My Story: The Great Plague: A London Girl’s Diary 1665-1666 by Pamela Oldfield

Spread the love

Stars: ****

Scholastic Canada (2001)
Children’s Historical Fiction
156 pages
Ages 9-12

Summary: It’s 1665 and Alice is looking forward to being back in London. But the plague is spreading quickly, and as each day passes more red crosses appear on doors. When her own aunt is struck down with the disease, Alice is forced to make a decision that could change her life forever.

For children interested in history, specifically the time of The Great Plague, this book really shows what it’s like. I’m not a big historical fiction fan but if it’s short and sweet like this children’s book, I like it. A big plus for me is that it’s written like a diary. I love books written like a diary. It covers a span of May – September. Some entries are a page or longer but most are really short. It felt real to me, like it could have passed for a true diary.

My Story is a series of books with vivid imagined accounts of life in the past. We don’t have diaries from the 1600’s (especially since few could read and write) but this is what they would most likely say, based on our knowledge of the past.

Links of Interest: Read an excerpt of The Great Plague, Pamela Oldfield on JacketFlap,

Other Reviews: Today’s Adventure,

Buy My Story: The Great Plague on amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

*Thanks to Scholastic for my review copy. How I acquire books does not have any effect on my review. All reviews are honest.

This post is Copyright 2001-2012 SMS Book Reviews. Do not reproduce anything without permission.
About Kathleen

I've been a nonfiction lover for as long as I can remember. I love children's nonfiction as well and love to share my knowledge and the books I gained them from, with the world. I wish more people would give nonfiction a chance.