Story for a Black Night

Rating:
Summary: What smallpox was really like
Review: May we never be tested as is the mother in this story when she realizes that the people she gave overnight shelter have abandoned their smallpox-infected baby in her house. The baby will die if she doesn't take care of it, but that means exposing her own children. The African setting and the terror of smallpox are vivid and memorable and the moral dilemma is wrenching. Even so, the story is readable from junior high to adult. This book needs to be reprinted for today's world.