Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889 was a lively, working-class factory city. Above the soot-soaked streets, an elite fishing and hunting club, built on a pristine man-made lake, drew America's wealthiest business barons. Though repeatedly urged to fix the deteriorating dam that held the lake, the club members disregarded the warnings. And when heavy rains came, the dam collapsed and plunged the city into chaos.
On that fateful day, six children found themselves caught in the wreckage.
The chorus of their voices--all inspired by real people--create a gripping portrait of loss and healing. Plumbing themes of class, injustice, deprivation, and the environment, Ann E. Burg summons her prodigious heart and virtuosic poetry to turn a little-known tragedy--one of the deadliest in our country's history--into a transcendent and hopeful work of art.
Book Genres Historical Fiction, Novels in Verse, Realistic Fiction
Canadian Rights Yes
Dewey F
Title alpha Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown
Level Realistic Fiction Middle Plus
Pages Count 336
Genre Fiction
Topics Floods. Johnstown, Pennsylvania (Cambria County). Johnstown Flood (1889). Dam failures. Nineteenth-century US history. Survival. Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919). Andrew Mellon (1855–1937). Clara Barton (1821–1912). Novels in verse.
Lexile 900L
Trim Size 8" x 5"
JLG Span Winter
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2020-10-05
JLG Release Date Feb 2021
Minimum grade 5
Maximum grade 8
Reading level Middle
Format Print
Realistic Fiction Middle Plus (Grades 5-8)
Realistic Fiction Middle Plus
Realistic Fiction Middle Plus (Grades 5-8)
For Grades 5-8
This 14-book category features stories with relatable characters that portray believable contemporary or historical real-life experiences.