The Great Fire

Written by Jim Murphy

Narrated by Taylor Mali

Winner of the Newbery Honor! The Great Fire of 1871 was one of the most colossal disasters in American history–with damage so profound that few people believed the city of Chicago could ever rise again. By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with careful research, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting and dramatic narrative, ultimately revealing how the human spirit triumphed even in a time of deepest despair, and the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again. Recommended for Grades 5 and up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Nov 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781609987213

Jim Murphy

Jim Murphy's nonfiction books have received numerous awards, among them two Newbery Honors, the Sibert Medal, three Orbis Pictus awards, the Margaret A. Edwards award, the James Madison Book Award, and a National Book Award nomination. Born and raised in New Jersey, Jim lives in Maplewood, NJ, with his family.  jimmurphybooks.com.

Reviews for The Great Fire

[cmesa1_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The great fire occured in 1871 in Chicago. It began one Sunday evening whena small fire broke out inside the O'learys' barn. People ignored the danger signals. However is hard not to pay attention and ignored the signs when the enitre city is basically built of wood. This was a devasting experience for people how they were seeing how everyhting they had built was just consumed by the flames. however even a time of deepest despair, the human spirit triumphed, as the people of chicago found the courage to build their city once again .

[cbl_tn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One dark night when we were all in bedOld lady Leary lit a lantern in the shedAnd when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and saidThere'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.Before I read this book, that sums up about all I “knew” about the 1871 fire that destroyed most of Chicago. I found out that the little I knew was wrong. The fire did start on the O'Leary's property, but a reporter added the bit about the cow and the lantern to add some color to his story.Murphy pieces together eyewitness accounts to tell the story of the fire, beginning with the initial alarm raised when someone noticed the flames in the O'Leary's barn. He describes several things that went wrong in the process of reporting and responding to the fire. He tells about the chaos during the fire, as people fled to what they thought was a safe place, only to have the flames catch up to them and force them to flee again. Families became separated in the crowds, and it must have been terrifying for them, not knowing if their loved ones were safe or if they would ever be able to find them again. Murphy also describes the rebuilding that took place following the fire, and the problem faced by the poorer residents of the city, who couldn't afford fire-proof building material like brick and granite.The book is targeted for middle grade readers, but it's written in a way that readers of any age can enjoy. It would be a good choice for readers looking for a brief, non-scholarly account of Chicago's Great Fire.

[szierdt_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Chicago in 1871 was a city ready to burn" through the chaos of this event and from the perpective of a few personal accounts, Murphy includes details of why, what and how this major historical disaster came to be. Also present are the class and race issues that existed in Urban areas. Great resource for lessons on materials that we choose for our built environments, emergency preparedness, history of firefighting, social issues surrounding class and race and journalism. In regards to journalism, this book lends to encouraging children to be critical thinkers and aware of sensationalized or manipulated media. For this reason, this book would be useful for a study on newspapers/media and how to critically read articles or present information in a truthful, reliable way.

[katieginn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Traumas that unfold across the 24 hours of a burning fire. A very interesting information book children can learn a lot from. THe diversity and multitude of persoal accounts in presented in both text and facts from public view.

[lovingkelsea · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a great book to use in a history class. This books is more interesting to read than the average history book. Its a great source of historical fiction. It gives detail accounts of the massive fire that destroyed the city of Chicago during the 1800's.

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Great Fire is an excellent piece of juvenile nonfiction, providing a detailed account of the beginning, spread, and aftermath of the 1871 fire in Chicago, Illinois. The author intersperses facts clearly based on extensive research with quotes from eyewitnesses. In this way, the reader gets both the overview of the event as well as the experience of looking at snippets of the days’ events through the eyes of survivors. Murphy manages to capture the emotions of the day and describes them in such a way that the reader feels them, too. Written in simple, clear language, this book is easily accessible to young readers, but it is a fascinating account that will be of interest to adult readers as well. The many illustrations, particularly the maps showing the spread of the fire at the end of each chapter, are an additional bonus that helps shed light on this piece of history.

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This children's nonfiction account of the great fire that devastated Chicago is a wonderful resource for kids and adults. The retelling focuses on the adventures of four different people involved in different ways with the catastrophe, branching out to give more factual information where appropriate. This structure helps to keep the account personalized, and more interesting, while still imparting all the relevant detail. Side by side with the well-written content are the photographs and illustrations, all of high quality, that really bring to life the events described. I liked this book, which taught me more about a subject I knew only cursorily, and was in a small and easy dose, considering that nonfiction is not an area in which I read extensively.

[awiltenburg_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A serious and true story about the Great Chicago fire. The story line was dry and factual but the sketches and pictures kept things interesting and gave me enough umph to continue reading. The historical facts about the way fires were fought was interesting and almost laughable. The way the entire disaster was handled was terrible, life altering, end of the world type terrifying. There were personal stories woven into the factual narration that helped to humanize the disaster and helped the reader to understand just how awful the experience was. It also illustrated the news reporting ethics of the day and illustrated how rumors can be taken for truth and the negative consequences of rumors. I think I could use this book for older students only because of the magnitude of the event. I may be able to teach a themed history of firefighting unit with the historical data, or maybe city planning, disaster response, newspaper writing & news reporting ethics.

[bnhays · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book gives personal accounts to the chicago fire. It explains many mistakes and the overall chaos of the situations. This has been a great informational book with maps to outline the damage as the fire spread. This would be a good book for children just because all of the pictures, maps, and the personal account of the 12 year old that they can relate to.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well-researched, but rather dry. I listened to the audio recording of this title and it was fine, but not especially captivating.

[smpenni · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an interesting non-fiction book about the great Chicago fire. For students in IL this might be of particular interest since it is Illinois history. The book reads well and includes maps, timelines, etc.

[librolindsay · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This had its moments, but it needed a little more finesse. Part of it was the audio reader--I was also following along in the book and found that the reader often would put emphasis where there was none (making it a bit campy) or not emphasize the text when needed. The structure Murphy created of showing different POVs had potential, but mostly I confused people. He also uses "meanwhile..." an awful lot.

Otherwise, a serviceable book on a historical disaster.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An okay introduction for middle grade students to the Chicago fire and its immediate aftermath. Not exactly gripping, as I would think it certainly could have been, but it also seems to be pitched at just the right level in the amount of content and detail it gives.

[charleshollis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author approached this story from a chronological, rather than a thematic, point of view. As such was the case, they placed their focus primarily upon the events of the blaze as they occurred from the first spark in the O'Leary Barn until the aftermath of the conflagration as the embers still smoldered. To progress the story, the author relied upon the personal accounts of several eyewitnesses as well as statements by more well known individuals such as contemporary politicians and intellectuals. This book is interesting because it depicts life prior to the world of Chicago as the "White City" and the subsequent World Fair. It also reveals the undercurrent of class tension which would come rushing to the surface immediately after the blaze.

[bdharrel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Great Fire is an amazing book and highly recommended for middle school students.The book explains why Chicago, a city built mainly of wood, was vulnerable to being wiped out by fire and how everything went wrong on the night of the disaster. The book retells the stories of a few of the survivors. As I read through their accounts, I felt like I was in 19th-Century Chicago. The book also does a great job debunking the myth of the O'Leary cow kicking over a lantern and causing the colossal fire that destroyed Chicago.I can use this book to help students understand and discuss the socioeconomic division.