I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis

Nov 4, 2013 by speakeasy | ADHD, Focus, Homework, Learning Resources, On-Line Educational Resources, Reading, Teaching

Lauren Tarshis is a children’s book author who wrote a series of books that attracts the interest of young readers. Each book in the series has plenty of action and excitement to keep the pages turning. The books in Tarshis’ series are titled “I Survived” and each book covers an historical event told through the eyes of a young boy who lived through the event. Young readers are entertained as they journey through the boy’s adventures while reading.

Tarshis excelled in her research to prepare for each novel and the way in which she tells the story has readers leaving with a great sense of developmentally appropriate details surrounding each historic event.

Students will learn about major disasters and historical events that have happen through history. Each book is like two stories because there is the story of the fictional character alongside the historic event.

Geared toward students in grades 3 to 5, this series can give students the opportunity to make connections in their own lives. While students may not have experienced a catastrophic event in their life similar to those in the books, they may have gone through a traumatic event in their own life.

On the Scholastic website, Tarshis tells visitors that she wasn’t always a good reader and experienced a bit of school anxiety. Tarshis first discovered that she wanted to write later in her life and reveals that learning to write a novel for young children took her many, many years. In my opinion, it was well worth the effort. The books are captivating and full of excitement.

For teachers, there are great resources available on Tarshis’ website that include a novel guides, comprehension checks and quizzes.