The Great Fire by Jim Murphy

Murphy, J. (1995). The great fire. New York, NY: Scholastic.

(2 books)

Summary:
The Great Fire is about the burning of Chicago in 1871. It started on a small farm by an unknown source and rapidly moved through the large city. The fire’s fast movement was partly due to several major mistakes caused by citizens and firemen. Fire alarms were not set off and sent firefighters to the wrong part of the city. There were many mistakes that were made while trying to fight the fire. The fire went on for several days and caused over 100,000 Chicago citizens to leave there home with very little possessions. The story is interlaced with first hand accounts of adults and a child that lived through the days of the fire.

Ages:
Grades 5th through 12th

Credibility of Author:
Jim Murphy had a lot of help from the Institute of Chicago, the university of Chicago Libraries, the Chicago Architecture Foundations, the Chicago Historical Society, and the Chicago Public Library. He also had a fact checker that reviewed the book after he wrote it.

National Standards that this book relates to:
The social studies standards that this book relates to are time, continuity, and change and
people, places, and environments

Access Features:
This book has an author’s acknowledgment, a table of contents, an introduction, a bibliography and sources, and an index.

Description of the Illustrations:
The illustrations in the book are historical maps, drawings, and photographs.

Awards:
Newberry Honor Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book Award
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction
ALA Notable Children’s Book
and many, many others!

Related Texts:
Butt, Earnest. Chicago then and now: A pictorial history of the city’s development. Chicago: Aurora, Finch & McCullouch, 1933.

Masters, Edgar Lee. The tale of Chicago. New York: G.P. Putnam ‘s Sons, 1933.

My response to the book:
I was not really looking forward to reading a book about a fire, but once I sat down and started reading it was difficult to quit. This book is definitely well written and pulls the reader in. It is a combinations of facts and personal stories. The maps, drawings, and photographs help bring the fire to life and allows the reader to have a better mental image of what was going on during the few days of the fire.

How I would use this book in my class:
I do not think that I would really use this book in my classroom, but if I taught older grades I would definitely find a way to incorporate it. Students could easily read this book and would enjoy it.

This book has 144 pages.