Cast of Characters
NARRATOR 1
NARRATOR 2
LIZZIE:
a ten-year-old girl
READER 1:
Mrs. Newton, Lizzie’s mother, and
Grammy, Lizzie’s grandmother
READER 2:
person in street, ambulance driver, and firefighter
MR. NEWTON:
Lizzie’s father
ALL:
everyone except sound
SOUND:
This part has no lines. The person in this role
is in charge of the sound effects.
Find the sound effects for this script
at www.historyspeaksbooks.com.
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
The Script
NARRATOR 1:
Early in the morning of April 18, 1906,
ten-year-old Lizzie Newton was asleep in her grandmother’s
apartment. Her grandmother was sick, and Lizzie had
stayed to keep her company.
NARRATOR 2:
Lizzie was having a bad dream. She was
riding on a train, but it didn’t feel safe. The tracks were
moving up and down in the air. She was being tossed
around from side to side.
SOUND:
LIZZIE:
[rumbling]
[scream]
NARRATOR 1:
Lizzie awoke screaming. She was shaking
from head to toe, but not from the dream. Her whole room
was shaking violently.
NARRATOR 2:
It was just after five o’clock in the morning,
and the sky outside was still dark.
LIZZIE:
Grammy? What is going on?
NARRATOR 1:
The room continued to shake. Pictures fell
from the walls, and furniture tipped over.
NARRATOR 2:
The large mirror fell off the dresser and
landed at the foot of Lizzie’s bed.
SOUND:
LIZZIE:
[Glass breaking]
GRAMMY!
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
NARRATOR 1
The Script · 2
NARRATOR 1:
Lizzie raced to her grandmother’s bedroom.
Grammy was still lying in bed, and a piece of the
ceiling was lying there with her. Grammy’s head was
bleeding badly. Lizzie rushed to her side and pushed the
plaster away.
LIZZIE:
Grammy, are you all right?
READER 1 (AS GRAMMY):
What hit me? Oh my goodness!
It’s an earthquake! We’re not safe in here. You’ll need to
help me, Lizzie. We need to get outside in case the building
collapses.
NARRATOR 2:
As they opened the front door, Lizzie
gasped. She couldn’t believe what had happened to her
grandmother’s street. Some buildings lay crumbled in
heaps, and even as Lizzie watched, chimneys swayed and
fell. Panicked people poured out of doorways and into the
street, yelling and screaming. For a second, Lizzie stood
motionless in shock.
READER 2 (AS PERSON IN STREET):
Look out! Coming
through!
LIZZIE:
SOUND:
What do we do now, Grammy?
[wagon wheels]
NARRATOR 1:
As an ambulance wagon came clattering
down the street, Lizzie shouted and waved her arms. The
driver pulled on the reins to bring the horses to a stop.
READER 2 (AS AMBULANCE DRIVER):
The ambulance is
almost full. I have room for just one more person.
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
READER 1
The Script · 3
READER 1 (AS GRAMMY):
That would be me. You go on
home, Lizzie. I’ll be fine at the hospital. Your parents must
be worried sick. The sooner you find your mother and
father, the better.
NARRATOR 2:
Lizzie shivered. It was strange to feel so
alone with so many people around, but nobody was paying
any attention to her. As she made her way toward home,
the quakes kept coming. These aftershocks were not as
strong as the earthquake itself, but cracks and holes were
still opening near Lizzie’s feet. Bricks and lumber were
falling from the buildings that were still standing.
SOUND:
[bricks falling]
READER 2 (AS FIREFIGHTER):
Get those bricks out of the
way! There are people trapped, and we need to free them
quickly.
NARRATOR 1:
Lizzie heard the shouts of firemen trying to
move a pile of bricks. She could hear faint cries below the
rubble. She walked up to one of the firemen.
READER 2 (AS FIREFIGHTER):
Little girl, what are you doing
out here all by yourself?
LIZZIE:
I am trying to get home. I was with my
grandmother, but she was taken to the hospital.
READER 2 (AS FIREFIGHTER):
She’ll have plenty of
company there. The quaking is bad, but we’re more worried
about the fires. They’ve started to crop up everywhere, but
there’s no water to put them out because the water pipes
are broken.
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
NARRATOR 2
The Script · 4
NARRATOR 2:
Lizzie started helping the firemen move the
pile of bricks. After a few minutes, one of the firemen held
up his hand.
READER 2 (AS FIREFIGHTER):
Listen! Do you hear that? No
one’s calling for help anymore.
NARRATOR 1:
The firemen dropped the bricks they were
holding and started to leave.
LIZZIE:
I don’t understand what is happening. Why are
you leaving?
READER 2 (AS FIREFIGHTER):
If no one’s calling for help,
it’s probably too late for them. We need to move on to help
others. You know where you’re going, right? I hope you find
your parents.
NARRATOR 2:
When Lizzie finally reached home, all she
could do for a moment was stand and stare in amazement.
Her apartment building had partly collapsed, and the front
door was blocked.
LIZZIE:
Mother! Father! Is anyone there?
NARRATOR 1 AND NARRATOR 2:
No one answered.
LIZZIE:
Now what am I going to do? Think, Lizzie! Papa
always says a brain’s only good if you exercise it every once
in a while. Oh, I remember . . . the St. Francis Hotel! Papa
said we should meet at the St. Francis in an emergency, and
emergencies don’t come any bigger than this!
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
NARRATOR 1
The Script · 5
NARRATOR 1:
Lizzie’s father worked at the St. Francis Hotel.
The hotel was blocks away in Union Square. Normally
Lizzie’s father took a cable car to work. But because of the
earthquake, the electrical wires were down and the cable
cars couldn’t run. It would be a long walk for Lizzie.
NARRATOR 2:
As Lizzie hurried on, the smoke began to
gather like fog. She heard bits of conversations from the
people she passed. City hall was burning, along with
everything south of Market Street. Hundreds, possibly
thousands, of people had already died.
NARRATOR 1:
Lizzie sighed with relief when she finally
reached Union Square. Her feet ached, but that didn’t
matter. The St. Francis was standing as it always had,
even if the rest of the square had crumbled in places.
As she approached the hotel’s front door, her parents
rushed out.
READER 1 (AS MRS. NEWTON):
MR. NEWTON:
Lizzie!
You’re all right!
READER 1 (AS MRS. NEWTON):
Thank goodness you’re not
hurt. We’ve been keeping watch. We were afraid we might
miss you in all the confusion.
LIZZIE:
Grammy is in the hospital. Some plaster fell from
the ceiling and hurt her head.
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
MR. NEWTON
The Script · 6
MR. NEWTON:
I’m glad she’s safe. We’ll check on her later.
We went to your grandmother’s apartment right away, but
you were already gone. We hoped you would remember our
plan to meet here in case of trouble. Thank goodness you
did. You’ve been a brave girl.
READER 1 (AS MRS. NEWTON):
A starving brave girl, I’m
sure. Come and have something to eat.
SOUND:
[people murmuring]
NARRATOR 2:
The lobby was quite a sight. People were
dressed in everything from pajamas to fancy gowns. Lizzie
wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. It all looked so
unbelievable. In the dining room, tables were filled with
bread and butter and fruit.
MR. NEWTON:
No charge today. We decided to welcome
everyone while the food lasts.
NARRATOR 1:
As Lizzie ate, she couldn’t help shivering.
Everything had happened so fast. Her grandmother had
been hurt! Her home had been destroyed! She didn’t know
how many of her belongings she would ever get back. She
didn’t know what had happened to her neighbors and
her friends.
LIZZIE:
It isn’t fair, Mama!
READER 1 (AS MRS. NEWTON):
Fair is not the word of the
day, but at least we’re in one piece.
LIZZIE:
What do we do now?
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
MR. NEWTON
The Script · 7
MR. NEWTON:
We could stay here, but it may be safer to
move away from the fires. The head of housekeeping lives
up on Russian Hill. Her house was not damaged, and she’s
offered to take us in.
NARRATOR 2:
After making sure Grammy was safe in
the hospital, the Newtons went to stay with the head of
housekeeping. That night, they looked out from the top of
Russian Hill. A bright moon was shining over the bay, but
down in the city hundreds of fires were burning. The flames
looked almost alive, leaping up from roofs and spires.
LIZZIE:
It’s beautiful in a way.
READER 1 (AS MRS. NEWTON):
Beautiful and terrible at the
same time.
MR. NEWTON:
The worst may not be over, but San Francisco
will rise again.
NARRATOR 1:
More than one hundred years later, the
San Francisco earthquake is still an important event in
California history and U.S. history.
NARRATOR 2:
The 7.9 magnitude earthquake was felt from
northern Oregon, down the length of California, and as far
east as central Nevada.
READER 1:
A lot of the damage was caused by fires that
came after the earthquake. Four and a half square miles of
the city were burned.
MR. NEWTON:
The St. Francis Hotel, which was left
standing after the earthquake, was destroyed by fire.
Next Page —
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau
NARRATOR 1
The Script · 8
NARRATOR 1:
Historians believe close to three thousand
people may have died because of the earthquake and the
fires that followed.
READER 2:
As many as three hundred thousand people
were left homeless.
LIZZIE:
After the fires stopped, the people of San Francisco
did rebuild their city. Earthquakes are part of the city’s
past and its future, but thanks to the lessons learned from
the 1906 quake, people and buildings are better prepared
for them.
ALL:
The end.
™
Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
Lizzie Newton and the San Francisco Earthquake · LB ISBN: 978-0-8225-9031-6
By Stephen Krensky · Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau