Customer Reviews

The Day It Rained Forever: A Story of the Johnstown Flood (Once Upon America)

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This is a gentle, grade school book, written for young readers...NOT a text research book. As such, it must be viewed in a special light: will it scare the reader, is it clear, is there a moral, is it factual? The answer may be yest to all the above, except, it need not frighten the reader.

The one chapter that describes the floodwaters and the vanishing of a family member is done by following the mother of the clan, and seeing that she survives AND saves another young innocent life along the way.

Yes, facts and figures are put into the mouths of visiting neighbors, who fill in the historical perspective of Why the dam broke and what was or wasn't done to prevent the tragedy, but the reader is not hit over the head with it. These are woven into the story as the rain clouds gather.

Of seven chapters, at least the first four lead up to the break, throwing in pictures of rural life, chores, age or innocence vs. working age, male/female gender roles, and the presence of death and illness in the family before the flood occurs.
The last three deal with the aftermath, the psychological impact of the massive loss, and the hope of a new life joining the family. The book ends on a positive, hopeful note, by having the main character resolve her unhappy feelings and welcome the new family member. A second member is depressed with having to help with the massive cleanup, and he delivers the depressing numbers and tale of the fires and drownings. So, the death is off camera, but it's impact is felt by the brother...NOT the main character, Christina.

As an introductory history book, it is right for begining readers, but if you are familiar with the story or looking for a scholarly documentation, this is not the one for you..instead, try The Johnstown Flood...part of the reforms and improvements series by Gallagher & company.

But, for the price, and what it is, this book services its YOUNG audience well.

Fortunately I knew what I was getting into when I purchased this book, seeing that it IS a childrens copy.
However, in all due fairness there are some childrens books that read just as well, if not better, then some adult books out there, and usually that is what I get when I buy childrens novels, something really good.
This time, UN-fortunately, that was NOT the case.
This book starts out very [and I do mean V-E-R-Y] predictable, to the point that I was even guessing what the characters were going to say, as well as do or respond in the following sentences.
I could even guess[correctly]what the next action or sequence of actions were going to be, which made for a very dull and boring read, but fortunately it was not long and I read it in about 30 minutes.
So if you are buying this for your children, stick with the >8 and under< age group, or you will [and them too] find yourself disappointed.

I picked up this book for my daughter because we are not far from Johnstown and wanted to learn more about this time in history. It was an easy read. It gave insight into family life at that point in time. But what I objected to is the blaming of 'those millionaires from Pittsburgh' for shaving off the top of the damn. There is another reference to "It's all the fault of the greedy rich". What was the point of blaming the rich? If the people at the time saw some objectionable practices, like lowering the height of the damn or the removing of the drainage pipes, why did they not speak up? Nothing like a broad generalization to start the wealth envy in the young. I would not recommend this book.

I think this was the most boring book ever