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Lauren Tarshis's I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 is a gripping disaster story for 7 year olds about a farm boy who arrives in a strange city on the night it begins to burn.
Oscar Starling is eleven, and he didn't want to come here at all. His papa died two years ago, and Oscar has worked himself ragged on the family farm ever since. Now his mama has married a cheerful, booming artist called Mr Morrow, and they're moving to Chicago.
Oscar is sick out of the train window. The city stinks of slaughterhouses. And within minutes a little girl in a yellow cap tricks him, and all their suitcases vanish. Inside Oscar's was his papa's old sheriff's badge.
So Oscar does something silly. He runs off after the girl on his own, through dark streets, while an orange glow grows in the sky.
The book opens with the fire already raging, then goes back to show how Oscar got there. So your reader knows what's coming, and every little warning makes it tenser. It hasn't rained for months. The city is bone dry. There have been fires "practically every night".
It's told in short, punchy lines with lots of Crackle! and Boom! It's very hard to put down.
Oscar is easy to root for. He's grieving and cross and quite unfair about Mr Morrow. Then he gets the little thief completely wrong, and he knows it. What would you do if the "criminal" turned out to be looking after a tiny boy at home?
Some parts are frightening, so here are the facts. Oscar's papa died in a blizzard (that's backstory, told early on). A fourteen-year-old gang leader holds a knife to Oscar's face and punches him. And the fire itself is terrifying, with whole streets alight and a spinning twister of flame.
If your reader's happy with peril and loves a real bit of history, this is spot on. A child who's frightened of fires might want you close by for this one.
If they're hooked, try I Survived the Joplin Tornado next. Dex has always wanted to see a tornado for real, and it's every bit as intense.
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