"I Survived" series by Lauren Tarshis

I cannot gush about this series enough. I love when a book gets a kid excited about reading, and when that love grows when I can inform the kid "but wait, there's more!" On top of that, I love when a series has appeal for both boys and girls. And I really love when a book can inspire kids to want to learn more outside of the book they have just read. And the I Survived series does this! All of it!

Throughout her series, Lauren Tarshis has captured snapshots of various times in history and recounted them from the perspective a kid living through that event. Every kid ends up right in the middle of the action. Even though it's often terrifying, you know that character is going to be okay, otherwise they wouldn't be the star of a book titled I Survived. I appreciate that Tarshis is able to put a fair amount of information into her stories, without it being overloading or boring. In addition, each book has informational text at the end to give the reader a bit more knowledge of the event itself. As an adult I have learned quite a bit.  Prior to reading this series I knew nothing of the shark attacks in New Jersey or the Children's Blizzard in the Dakotas. In each book, I learn something new and almost always do a little bit more research on my own after finishing the book.

I have read most of the books and have also listened to some of the audio versions. I think my favorite part of the audio versions is the interviews with Lauren Tarshis. It's very interesting to hear in her own voice how she does her research and how she goes about writing her books. I'm not sure if this is something that will be of interest to young readers, but I find it fascinating.

This series is great for reader's that aren't super confident in their reading skills, but are still ready for chapter books. The writing is simple enough that even beginning readers will be able to read the material, but interesting enough that more mature readers won't be bored. I highly recommend this books for teachers, librarians, and parents. They also make a great gift for that young reader in your life!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916" by Lauren Tarshis

I've mentioned before that I am a fan of books that bring history to kids.  Well, Lauren Tarshis' I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 brought history to me!  I had not heard of this event in history and after reading this book I did some research on my own.  It was very interesting to learn about a piece of history that I had not been aware of.

Chet lives with his uncle in New Jersey.  His parents have traveled looking for work and plan to send for him once they have settled somewhere   Until then, Chet fills his time working for his uncle.  But this summer is very hot and he and the other local boys spend a fair amount of time in the nearby creek.  At first no one believes the stories of shark attacks- there's no way that a shark has come this far away from the ocean.  But it soon becomes clear that no one is making up these stories and the water is no longer safe.

This is exactly what I want from this sort of book.  I want to be inspired to find out more.  I can see this book having a lot of appeal to young readers and highly recommend it.  Along with this book, I recommend access to research.  I really wish this series had been around when I was younger, I would have read them all!  Actually, even now I want to read them all...



Happy Reading!
-Melly

"I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis

I came across this series on accident, but it's exactly the kind of series that I just love!  When I was younger, I was always drawn to historical fiction (oddly, I much prefer that written for elementary school age over than for teens and adults).  One of my favorite series was the Travelers Through Time.  Though there were only three, I read them often.  The I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis, remind me quite a bit.  I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, the first in the series, George is traveling back home with his sister Phoebe and their Aunt Daisy.  Though they have only been on board a short time, he has already met Mr. Andrews and found out about the layout of the ship and discovered a secret- there is the mummy of an Egyptian princess on board the Titanic!  Naturally George decides he wants to get a glimpse of the mummy before they land in New York but a man with a scarred face has the same idea.  Just as the man opens the crate containing the mummy, something happens and the ship begins to sink!  Can George survive?

This book is more or less what you would expect with the subject matter (there sure are a LOT of books about the Titanic) but since it is the first in the series, I think it is a good introduction to these books.  It's great to see how real elements of history are reflected in the pages.  Kids reading this book for fun will still learn something from George's adventure.  I also enjoyed that the book ends with a list of facts (I always appreciate these sort of things because I remember them helping me out with school reports).  I am anxious to read more books in this series (at the time of writing this review there are seven, but I suspect that there will be more).  I also like that fact that it is a series since it's always nice to be able to direct kids to books like the ones they just read.  If you read this book, you will not be disappointed!



Happy Reading!
-Melly