I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 (I Survived, #11) by Lauren Tarshis

I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 (I Survived, #11) Reviews

• 
  Mariah Roze

  My student loved this book. This series is great because kids learn about different times in history while enjoying a quick, easy read. I highly suggest this series!
• 
  Darla

  Nonstop action plus historical info on the Great Chicago Fire? Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner! Oscar finds himself in the midst of this national catastrophe on his first night in the city. He gets separated from his mom and stepfather and the danger intensifies. Tarshis cleverly weaves a criminal from Oscar's dad's past in with some missing suitcases and a couple of orphans. A page-turner with some helpful facts in the author's notes. Yet another strong addition to the series.
• 
  David

  Could an entire city really burn to the ground? I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 (I Survived, #11)
  by Lauren Tarshis continues her series on famous disasters.
  
  Oscar Starling never wanted to come to Chicago. But then Oscar finds himself not just in the heart of the big city, but in the middle of a terrible fire! No one knows exactly how it began, but one thing is clear: Chicago is like a giant powder keg about to explode. The author gives us a taste of what the experience of trying to survive being surrounding a raging and fast-moving fire. An army of firemen is trying to help, but this fire is a ferocious beast that wants to devour everything in its path, including Oscar! Will Oscar survive one of the most famous and devastating fires in history? Lauren Tarshis brings history's most exciting and terrifying events to life in this New York Times-bestselling series. Readers will be transported by stories of amazing kids and how they survived!
• 
  Heidi

  This I survived series in one of the most popular series in my school library. The quick moving action and appealing characters make this series an ideal way to introduce children to historical fiction. Lauren Tarshis gets a great big thank you from me for starting this series.
  
  For this book in particular I would say this is a nice addition to the series. Disasters have long fascinated me and I know I'm not the only one. Not because of the horrible things that happen, but because of the good things that people often do in the midst of them. In many ways they are an ultimate test. And that is exactly what Oscar faces his first day in Chicago. He isn't happy to be there having spent his whole life on a farm in Minneosota. But with his mother's remarriage they've come to Chicago. Having his family's luggage stolen the minute they get there doesn't help his attitude any. So when he sees a chance to get his father's old Sheriff's badge back, he takes it. Only things go downhill quickly as the fire rushes through the city propelled by high wind conditions.
  
  Oscar is an interesting characters with troubles that go beyond the fire, including the two street children he runs into and wants to help. Sometimes disasters help reveal what's really important in life.
• 
  TL

  Narrator: 4 stars
  Characters and writing: four stars
  ---
  
  Random grab off Overdrive app from their "audiobooks under three hours" section:).
  
  It felt like you were plunged into Chicago with Oscar and the fire. I was worried since it was such a short length it would be rushed but that turned out not to be the case.
  
  I was on the edge of my seat at quite a few points, and on the verge of tears (happy and sad) more than once.
  
  The ending I loved especially but was also sad to leave these people behind. Would not have minded seeing what came next for them:).
  
  
  The author talking at the end was a nice touch too.
• 
  Aidan Armas

  I loved this book.I like history and usually I like more war history,but I really wanted to read this book and liked it.I didn't know much about the Chicago Fire except that it happened.Since I love the I survived series and want to learn more about this event I gave it a try.It turned out to be a great book with one amazing turning point at the end.I love the deep description of how it was around him during the fire.Also, it wasn't about some rich kid getting out of the city and seeing it from afar,he was right in the action with his bullies being cut off by falling wood.You would just need to read it if you want more which I really recommend.
• 
  Kim Hampton

  A great way to teach kids about the Chicago Fire.
• 
  Christian Torres

  Oscar was a really good person
  in this book the book was really good I am
  going to read more i survive books
• 
  Linda Lipko

  Oscar lost his father, and it seems all to soon his mother is remarried and her new husband is whisking them off to live in Chicago. His families arrival coincides with the great fire of Chicago. Reportedly the fire began in a barn when a cow kicked a milk can. This book places Oscar lost from his family. Surrounded by fire and huge burning conflagrations, Oscar wonders if he will ever get out and live to tell the tale.
• 
  ~Bellegirl91~

  This was actually a good one and I loved it! And with a small little twist having to do with Oscar's story was pretty great too. One thing I'm loving about the other two I've now listened to are so interesting. One thing I'm loving about these and going to love is the fun little Author notes which I normally wouldn't read to be honest but I love how the author adds facts to these disasters/events and gives more insight to them. They seriously remind me so much about the original Magic Treehouse series I read growing up in the 90s with how Mary Pope Osborne had put facts into those books which is probably why I'm not at almost 29 so invested in these kids' type books.
  
  
  What's fun about these however is in a way and as short and quick as they are, these are even fascinating to me as an adult. Looking through these other events i've noticed I actually hadn't heard of some of them and so I go to youtube and find videos and/or documentaries about them so I can get a better understanding before reading. Some such as this one in particular is somewhat familiar even though I live in a different state but it's typical history book context. This story and facts were interesting to hear at the end in the author's notes and learned a few things about this fire during this time.
  
  
  Overall, I can see why even adults and I'm sure even some who are schoolteachers are enjoying these books. It's like I mentioned, perhaps it's because I absolutely loved the Magic treehouse books so much that after reading my first ever of these books I was getting the magic treehouse vibes going on and now loving these and cant' wait to keep going.
• 
  Philip

  While tutoring a student, he told me this was his favorite series. "I've read every one," he said. We connected pretty well, so when he asked me to check them out, I did.
  
  I can't believe I hadn't heard of them before, as I consider myself pretty up with YA lit - and there are currently
  17 books in the series. Maybe it's because they're aimed at 2nd-4th graders, and I'm generally reading YA that's a bit older than that. (Although, what age is
  Greg Heffley aimed at? Love that kid...)
  
  The student I was tutoring told me this was his favorite in the series, because he's been to Chicago, and he'd heard about the fire before. So, this is the one he recommended.
  
  Apparently, the series picks a disaster and follows the path of a fictional character who survived said disaster. That was certainly the case here. And I can't imagine any of the I Survived books ending with the death of the protagonist. [Please insert spoiler tags in the title]
  
  For me, the most interesting tidbit from this book came from the facts listed at the end. The death toll from the Great Chicago Fire was around 300. But it was not the highest fire-related death toll in the United States. THAT was the
  Peshtigo Fire which killed between 1200 and 1500 people, and was THE SAME DAY as the Chicago Fire. Talk about being overshadowed...
• 
  Iris

  Oscar's dad past away leaving his wife and son with the responsibility of a farm. One day Oscar's mother meets a man who tells them to go to Chicago with him. Oscar finds himself in a great fire. His mother's boyfriend tells him tht Chicago has the best firefighters around, when Oscar see'd thoses fires he is not so sure.
  I loved this book because I love this serie first of all and I Survived shows all the details which is very interesting. I would recommend this book from ages 8 to 12.
• 
  LisaJ

  This is a book #11 included in the vast I Survived.. Series. A story of young boy who was reluctant to move to Chicago in 1871. Oscar wasn’t only facing the stress of moving to a new city and changing his life, he ended up in the middle of the Great Chicago Fire! Lauren Tasrhis is a great author and researches these events in depth to write relatable stories to young readers as they learn about historical events from a child’s point of view.
• 
  Natalie

  Another great book by Tarshis. I knocked this one down to three stars because I didn't like the side story with the bullies and the most incredulous coincidence related to the earless villain. (If you've read the book you'll know what I mean.) I felt that was a little much.
  
  Besides that, though, the history was spot on. I did like the story about the Dad dying, and they had to sell the farm and move to Chicago with the new stepfather. I thought that was well done.
• 
  Sarah

  Read aloud to my class of 2nd graders. I was honestly very impressed by this book! We were all on the edge of our seats for a few parts. It reminded me of the American Girl series that I ate up as a child except aimed more towards boys. I would recommend to any elementary aged kiddo. My students, boys AND girls, are obsessed with the series now!
• 
  Jonathan Donihue

  One of the things I like most about this series is the relationships between the characters. Ms Tarshis has a real back for creating interesting characters with engaging interpersonal relationships in a relatively short span of time.
• 
  Gracie Horlbogen

  This book was ok..
• 
  Maddison Aiken

  This is a AMAZING Historical-Fiction series book. This is a great book to read because it teaches you about the "Great Chicago Fire". I recommend this book.
• 
  Laurie DelaCruz

  Very cute book about the Chicago fire that is age-appropriate, but yet doesn't sugarcoat events.