Gripping Tales of Real-Life Disaster Will Keep Pages Turning in the I Survived Series

As we jump into the new school year, this series is a perfect way to teach children about important historical events and to get at hard truths, while reminding them of humanity’s capacity for strength and endurance. It helps that each tale is more heart-pounding and electrifying than the last.
The latest installment of this gripping series is out August 25th, with I Survived: The Joplin Tornado, 2011, which follows a young boy’s story of survival in the path of a recent and record-breaking tornado, nearly a mile wide, which ravaged Joplin, Missouri, killing over 150 people and causing billions of dollars worth of damage. Here are some other adventures in the series you’ll want to check out.

I Survived: The Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79
This story follows eleven-year-old Marcus as the deadly volcano Mount Vesuvius erupts and buries the city of Pompeii. Marcus and his father, Tata, are escaped slaves who trust science over the fantastical stories the people of Pompeii tell about the waking volcano. As the epic destruction of the city unfolds, Marcus must try to survive in the wake of this devastating natural disaster.

I Survived: The Battle of Gettysburg 1863
This book takes place during one of the bloodiest battles in American history, the famous battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Thomas and his sister, Birdie, having just fled the farm where they were born and raised as slaves, are taken in by a Union soldier and his regiment as they head North. But when the soldiers are called to battle in Pennsylvania, Thomas’ fight for freedom takes a dangerous turn.

I Survived: The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
The first book to launch this popular series, The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 takes on this catastrophic event in history as it follows ten-year-old George Calder and his little sister Phoebe. To be able to board this fascinating ship with their Aunt Daisy first seems like a stroke of luck but it soon turns into a terrifying disaster when the boat hits an iceberg. As the ship floods, George is left stranded and must try to find a way to survive this famous tragedy.

I Survived: The Nazi Invasion, 1944
After Max Rosen and his sister, Zena, are left alone in the wake of their father’s capture by the Nazis, the siblings escape their Jewish ghetto in Poland for a nearby forest. Saved by resistance fighters, they believe they are safe, until the Germans invade and bombs start falling from the sky.

I Survived: The Attacks of September 11, 2001
When eleven-year-old Lucas takes a train into Manhattan on September 11, 2001 to talk to his Uncle Benny at the firehouse, he has no idea the danger that is about to befall New York City. When one plane hits the World Trade Center and another follows soon after, Lucas finds himself in a haze of black smoke and fire at the center of a terrifying attack.

I Survived: Hurricane Katrina, 2005
This month marks the 10th anniversary of one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. The third book in the I Survived series follows Barry Tucker and his family, who live in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Their plans to evacuate are challenged when Barry’s little sister, Cleo, gets sick. Swept away by flood waters, Barry must find a way to survive this epic natural disaster all on his own.
Are your young readers fans of the I Survived series?