. And Williams’ history is timely as well as engaging.” – Booklist

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Lexile/Reading Level
GN760L

Genre/Category
Biographies | Nonfiction | Science

Historical Time Period
Modern
Date
1950s
Topic
Jonas Salk | Polio | Scientists | Vacines
Geographic Region
United States - America
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Audiobook | Book

Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine (Graphic Library: Inventions and Discovery)

Author: Krohn, Katherine E.Part of a Series: Inventions and Discovery

Tells the story of Jonas Salk’s involvement in the development of a polio vaccine. Written in graphic-novel format.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 5-9 Grade

Genre/Category
History | Nonfiction | Science

Historical Time Period
Early Modern
Date
1700s
Topic
Science | Small Pox | Vacines
Geographic Region
England | Europe
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Book

Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster: The Discovery of the Smallpox Vaccine

Author: Marrin, Albert

In 1796, an unknown country doctor named Edward Jenner developed and administered the world’s first vaccine-turning the tide in humanity’s age-old war against disease.

Award-winning author Albert Marrin explains the significance of “immortal” Jenner’s gift to mankind as he narrates the epic story of smallpox, a disease so contagious and deadly it has dramatically influenced the course of history. From the mummified remains of its first known victim to the sinister threat of the “frozen monster” that lurks in the vials of ultramodern laboratories, readers will be held spellbound by this readable and timely combination of science and history.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.

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What is my Child’s Lexile Measure?

GRADELEXILE
1st0-300L
2nd140-500L
3rd330-700L
4th445-810L
5th565-910L
6th665-1000L
7th735-1065L
8th805-1100L
9th855-1165L
10th905-1195L
11th/12th940-1210L
College+1210+

Find out more about Lexile Measures.

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