My review today is about A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh. And I'll tell you right off that they talk in a weird old-fashioned way, which I love. Here's an example:
"It was not named abroad for many days. Though my father had called it Plague that struck down poor Edward Cooper..."
The story takes place in the real village of Eyam, England, in 1665. And everything that happened in the story is real: like how the Plague came in a package from London, where they also had Plague. And the people at Eyam (which was out in the country) decided to quarantine the whole village in order to protect the villages around them from the sickness. They miss their family and friends, and they set aside their plans, and they argue a lot about what is the right thing to do. And, if you've been listening to the grown-ups this summer, this'll all sound pretty familiar. Which is weird, 'cause in the 1600's they didn't have high tech medicine or the internet. The people of Eyam get their advice from their preachers, and their only medicines are herbs a local woman grows in her garden.
As far as sickness goes, Plague is way gross-er than COVID. People get these giant boils and fevers make them crazy enough to run out in the street naked. Then, when they look like they're getting better, they suddenly die! Yikes.
The Plague nearly wiped out the village, but they sacrificed a lot to keep it from reaching others, so I have to think they were heroes. If you want to learn about it, this is a fast read, despite the fancy language.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
PANDEMIC (obviously), HISTORICAL, BACK IN THE DAY, or TIME MACHINE, or BECAUSE YOU'RE LAZY (because it is short).
Find the bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...