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, A Corner of the Universe, A Long Walk to Water, A Night Divided, and Allies. 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, A Corner of the Universe, or A Long Walk to Water — the closest matches in our database, matched on reading level.

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 →
A Corner of the Universegrades 5–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Long Walk to Water720L: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Alliesgrades 5–9: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s). 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 →
Echo680L: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Lootgrades 3–8: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
One Crazy Summer750L: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). 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.

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s).

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.

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys · 560L — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (4–6).

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).
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (5–9), 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).

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, A Corner of the Universe, A Long Walk to Water, A Night Divided, and Allies. 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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