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American Adventure #7
Smallpox Strikes!
History comes alive for eight-to-twelve year olds in this close-up, fun-to-read, multi-generational story of a fictional family spanning three centuries of actual historical events. God's hand is seen at work in people's lives and in the events that shaped our nation.
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Norma Jean Lutz
120 books22 followersNorma Jean Lutz’s writing career began when she enrolled in a writing correspondence course. Since then, she has had over 250 short stories and articles published in both secular and Christian publications. The full-time writer is also the author of over 50 published books under her own name and many ghostwritten books. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Affair de Coeur, Coffee Time Romance, Romance Reader at Heart, and The Romance Studio magazines, and her short fiction has garnered a number of first prizes in local writing contests.
Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism In Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers' conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.
A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers' seminars around the country. For eight years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.
As co-host for the Tulsa KNYD Road Show, she shared the microphone with Kim Spence to present the Road Show Book Club, a feature presented by the station for more than a year. She has also appeared in numerous interviews on KDOR-TV.
Norma Jean has brought out past out-of-print novels to create a new series. These teen novels (which she likes to call "Clean Teen Reads") were published in the 1980s and 90s, yet the story lines are timeless. Sporting new titles and new book covers, these books will become part of the "Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection" series.
Her newest teen offering is Brought to You By the Color Drab. A story of a young man living in the ghetto who seemingly was born in the wrong place in the wrong time. This is a story of redemption!
Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism In Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers' conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.
A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers' seminars around the country. For eight years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.
As co-host for the Tulsa KNYD Road Show, she shared the microphone with Kim Spence to present the Road Show Book Club, a feature presented by the station for more than a year. She has also appeared in numerous interviews on KDOR-TV.
Norma Jean has brought out past out-of-print novels to create a new series. These teen novels (which she likes to call "Clean Teen Reads") were published in the 1980s and 90s, yet the story lines are timeless. Sporting new titles and new book covers, these books will become part of the "Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection" series.
Her newest teen offering is Brought to You By the Color Drab. A story of a young man living in the ghetto who seemingly was born in the wrong place in the wrong time. This is a story of redemption!
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 3, 2019
Intended as historical Christian children's fiction, it falls way short in literary quality. The characters are inconsistent, the dialog is stilted and liberally sprinkled with scriptural quotations, and the plot is cluttered with unnecessary details and very contrived.
July 28, 2019
A tense situation (smallpox epidemic), told by a young boy (and future doctor) who observes the predecessor of modern immunizations
December 14, 2022
Historical fiction set in Boston amidst the 1721 Smallpox epidemic. A good young reader but good for adults too as it is full of historical that can spark one's curiosity to history.
March 1, 2010
This is the seventh book in The American Adventure series. This series tells about the lives of children from many generations of a fictional family throughout American history, from the settling of Plymouth by the Pilgrims through the end of World War II.
It's the spring of 1721 in Boston, and eleven-year-old Rob Allerton has problems. He would like to study to be an apothecary with his good friend, Dr. Boylston. However, his wealthy stepfather, Josiah Foy, has forced Rob to become an apprentice at his shipping business. In addition, Rob is constantly fighting with his stepbrother, Thomas, who resents Rob and is constantly teasing their little sister, Rachel. But soon these problems begin to seem trivial, when a deadly outbreak of smallpox hits Boston. Dr. Bolyston wants to give people an experimental inoculation he believes protects against the disease, but Rob's stepfather forbids anyone in the family to get one. Can Rob persuade his stepfather to change his mind before it's too late?
This was another good book from the American Adventure series. Rob was a sympathetic character, the story was interesting, and I enjoyed the colonial setting. Readers who enjoyed the other books in the American Adventure series will definitely want to read this one as well. I also recommend it to readers who are new to the series and are interested in this time period in history.
It's the spring of 1721 in Boston, and eleven-year-old Rob Allerton has problems. He would like to study to be an apothecary with his good friend, Dr. Boylston. However, his wealthy stepfather, Josiah Foy, has forced Rob to become an apprentice at his shipping business. In addition, Rob is constantly fighting with his stepbrother, Thomas, who resents Rob and is constantly teasing their little sister, Rachel. But soon these problems begin to seem trivial, when a deadly outbreak of smallpox hits Boston. Dr. Bolyston wants to give people an experimental inoculation he believes protects against the disease, but Rob's stepfather forbids anyone in the family to get one. Can Rob persuade his stepfather to change his mind before it's too late?
This was another good book from the American Adventure series. Rob was a sympathetic character, the story was interesting, and I enjoyed the colonial setting. Readers who enjoyed the other books in the American Adventure series will definitely want to read this one as well. I also recommend it to readers who are new to the series and are interested in this time period in history.
November 25, 2019
Previously in the series: Danger in the Harbor (#6)
Set in 1721, Smallpox Strikes! chronicles the adventures of the Foy family,
-of their fearing the smallpox outbreaks in and near their Boston home
-and of their dealing with the new idea of inoculations (early vaccinations) against disease.
You follow Will and Beth's nephew - Rob (11) - who struggles with having a step-father and step-sibling, and who has no desire to follow the path chosen for him by his step-father.
Historical figures included/mentioned in this were the Reverend Cotton Mather, John Eliot, James Franklin, and Ben Franklin.
Up next in the series: Maggie's Dare: The Great Awakening (The American Adventure #8)
Set in 1721, Smallpox Strikes! chronicles the adventures of the Foy family,
-of their fearing the smallpox outbreaks in and near their Boston home
-and of their dealing with the new idea of inoculations (early vaccinations) against disease.
You follow Will and Beth's nephew - Rob (11) - who struggles with having a step-father and step-sibling, and who has no desire to follow the path chosen for him by his step-father.
Historical figures included/mentioned in this were the Reverend Cotton Mather, John Eliot, James Franklin, and Ben Franklin.
Up next in the series: Maggie's Dare: The Great Awakening (The American Adventure #8)
July 30, 2015
Very good info on how people reacted to "inoculations", very different from today!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews