The Great Trouble

Name: The Great Trouble
Author: Deborah Hopkinson
ISBN: 9780375848186

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel

by Deborah Hopkinson

Reading Level 3-4 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Matched

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

What if the air you breathe was blamed for a deadly sickness, but one brave scientist believed something else? In the busy streets of London, a boy named Eel and his friend Florrie race against time to uncover the truth about a mysterious illness. Can they stop the 'blue death' before it takes over their neighborhood?

Themes

EpidemicsHistoryFriendship Adventure Science & NatureOrphans

Quick Assessment

Eel, an orphan who searches the River Thames for items to sell, teams up with his friend Florrie and the scientist Dr. John Snow to track down the source of a cholera epidemic in 1854 London. The story includes peril from a menacing pursuer, child hardship and poverty, and sobering depictions of illness and death during the outbreak, handled with suspense rather than graphic detail. It suits readers who enjoy historical mysteries and adventure, and parents may want to discuss the historical realities of disease and poor living conditions.

Why we rated The Great Trouble LE (Mild)

The Great Trouble is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 249 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 5 and up can manage The Great Trouble on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The Great Trouble as LE (Mild, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.

Thematically, The Great Trouble explores epidemics, history, friendship, adventure, and science & nature — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about epidemics, history, friendship.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Mild

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Mild

Reading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?