What books are similar to I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871?

The 10 closest matches to I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 by Lauren Tarshis on ReadingList include I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, Barbed Wire Baseball, Bink & Gollie, Loot, and The Apothecary. Each is scored on shared themes (great fire, chicago, ill., 1871, adventure and adventurers, and fires), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871

If you liked I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871, read I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, Barbed Wire Baseball, or Bink & Gollie — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis

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Looking for books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 by Lauren Tarshis (Historical Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of great fire, chicago, ill., 1871, adventure and adventurers, and fires. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912590L: Is by Lauren Tarshis, the same author, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Barbed Wire Baseballgrades 3–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Bink & Golliegrades 2–8: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Lootgrades 3–8: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Apothecarygrades 2–8: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Cardboard Kingdomgrades 4–6: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Downstairs Girlgrades 3–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Season of Giftsgrades 3–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Fever 1793grades 2–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea · grades 3–5 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Duke by Kirby Larson · grades 3–5 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Ellie's Story by W. Bruce Cameron · grades 3–6 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Iceberg by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 3–7 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys · 560L — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Ellie's Story by W. Bruce Cameron · grades 3–6 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Iceberg by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 3–7 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–7).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

All We Have Left by Wendy Mills · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys · 560L — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction).
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens · 1170L — Same genre (Historical Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871?: The 10 closest matches to I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 by Lauren Tarshis on ReadingList include I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, Barbed Wire Baseball, Bink & Gollie, Loot, and The Apothecary. Each is scored on shared themes (great fire, chicago, ill., 1871, adventure and adventurers, and fires), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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