Why the Beak?
It looks like something out of a steampunk dystopian nightmare, but it’s real: this is the outfit of a Renaissance plague doctor. It consists of a long coat of waxed linen and a mask with glass eyeholes, all to keep the physician free from contagion.
But why must he look like a hooded bird of prey? Is he trying to frighten his patients to death before the plague can get them? Nope. The beak of the mask is actually stuffed with herbs and spices and, one source says, vinegar. Since bad smells or miasmas were supposed to spread the disease, it was hoped that good smells near your face would ward off illness.
I don’t know what breathing vinegar fumes would do to your lungs, but I suppose the outfit as a whole might actually have provided some protection, at least from the airborne bacteria that spread pneumonic plague. It probably didn’t do much about the fleas that spread bubonic plague, but then I don’t know what would have.
This is the kind of thing you discover when you are researching historical pandemics. I really love writing nonfiction.
Read MoreA Pandemic Is Worldwide
HarperCollins is going to publish my new picture book, A Pandemic Is Worldwide! Pandemics through the ages, up to COVID-19. The research is a little grueling, but it’s quite remarkable to note how behavior patterns stay consistent from age to age. (Anti-masking prejudice, fyi, is not new….nor is anti-vaccine hysteria.)
The Art of a Wombat
A sample of Charles’s warm, sweet, tender, richly colorful art
So excited that Charles Santoso has ageed to illustrate my upcoming picture book, Wombat Underground! I know he’ll give it both warmth and humor and pathos. It’s so great than an Australian artist will illustrate this story of fear and danger and community during the Australian bushfire season of 2019-20.
Read MoreBlast Off!
The Story of Neil Armstrong is now on sale! From building model airplanes to landing on the moon, the life of an iconic American…
…who, as his younger sister once said, “never did anything wrong. He was a Mr. Goody Two-shoes if there ever was one. It was just his nature.”
(Thank you, June Armstrong, for my favorite quote in the whole book.)
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly