I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871, by Lauren Tarshis and Cassie Anderson, Graphix, May 2, 2023, Paperback, $10.99 (ages 8-12)
A boy struggles to survive as the city of Chicago burns around him in I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871, the Graphic Novel, by Lauren Tarshis and Cassie Anderson.
Oscar Starling never wanted to move to Chicago. The smog, the stench, the thieves around every corner — it’s so different from his old life on the farm. Will the big city ever feel like home?
Shortly after Oscar arrives, a huge fire breaks out. All of Chicago is ablaze and one thing is clear: the city is like a powder keg, ready to explode. An army of firemen tries to help, but this fire is a ferocious beast that wants to devour everything in its path. Will Oscar — and his new city and new friends — survive one of the most famous and devastating fires in history? —Synopsis provided by Graphix
Graphic novels are deceptively simple. Multiple color panels with few words are what you initially see, but if you look closer, actually read the book, you realize the creators are every bit as talented as those of traditional novels.
The I Survived graphic novels by Lauren Tarshis are a perfect example of this. There are eight books in the series so far, and each are worth reading. In the case of I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871, the art is fantastically rendered by Cassie Anderson.
I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 is the adaptation of Tarshis’s novel of the same name (No. 11 in the I Survived series). And it’s a heart stopping adventure from beginning to end. But it goes beyond that. This graphic novel is steeped in history. Toward the end of the book, there’s an entire section on Chicago and the fire that changed it. Photographs and historic illustrations add context.
My 9-year-old took my review copy of I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 on a recent trip, and read it more than once. It’s a great choice for a wide cross-section of readers.
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