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Girls Survive
Daisy and the Deadly Flu: A 1918 Influenza Survival Story
In 1918, fourteen-year-old Daisy's family has fallen on hard times. Her sister Elsie's fiance was recently deployed to fight in World War I, and her father's newspaper was forced to shut down for criticizing the U.S. entrance into the war. When the Spanish Flu arrives in her small town in Minnesota, Daisy tries to shield her loved ones from the devastating illness. As the influenza pandemic sweeps through the nation, can Daisy protect those closest to home? Featuring nonfiction support material, a glossary, and reader response questions, this Girls Survive story takes readers to one of history's most important moments.
112 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2020
11 people are currently reading
290 people want to read
About the author
Julie Gilbert
19 books46 followersAlthough Julie Gilbert’s masterpiece, The Adventures of Kitty Bob: Alien Warlord Cat, has sadly been out of print since Julie last stapled it together in the fourth grade, she continues to write.
Julie is the author of Cemetery Songs, a young adult novel about adoption, identity and the ghosts of the past. She has written several books for Capstone/Stone Arch Books, including the Dark Waters series and several titles in the Girls Survive series. Her novels consider themes of identity and belonging, along with a healthy dose of fantasy and magic. Her short fiction, which has appeared in numerous publications, explores topics ranging from airport security lines to adoption to antique wreaths made of hair. She is especially committed to diversity in her writing.
Julie is also a librarian. She loves working in libraries because she learns something new every day. Although she has also published extensively in the field of library science, her scholarship tends to have fewer plot twists and interesting characters than her novels and short stories.
Julie is the author of Cemetery Songs, a young adult novel about adoption, identity and the ghosts of the past. She has written several books for Capstone/Stone Arch Books, including the Dark Waters series and several titles in the Girls Survive series. Her novels consider themes of identity and belonging, along with a healthy dose of fantasy and magic. Her short fiction, which has appeared in numerous publications, explores topics ranging from airport security lines to adoption to antique wreaths made of hair. She is especially committed to diversity in her writing.
Julie is also a librarian. She loves working in libraries because she learns something new every day. Although she has also published extensively in the field of library science, her scholarship tends to have fewer plot twists and interesting characters than her novels and short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
December 28, 2021
This story is grim and deeply sad, and because it is so short, most of the page count goes towards the devastation of the influenza pandemic, without much character development or many lighter moments to help a young reader process the tragedies. Many of the Girls Survive books would be difficult for highly sensitive children to read, but this one is so unremittingly bleak and so relevant to current experiences that parents and educators should be particularly careful when introducing this title.
Some reviewers have critiqued this chapter book for not addressing the current pandemic, but I'm not sure how it was supposed to, when it was published in FEBRUARY of 2020, and written well before that. I found it surreal and intriguing to read this, knowing that all of the parallels to current events and experiences were purely coincidental.
I enjoyed reading the author's note at the end, which provides context for aspects of this story, such as the prejudice against German Americans in the World War One era and the temporary governmental acts that suppressed freedom of speech and the freedom of the press at that time. The author also writes about her research into the influenza pandemic, referencing specific details related to the real town where she set this story. She also writes about how difficult it was for her to try to wrap her mind around the number of people who had died in the influenza pandemic.
This makes me wonder how she has coped with COVID-19, especially on the heels of a project like this. In future editions, it would be beneficial for the publisher to add a note related to the current pandemic, but as it stands, this book is a fascinating glimpse into some of the last pandemic fiction and pandemic research that we will ever have that is uninfluenced by COVID-19.
Some reviewers have critiqued this chapter book for not addressing the current pandemic, but I'm not sure how it was supposed to, when it was published in FEBRUARY of 2020, and written well before that. I found it surreal and intriguing to read this, knowing that all of the parallels to current events and experiences were purely coincidental.
I enjoyed reading the author's note at the end, which provides context for aspects of this story, such as the prejudice against German Americans in the World War One era and the temporary governmental acts that suppressed freedom of speech and the freedom of the press at that time. The author also writes about her research into the influenza pandemic, referencing specific details related to the real town where she set this story. She also writes about how difficult it was for her to try to wrap her mind around the number of people who had died in the influenza pandemic.
This makes me wonder how she has coped with COVID-19, especially on the heels of a project like this. In future editions, it would be beneficial for the publisher to add a note related to the current pandemic, but as it stands, this book is a fascinating glimpse into some of the last pandemic fiction and pandemic research that we will ever have that is uninfluenced by COVID-19.
August 28, 2024
Great historical fiction series for middle-grade readers, guaranteed to spark their interest in history!
I will give a “Trigger Warning” for this one, though. Because the subject is a pandemic, which took the lives of millions of people all over the world…
If this sounds eerily familiar to the reader, they might be thinking of COVID-19, which hit the U.S. just after this books’ publication. The topic, however, is the Spanish Flu Epidemic, which is estimated to have killed over 50 million people worldwide. It occurred at the same time that WW1 was raging; more people died from this flu than in the war.
The author’s notes at the end focused on the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. She comments that news reports of the time frequently compared the two flu epidemics, less than 100 years apart.
Then came January 2020…so this book hit very close to home …
I will give a “Trigger Warning” for this one, though. Because the subject is a pandemic, which took the lives of millions of people all over the world…
If this sounds eerily familiar to the reader, they might be thinking of COVID-19, which hit the U.S. just after this books’ publication. The topic, however, is the Spanish Flu Epidemic, which is estimated to have killed over 50 million people worldwide. It occurred at the same time that WW1 was raging; more people died from this flu than in the war.
The author’s notes at the end focused on the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. She comments that news reports of the time frequently compared the two flu epidemics, less than 100 years apart.
Then came January 2020…so this book hit very close to home …
September 27, 2021
In 1918 fourteen year old Daisy's family has fallen on hard times. Her sister Elise's fiance was recently sent to fight in world war I and her fathers newspapers was forced to shut down. When the Spanish flu arrives in her small town in Minnesota. Daisy tries to shield her family and friends from the devastating illness.
Can Daisy protect her loved ones from the deadly flu pandemic?
Can Daisy protect her loved ones from the deadly flu pandemic?
January 22, 2021
Daisy has thought that her family was relatively safe from the spreading Spanish flu in their small Minnesota town. But the news of her neighbor and best friend's family coming down with the dreaded disease is just the start as the flu rages through their small community. Daisy has felt guilty for years that she was unable to get herself to move and help her Mama when she was dying of a fever a few years ago. Will she freeze up again, or actually do something to help when those she love get sick this time?
I like how this Girls Survive series takes a look at historical events from unconventional perspectives. In this one Daisy's family isn't just facing the flu, they are German immigrants and are facing prejudice and mistrust from neighbors because of Germany being the enemy in WWI as well. Daisy's father's newspaper was shut down under threats of imprisonment because of pacifist and "unpatriotic" sentiments he was sharing. I didn't find Daisy the easiest main character to relate to (she got on my nerves a little) but I do appreciate all the history of the era Julie Gilbert was able to work into the story, and in the end Daisy does get more likable. If you want to feel better about our current pandemic, you just have to read a little about the Flu of 1918-1920 to make you realize it could be so, so much worse, and be very grateful this pandemic isn't anywhere near as bad as that one. Hand this to middle grade readers learning about WWI, challenges immigrants faced, pandemics, or those who enjoy bittersweet stories. (Do not hand this to readers who aren't ready to read about a girl losing close family members to disease.)
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Daisy has already lost her mother to a past illness and loses another family member to the flu plus several neighbors and friends. Anti-German prejudice is faced by the family.
I like how this Girls Survive series takes a look at historical events from unconventional perspectives. In this one Daisy's family isn't just facing the flu, they are German immigrants and are facing prejudice and mistrust from neighbors because of Germany being the enemy in WWI as well. Daisy's father's newspaper was shut down under threats of imprisonment because of pacifist and "unpatriotic" sentiments he was sharing. I didn't find Daisy the easiest main character to relate to (she got on my nerves a little) but I do appreciate all the history of the era Julie Gilbert was able to work into the story, and in the end Daisy does get more likable. If you want to feel better about our current pandemic, you just have to read a little about the Flu of 1918-1920 to make you realize it could be so, so much worse, and be very grateful this pandemic isn't anywhere near as bad as that one. Hand this to middle grade readers learning about WWI, challenges immigrants faced, pandemics, or those who enjoy bittersweet stories. (Do not hand this to readers who aren't ready to read about a girl losing close family members to disease.)
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Daisy has already lost her mother to a past illness and loses another family member to the flu plus several neighbors and friends. Anti-German prejudice is faced by the family.
December 26, 2021
This was 112 pages of anxiety. This FULLY captured a lot of the feelings I’ve had throughout the Covid 19 pandemic but also showed how lucky I’ve been during this. I became quickly emerged in the story and enjoyed it a lot. It also had great information. What was especially stressful was when the main character while acting with the best intentions as a compassionate human being and friend, COMPLETELY goes against pandemic protocol and could have potentially endangered her whole family. Overall, I’m really glad I found this story!
February 12, 2022
This is my first read of the Girls Survive series geared towards middle-grade readers. I would’ve loved this series when I was a preteen! (I’d recommend it for those who grew up loving American Girl and Dear America books.)
Daisy and the Deadly Flu was actually written and published before the COVID-19 pandemic and the author’s note has some parallels between the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the 1918 Flu that feel timely today.
The conclusion felt a little abrupt and the events of the story mostly occur over the course of a few days, but overall it was an interesting story. I liked the added element to Daisy being German-American in a small Minnesota town during WW1.
Daisy and the Deadly Flu was actually written and published before the COVID-19 pandemic and the author’s note has some parallels between the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the 1918 Flu that feel timely today.
The conclusion felt a little abrupt and the events of the story mostly occur over the course of a few days, but overall it was an interesting story. I liked the added element to Daisy being German-American in a small Minnesota town during WW1.
October 28, 2020
En otrolig historisk fiktion berättelse med Sara och hur hennes by drabbas av spanska sjukan, den senaste pandemin. Otroligt relaterande med den nutida pandemin som drabbar oss nu. Men också väldigt lärorik med sina historiska grunder och vinklar.
Älskar slutet när Josef, Saras halvbror, säger att de döda lyfter upp oss. Otroligt fint och vackert tänkt från ett barn. Att döden är otroligt hjärtskärande och hemskt, men de döda lever alltid med oss och håller upp oss.
Älskar slutet när Josef, Saras halvbror, säger att de döda lyfter upp oss. Otroligt fint och vackert tänkt från ett barn. Att döden är otroligt hjärtskärande och hemskt, men de döda lever alltid med oss och håller upp oss.
December 1, 2020
Aktuell.
April 14, 2022
Den va bra. Men de va inte så lyckligt slut?
May 29, 2024
The war is already making their life hard, but now the small town of New Ulm, Minnesota is ridden with the Spanish flu. Daisy a teen has been following the track of the influenza, never thinking it would reach their small town, but it does and rapidly.
Wow this was so hard hitting and scary, this influenza was violently spreading at the end and after the war, so reading about it in such a small town with so many getting so ill so quickly, how it turns from a simple headache to a violent course of coughing, fever and blood is heartbreaking to read.
I really enjoyed reading the story though it’s a very difficult topic, it was also a very important one, it was written really wonderfully, letting us get to know the family we were reading about, seeing the dynamic of them and before the influenza reached them, then to see what their world was like after the many losses they go through.
Pandemics happen when precautions aren’t taken early enough, many people die from it and others suffer from the losses, the lasting effects that last forever, and it’s so heartbreaking. We read about Daisy who was a scared girl after seeing her mom cough until she died years before, to seeing her best friend’s family and then her sister all dying the same way due to the influenza. It’s a perfect highlight to the world at that time, to the pain, the suffering and the struggle to get through these severe illnesses.
This book was filled with so much history, so much to learn about, but it was also just a really great read, a heartbreaking one but a great one. I liked seeing what Daisy’s life was like, what the world around her was like. I also liked all the added historical information at the end, I love books that extend upon what you are reading.
Wow this was so hard hitting and scary, this influenza was violently spreading at the end and after the war, so reading about it in such a small town with so many getting so ill so quickly, how it turns from a simple headache to a violent course of coughing, fever and blood is heartbreaking to read.
I really enjoyed reading the story though it’s a very difficult topic, it was also a very important one, it was written really wonderfully, letting us get to know the family we were reading about, seeing the dynamic of them and before the influenza reached them, then to see what their world was like after the many losses they go through.
Pandemics happen when precautions aren’t taken early enough, many people die from it and others suffer from the losses, the lasting effects that last forever, and it’s so heartbreaking. We read about Daisy who was a scared girl after seeing her mom cough until she died years before, to seeing her best friend’s family and then her sister all dying the same way due to the influenza. It’s a perfect highlight to the world at that time, to the pain, the suffering and the struggle to get through these severe illnesses.
This book was filled with so much history, so much to learn about, but it was also just a really great read, a heartbreaking one but a great one. I liked seeing what Daisy’s life was like, what the world around her was like. I also liked all the added historical information at the end, I love books that extend upon what you are reading.
June 15, 2020
A highly topical book for the Girls' Survive series. It's so topical, in fact, that it's anxiety-producing to read, and it's quite disappointing that the afterword does not reflect the current crisis at all. While the research level in this book is high, the writing lets it down somewhat -- there are so many inexplicable bits and pieces -- why does Daisy feel responsible for her mother's death? Why does Bertha treat her so badly? Why does Daisy ignore all of the advice to isolate in order to avoid infection? Her careless behavior doesn't make a difference one way or the other, anyway, but it enhances the feeling of powerlessness. I think the author has potential, and there's good stuff in here, too, but this particular book is lacking something. Also, I continue to dislike this illustrator. Maybe I'm just having an off day.
May 30, 2021
Daisy is struggling to accept her new stepmother when the flu breaks out in her small Minnesota community. Although Daisy's stepmother is a nurse and initially leaves the home to tend sick people in the community, she returns home when influenza infects her family. The struggle to survive seems even harder in this farming community where people maybe have just enough to get by and medical resources are limited. Many people die and the remaining families often have to split up and leave their farms after they recover to seek work. The ending is hopeful, but the story seemed extra grim in the time of COVID-19.
October 4, 2022
Am I the target audience for the Girls Survive series? No. Am I a sucker for children’s historical fiction, all the same? Yes. Hence, completing my second book from the series in just 40 minutes before getting my kids off to school.
I chose this one to compare to todays pandemic. While this was published and written just months before the beginning of COVID-19, there were many similar sentiments — feelings of isolation, fear, and loneliness. Regardless, I felt the actions of Daisy were particularly careless, even though she is only a teenager.
Since this book is so short, it gets grim and dark (especially for it’s intended audience) very quickly.
I chose this one to compare to todays pandemic. While this was published and written just months before the beginning of COVID-19, there were many similar sentiments — feelings of isolation, fear, and loneliness. Regardless, I felt the actions of Daisy were particularly careless, even though she is only a teenager.
Since this book is so short, it gets grim and dark (especially for it’s intended audience) very quickly.
December 26, 2022
What a great way to help children understand more in depth history of the Spanish Flu. Ties of understanding that epidemics have happened before and the devastation it can cause.
In 1918, fourteen-year-old Daisy's family has fallen on hard times. Her sister Elsie's fiance was recently deployed to fight in World War I, and her father's newspaper was forced to shut down for criticizing the U.S. entrance into the war. When the Spanish Flu arrives in her small town in Minnesota, Daisy tries to shield her loved ones from the devastating illness.
In 1918, fourteen-year-old Daisy's family has fallen on hard times. Her sister Elsie's fiance was recently deployed to fight in World War I, and her father's newspaper was forced to shut down for criticizing the U.S. entrance into the war. When the Spanish Flu arrives in her small town in Minnesota, Daisy tries to shield her loved ones from the devastating illness.
February 13, 2021
Modern readers will appreciate the straightforward and sensitive telling of this story of a young girl whose life is forever changed by the Spanish Flu pandemic. Likewise, young readers will recognize the parallels between the Spanish Flu pandemic and the current COVID 19 Chinese virus pandemic that is currently ravaging countries around the world. In the end, this little middle grade novel reminds readers what is truly important and that nothing lasts forever -- including deadly pandemics.
July 27, 2020
I love the Survived books, good history books for kids. I wanted to read this particular one because we're in the middle of our own pandemic. Good story, but had me crying at the end. Maybe hitting too close to home. Not sure I'd have my kids read it right now, but good story.
December 23, 2021
I really enjoyed this one. I think I connected to it because I learned a bit about this last year and I felt for Daisy because multiple people in my family died this past year (not from COVID) and I will still break down and cry because their loss cripples me.
October 22, 2022
I really enjoyed this story. I wish I had read it BEFORE my 8 year old because, silly me, I thought everyone would survive and she was sobbing after reading it. I’ll make sure to read the other books in the series before letting her read them. But a great way of learning history in a fun way!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2023
This is a really wonderful book that talks about a difficult time in our history. Just coming out of covid and all that that entailed and the fears and The Craze over it I thought that it was interesting to see the similar things that happened during the 1918 influenza.
June 29, 2023
This book is part of a great children’s series Girls Survive. The stories are based on real life events. The endings are not sugar coated. Each book contains a glossary and author’s note encouraging readers to find out more on their own.
August 9, 2020
Reminded me of those Dear America books minus the diary but full of interesting (and scarily relevant in the midst of Covid) facts.
October 2, 2020
Not my favorite in the series.
Adequate, covers the flu, sentiments against Germans, and the Acts of Sedition. Very little character or story development.
Adequate, covers the flu, sentiments against Germans, and the Acts of Sedition. Very little character or story development.
November 5, 2020
Maybe this was just too freaky to read in the middle of 2020 amidst the covid pandemic, but it sure depressed me.
January 9, 2021
not well written
too many holes in storyline
doesn't address current pandemic
too many holes in storyline
doesn't address current pandemic
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2021
My kiddos are going to love this series! I want to read more of them.
August 3, 2021
This is an excellent read for 3rd-4th grade readers. It incorporates real history within an easy to comprehend story. Very timely given our current pandemic as well. Great choice for classrooms!
August 29, 2021
This is a series for younger children entitled Girls Survive.
I found the illustrations a little harsh for children.
3/5
I found the illustrations a little harsh for children.
3/5
March 16, 2022
I like this book.
March 30, 2022
Historical page turner that kept me hooked!
July 26, 2022
3.5 stars. The last two chapters I had tears running down my face.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews