For the child curious about history's darkest moments, this story offers a gripping, yet accessible, look at survival during the Black Death, fostering resilience.
A parent might reach for this book when their historically curious child is ready to grapple with a serious, real-world event. This is for the child asking big questions about disasters, pandemics, or what life was like long ago. This installment in the popular 'I Survived' series follows a young boy named Thomas as he navigates the terrifying landscape of 14th-century England during the Black Death. The story expertly balances historical facts with a high-stakes survival adventure. It thoughtfully explores themes of fear, profound loss, and resilience, emphasizing the power of empathy in the darkest of times. While the topic is heavy, it is handled in a way that is accessible and appropriate for its target age, making it an excellent tool for introducing complex history and opening conversations about perseverance through tragedy.
Depictions of illness, abandoned villages, and the constant threat of infection create a tense mood.
Sad ThemesModerate
Pervasive themes of grief, orphanhood, and the loss of one's entire community are central to the plot.
Sensitive Topics
The book deals directly with mass death, plague, and the loss of family. The approach is historical and secular, focusing on the raw human experience of the disaster. Descriptions of symptoms and death are present but not overly graphic, staying within the bounds of middle-grade fiction. The resolution is realistic yet hopeful. Thomas survives and finds a new family, but the immense loss and trauma of the event are not magically erased; he carries his grief with him.
Ideal Reader
This book is for an 8-to-11-year-old who thrives on action, adventure, and historical settings. It is particularly well-suited for a child who is beginning to ask questions about mortality, pandemics (perhaps prompted by recent events), or how people survived through history's darkest moments. They are ready for a story with significant emotional stakes.
Parent Prep
Parents should be prepared for conversations about death, grief, and fear. The author's note at the back is excellent for providing historical context and should be read, perhaps even together. The story makes it clear that the main character's entire family dies. This is a core plot point and the primary source of the book's emotional weight. It does not require pre-reading of specific pages, but rather a readiness to discuss the central theme of loss. A parent has noticed their child choosing survival-themed books or TV shows, or the child has asked a direct question like, "What was the worst disaster ever?" or "Could a plague like that happen again?"
Age Experience
A younger reader, around 7 or 8, will primarily connect with the adventure plot: Thomas's escape, his journey, and the challenges he overcomes. An older reader, 10 or 11, will be better equipped to understand the historical context, the societal collapse, and the deeper themes of grief, community, and the different ways people behave under extreme pressure.
What Makes It Special
Compared to other historical fiction on the topic which may be for older audiences or more academic, Lauren Tarshis's strength is making an overwhelming historical catastrophe feel personal and immediate through the eyes of one child. It masterfully distills a massive, complex event into a focused, character-driven survival story that is both educational and deeply engaging for a younger middle-grade audience.
Read plot summary
The story follows Thomas, a boy in a small English village in 1348. When a mysterious and deadly illness arrives, his world is shattered. He is forced to flee his home, becoming an orphan in a land ravaged by fear and death. His journey is one of pure survival, as he seeks food, shelter, and safety from the plague and from desperate people. Along the way, he encounters both cruelty and unexpected kindness, eventually finding a new community and a reason to hope for the future.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
During the plague, some people became selfish while others, like the traveling players, were kind. Why do you think a crisis brings out such different reactions in people?
2
Thomas loses his entire family and village, but he finds the strength to keep going. What do you think were his biggest sources of hope during his journey?
3
The villagers initially blamed outsiders or bad air for the sickness. How does fear of the unknown affect how people treat each other and solve problems?
4
At the end of the story, Thomas finds a new community. What does this story teach us about the meaning of family and belonging?
5
How did reading a story set during the Black Death make you think about health crises or major events that have happened in our own time?
