Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918

By Don Brown

From Sibert Honor-winning author/illustrator Don Brown, the nonfiction graphic novel Fever Year tells the true story of 1918’s Spanish Influenza epidemic.

New Year’s Day, 1918. America has declared war on Germany and is gathering troops to fight. But there’s something coming that is deadlier than any war.



When people begin to fall ill, most Americans don’t suspect influenza. The flu is known to be dangerous to the very old, young, or frail. But the Spanish flu is exceptionally violent. Soon, thousands of people succumb. Then tens of thousands . . . hundreds of thousands and more. Graves can’t be dug quickly enough.



What made the influenza of 1918 so exceptionally deadly—and what can modern science help us understand about this tragic episode in history? With a journalist’s discerning eye for facts and an artist’s instinct for true emotion, Don Brown explores the causes, effects, and lessons learned from this major epidemic in our past, a perfect tool for engaging readers of all ages.

“Brown is comics’ premiere chronicler of historical catastrophes.” —Booklist

“Brown matches his economical text with art that skillfully depicts the steadily growing horror.” —Publishers Weekly

“[R]eads like a horror story. . . . a gripping real-life drama for youngsters who just like a pulse-pounding read as well as those with historical or scientific leanings.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780358168515

Don Brown

Don Brown is the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction and Sibert Honor–winning author and illustrator of many nonfiction graphic novels for teens and picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him “a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies.” He lives in New York with his family. booksbybrown.com Instagram: @donsart

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