Gross, Virginia T. "The Day It Rained Forever: The Story of the Johnstown Flood." New York: Viking Press, 1991. Print.

Ten-year-old Christina Berwind is already grieving for her little sister, dead a few hours after being born. Although her life is filled with family, farm chores and schooling, in a corner of her heart is the sorrow not only for her baby sister, but also for her parents' loss, especially for her mother. Then comes the Johnstown Flood of 1889, a wall of water 125 feet high rushing through the valley below her house at 50 miles per hour. Christina's mother, in Johnstown downstream, nearly drowns, as did thousands of others. But out of such tragedy and the struggle to rebuild comes joy and a new reason to live.

This hardcover book, 52 pages, is part of the "Once Upon America" series which is intended for readers aged 7-11 years. It attempts to answer the question "Who is affected by the events of history?" by showing ordinary people as an important part of the story, particulary children. Virginia Gross was a Fairfax County Public Schools reading teacher. The drawings, which I believe are charcoal on paper, are by Ronald Himler. At the end, there is a two-page explanation of the events, "About This Book," which puts into historical perspective the events and characters of the story.

I enjoyed the drama of the story and the fact that it is based on true events - my own mother told me about the Johnstown Flood. The story jumps around a bit from place to place and character to character, making it a bit hard to follow. Two characters seem to have similar names: Herbert Berwind, engaged to Leonora Hastings (and Christina's older brother?), and Herbie, her younger brother(?) who remains on the farm during the rains. The former apparently perished in the flood, although none of the family misses him in the aftermath, while the latter remains a pesky sidekick.