Earthquake at Dawn (Great Episodes) [Paperback]

Kristiana Gregory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Great Episodes

It's April 18, 1906, and a powerful earthquake has just rocked San Francisco. Photographer Edith Irvine and her assistant, Daisy Valentine, survive the tragedy. Armed with Edith's camera, the two women set out to document the devastation--even as buildings crumble around them and soldiers promise to shoot anyone trying to photograph the crippled city.
Based on the real-life experience of photographer Edith Irvine, this harrowing tale of bravery and survival includes many of Irvine's now-famous photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- About to embark on a trip around the world, Edith and her maid are instead swept up in the disorder and turmoil generated by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The two young women find themselves stranded in the city, initially in search of Edith's father but ultimately trying to survive and help other displaced residents. Their harrowing adventures are captured on film by Edith, a character based on the real photographer Edith Irvine. Along the way, the girls connect with a variety of citizens, including (incredibly) Jack London, Enrico Caruso, and a drunken John Barrymore. While the photographic device is interesting, at times it threatens to control the story, and the language of the era sounds stilted. However, Gregory brings the emotions, chaos, and governmental coverups to life, and readers (especially those knowledgeable about the city) will keep reading to see how the girls and San Francisco fare. --Susan Knorr, Milwaukee Public Library, WI
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

En route to a photographic exhibit in Paris and a trip on around the world, Edith and Daisy (the narrator) arrive in San Francisco just before the great earthquake of 1906 and are separated from Edith's father in the ensuing confusion. While they search for him in the crowds and rubble during the next several days, Edith surreptitiously takes 60 photographs (an act forbidden by authorities hoping to conceal the extent of the damage). Unable to reach City Hall, where they had hoped to find him, the girls join others camping in Golden Gate Park, sharing the deprivations and horrors amid aftershocks, explosions, and fires, and eventually return home: their ship has sunk in the harbor. Three photos and a brief note in a 1990 National Geographic sparked the research that led to Gregory's third historical novel. Daisy (15) is fictional, but Edith is based on Edith Irvine, who did record the earthquake's devastation. Touching and exciting, this close-up has immediacy and an authentic voice that bring history vividly to life. A map would have been useful. Preface; afterword; bibliography; b&w photos not seen. (Fiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper; 1 edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015204681X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152046811
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > United States
  • #87 in Books > Children's Books > Biographies > United States

More About the Author

Kristiana Gregory grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, two blocks from the ocean. She's always loved to make up stories [ask her family!], telling her younger siblings whoppers that would leave them wide-eyed and shivering. Her first rejection letter at age ten was for a poem she wrote in class when she was supposed to be doing a math assignment. She's had a myriad of odd jobs: telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer & columnist for the LA Times, and finally author.

"Jenny of the Tetons" [Harcourt] won the Golden Kite Award in 1989 and was the first of two-dozen historical novels for middle grade readers. Several of Kristiana's titles are now available on Kindle including, "Stalked," a YA thriller set in NYC tenements in 1912; and "Curiously Odd Stories: Vol. 1" with the celebrated 'Paper Monument', a futuristic book-banning with horrific consequences.

"My Darlin' Clementine" [Holiday House] takes place in an Idaho mining camp of 1866, based on the song of that name, and was Idaho's top pick for the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. "Bronte's Book Club" [HH] is set in a town by the sea and is inspired by the girls' book club Kristiana led for several years.

Her most recent title with Scholastic's Dear America series is "Cannons At Dawn," a sequel to the best-selling "The Winter of Red Snow," which was made into a movie for the HBO Family Channel.

Kristiana and her husband have two adult sons, and live in Idaho with their two golden retrievers. In her spare time she loves to swim, walk, read, and hang out with friends. She's trying to learn to knit, but isn't yet having much success.

Check out Kristiana's blogs at http://notesfromthesunroom.blogspot.com/ for behind-the-scenes stories about her books, and with photos from her childhood.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Earthquake at Dawn, January 30, 2001

By 

C.F. (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earthquake at Dawn (Great Episodes) (Paperback)

Kristiana Gregory really brings out Edith Irvine as a devoted photographer. Even in the midst of all the turmoil, she snaps 60 photos, possibly more! In this true-to-life novel, the famous San Francisco earthquake takes place, however, the quake is not the worst that happens! The fire that the quake created was. It lasted three days and killed an estimated five to ten thousand people. The mayor exploded dynamite to try to get rid of the fire, but the dynamite only created more. This novel also illustrates the annoying floor length dresses that the ladies of 1906 had to wear and the automobiles of Daisy's time. In some books earthquakes are made up just for entertainment. Not this one! This earthquake was real. The first shock was on April 18, 1906 and was recorded at 5:12:05 a.m. and it lasted for 45 seconds. There were 27 earthquakes that were actually recorded that day. Mary Exa Atkins Campbell told the earthquake's story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great historical fiction novel, October 9, 2005

By 

Emma Pearson (San Mateo, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Earthquake at Dawn (Great Episodes) (Paperback)

Earthquake at Dawn is a great book. It is about Edith Irvine, a dedicated photographer, and her 15-year-old assistant Daisy. On their way to Europe, the earthquake hits and they have to stop in San Francisco, which is mostly destroyed and collapsing. After the quake, a great fire erupts and several of the city's houses and buildings they had not already fallen burn to the ground. The two are separated from Edith's father, who was traveling with them, and they become friends with a few other survivors. Meanwhile, the mayor is creating even more trouble. Men and women are threatened to being shot for using toilets or electricity, and dynamite, in an attempt to stop the fire, is being set off. But, Edith documents the trip with her photographs, even though that could mean death if she was caught by the mayor, who doesn't want the rest of the country to know the real disaster that is happening in San Francisco. In this incredibly realistic novel, Kristiana Gregory tells the exciting story, based on a letter written by survivor Mary Exa Atkin Campbell and the real photographs taken by Edith Irvine. I would highly recommend this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book I couldn't put down, June 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Earthquake at Dawn (Great Episodes) (Paperback)

This was an excellent book. I choose to read it for my summer book reports that I have to do and most of the time I dread reading the books but not this. I also usually have no trouble putting books down but I couldn't put this one down. The book is about Edith and her assisant Daisy who are going to Europe but stop in San Francisco and they get stuck there because of an earthquake. They meet a lot of people and have some adventures while trying to find Edith's father