Cover of An American Plague

An American Plague

by Jim Murphy

An American Plague by Jim Murphy is assigned in US schools at grades 6–10. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where An American Plague is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 6–10
Pages
201
Reading time
about 3h 40m (est.)
First published
2014
ISBN-13
9780547532851
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About this book

National Book Award Finalist: An account of the disease that ravaged eighteenth-century Philadelphia, written and illustrated for young readers. 1793, Philadelphia: The nation's capital and the largest city in North America is devastated by an apparently incurable disease, cause unknown... This dramatic narrative describes the illness known as yellow fever and the toll it took on the city's residents, relating the epidemic to the social and political events of the day and eighteenth-century medical beliefs and practices. Drawing on first-hand accounts, Jim Murphy spotlights the heroic role of Philadelphia's free blacks in combating the disease, and the Constitutional crisis President Washington faced when he was forced to leave the city—and all his papers—to escape the deadly contagion. Th

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is An American Plague?
An American Plague is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–10. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read An American Plague?
It takes about 3h 40m to read An American Plague (201 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 220 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign An American Plague?
An American Plague appears on reading lists for Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is An American Plague banned in schools?
An American Plague does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.

Why this book is on this list

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 6–10 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner.