A Day That Changed America: Earthquake! [Hardcover]

Shelley Tanaka (Author), David Craig (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Day That Changed America

On a Peaceful Spring Morning, Disaster Strikes San Francisco. On the early morning of April 19, 1906, the city of San Francisco was struck by a devastating earthquake that crumpled buildings, cracked water mains, broke gas pipes, and sent kerosene lamps flying. Fires quickly engulfed most of the city, leaving exhausted civilians to fight the flames with well water, sewer water, and old rags. Despite valiant rescue efforts, estimates place the death toll at around 3,000.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Using dramatic material culled from the adult recollections of four survivors–Hugh Kwong Liang (15), Doris Bepler (10), Sol Lesser (16), and DeWitt Baldwin (8)–Tanaka re-creates a series of events during and following the great San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906. Liberally laced with contemporary photos and some colorful artwork, the book also contains fact boxes on earthquakes, fire horses, and Chinatown, and includes a city map marked with sites mentioned in the text. Less detailed than Lisa Chippendale's The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 (Chelsea, 2000) and James House's The San Francisco Earthquake (Lucent, 1989; o.p.), this book still deserves consideration because of its youthful views of a national catastrophe. Readable, personal.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Like the other books in the A Day that Changed America series, this one focuses on a landmark historical event. The 47-second earthquake that devastated San Francisco in 1906 is brought vividly to life through the eyewitness accounts of four young survivors. Their personal accounts convey the great losses and suffering wrought by the disaster, as well as the inevitable heroics and the small miracles that arise from such situations. Informative sidebars explain such things as the Richter scale and why great fires broke out in the city following the earthquake. Complementing the text are detailed paintings, historic photographs, artifacts, maps, and diagrams. Appendixes include a glossary and suggestions for further reading. Attractively illustrated and designed, this book offers a good story as well as solid information. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786818824
• ISBN-13: 978-0786818822
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A picturebook coverage of one of the most famous disasters, April 12, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day That Changed America: Earthquake! (Hardcover)

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 usually is written up for older audiences, so it's nice to see a picturebook coverage of one of the most famous disasters in American history, for kids in grades 2-4. In Earthquake! , all of the color drawings and black and white photos provide eye-catching detail of the events.

5.0 out of 5 stars History brought to life, August 27, 2009

By 

J. Grambo "Teacher" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Day That Changed America: Earthquake! (Hardcover)

"Wednesday, April 18, 1906. It was still dark; most of San Francisco was fast asleep. Yet something was wrong. In the stockyards, a pack of longhorn steer bellowed. In a stable south of Market Street, horses stomped and tossed their heads. A flock of starlings burst out of the trees in Golden Gate Park. And then the ground itself began to heave."

With eyewitness stories, photos and color illustrations, Tanaka brings the great San Francisco earthquake to life. A lively and entertaining account for 8-12 year olds.