The Day It Rained Forever

The Day It Rained Forever: A Story of the Johnstown Flood (Once Upon America)

The Day It Rained Forever by Virginia T. Gross is a children's book describing the Johnstown Flood and it's aftermath.  The book describes the events of the disaster without overwhelming with details and statistics.

The story is from the perspective of a young girl who lives above the dam and watches the flood. The family fear for their mother's life as she is in Johnstown at the time. The miraculous escape of their mother, the rescue of a newborn baby, and the loss of so many others makes it an emotional, yet hopeful book.

The book is a short and simple chapter book but the sad subject matter means I probably wouldn't give the book to my seven year old yet. It contains a small amount of cursing, disapproved by the God fearing father of the main character but probably realistic for the occasion.

I recommend The Day It Rained Forever as an easy introduction to a famous disaster.

1 comment:

  1. Gina, last summer our family visited Johnstown Flood Museum, and really found it very interesting! You might want to check it out, although our children are a bit older than yours are!Barb

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