I Survived Graphic Novels by Lauren Tarshis

The I Survived graphic novel series is an adaptation of the chapter books by Lauren Tarshis. The characters and plots from the graphic novels match the chapter books. The text has been adapted by Georgia Ball and the art is created by Haus Studio, Alvaro Sarraseca, and Corey Egbert.

In each story, there is a young character who has survived a harrowing disaster. The characters are fictional, but the events that happen are true events from history. Each survival story is an action-packed page-turner that will be hard for your reader to put down. There is also a short non-fiction section at the end of each story that gives facts about the historical events, as well as pictures.

Currently, there are seven of the I Survived chapter books offered in the graphic novel format. The seven currently published are: I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912, I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916, I Survived the Nazi Invasion in 1944, I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001, I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies in 1967, I Survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and I Survived the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The next in the series, I Survived the American Revolution in 1776, will be released in September of 2023.

Reading Level: 8-12 years old
Read Aloud Age: 8+

This graphic novel series is very well done. The text and illustrations work beautifully together and the comic-like style flows well. If you have a reader who has enjoyed the chapter book versions of these stories, they will certainly love the graphic novels as well. This would also be a great way to get reluctant readers to branch out and read historical fiction. After the graphic novels have been read, a natural progression would be for your reader to enjoy the chapter books. Since the characters and plot are the same the chapter books should be less intimidating for readers.

Each book follows a historical event in which death, sometimes on a large scale, is present. I would make sure your child is ready to read about each event before giving them access. For example, if you have a child who is scared of sharks, or you’ll be visiting a lake or ocean soon, I would avoid I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916. If your family is planning on taking a cruise, I’m not sure I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912 would be best to read before. Each book follows a child and their family as they encounter and survive a terrifying event from history. If your child has trouble with nightmares of an overactive imagination, these may not be the best fit for them at an upper elementary age.

Language:
I Survived the Attacks of 9/11– Characters say “What the…” and “Holy…” in reaction to the planes hitting the Twin Towers. The phrases aren’t finished, but they are started and left open.

Questionable Behaviors:
I Survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005– The main character in this story wishes and believes in a superhero, kind of like a guardian angel. He makes references to seeing the star in the sky, where this superhero would live, and drawing strength from it.

I Survived the Grizzly Attacks of 1967– Humans at a popular hiker’s lodge in the national park dump their trash at the edge of the forest in order to attract bears. These bears fight over the trash and it is a nightly spectacle for the visitors. The main character finds herself in the path of one of these bears when she “blacks out” and runs away. This occurs when she is overwhelmed and avoiding the topic of her mother’s death.

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916– The boys play pranks on each other. This leads them not to believe that there actually is a shark in the water. They believe it is just another prank.

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912– The man character gets out of bed and sneaks below deck to look for a mummy that he believes is in storage. His little sister also sneaks out of bed to go and find him. The ship then hits the iceberg while they are away from their room and this adds to the drama of them having to reunite and then find their way to a lifeboat.

I Survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871– There is a group of orphaned children who are taken in by a criminal and are expected to distract and steal from others. When the man character tries to stand up to this criminal, he is punched so hard he blacks out. Gun violence is present in a scene in which the sheriff and a criminal are shooting at each other.

Sexual Content:
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916– The main character is told by his friends that a girl is “sweet on” him. Once he survives the shark attack and is in the hospital, his uncle (who is also his caretaker) winks at him and tells him he thinks the nurse likes him. The references are very innocent and subtle.

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912– The main character’s aunt, whom he is traveling with on the ship, shares looks with a friend. They then get married after surviving the shipwreck and reuniting in America. This is also very subtle and innocent.

I Survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871– The main character’s dad died, and there is an artist who comes daily to paint the farmhouse he and his mom live in. After the painting is completed, the artist still writes letters to his mom and they get married. This is only described in order to understand why the family is moving.

Other Things to Know:

I Survived the Nazi Invasion in 1944– The main character compares standing up to the Nazis as a Jew, to the story of David and Goliath from the Bible. There is a lot of violence in this story as well. Some of the illustrations include bloody injuries, all drawn in the cartoon style. At the end of this book, in the non-fiction section, Lauren Tarshis compares Hitler targeting Jewish people, to current issues surrounding the LGBTQ community.

I Survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005– In the nonfiction section of this book, climate change is addressed. It is explained as the culprit to strong storms and severe weather we see today. There is a call for us to implement changes to lessen our impact on the Earth to slow or stop climate change from occurring.

I Survived the Grizzly Attacks of 1967– The main character’s mom dies in a car crash. There are also bloody illustrations of the attacks. The bears are also hunted and killed by park rangers.

I Survived the Attacks of 9/11– The main character loves playing football, but unfortunately is injured and has sustained multiple concussions. He sees a specialist who mentions famous football players who have died from brain disease, which they believe is brought on by multiple head injuries. Also, some of the firefighters who do not survive the rescue mission are fathers of some of the characters.

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916– There is a little boy and a young man who are killed in shark attacks in a neighboring city.

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912– The children mention a mummy’s curse, and blame the ship sinking on this. It turns out, there is actually not a mummy on the ship. They also mention that women were not treated as equals to men in this time period, and reference women not being able to vote.

This review was written by Good Book Mom contributor, Rachel. To find out more about Rachel, click HERE.

I Survived Graphic Novel Set