The Great Fire

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

Genre: Informational

Age Level: 10-14

Summary: Chicago was once made out of wood; all the sidewalks and buildings were wooden. Since Chicago was in a drought it caused the wooden buildings and sidewalks to be very dry. This caused many fires throughout the city. On Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire broke out in a barn near the edge of Chicago. According to the author Jim Murphy, no one knows for certain how the fire started. Most people believed the fire began when a cow, being milked by Catherine O'Leary, kicked over a gas lamp catching the hay on fire. There were many factors that lead to the fire spreading very quickly. The fire burnt for 31 hours and 100,000 people were left homeless. Chicago was rebuilt but it has never forgotten the night of the great fire.

Reflection: The Chicago fire of 1871 is one of the greatest disasters in American history and the author writes in third person as he uses the personal stories of survivors, newspaper articles, and research to tell the facts about the event. Murphy tells about the chaos during the fire as families became separated in the crowds. The illustrations consist of maps, photos with captions, and drawings in a sepia color to help readers get a sense of the time period in which the fire took place. The book also has many features such as author’s acknowledgment, a table of contents, an introduction, bibliography and sources, and an index. Jim Murphy won many awards for his book including Newberry Honor Book and Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction.

I would say he won these awards because this book is well written and pulls the reader in.

     I can relate to this story because I live on a farm and often worry about the barn catching on fire. I know of a family friend is also lived on a farm and his barn burnt down and before anyone could begin to help the barn was completely engulfed in flames. When his barn burnt he lost a lot of livestock because he was unable to rescue them. This is a very scary scenario for anyone living on a farm.

     This book could be used in a 5^th grade classroom to compare and contrast how the 1800s and today are alike and different. Students could create a timeline to show when the different every day inventions were created such as the telephone. I would also have students tie into writing by having them write a story as if they were one of the survivors of the fire. Students could also determine the distant travelled by the fire to determine how fast the fire travelled within the 31 hours.
     Some thoughtful questions I would ask are: How would you feel if your house was on fire and you had no way of calling for help? Why do you think the author chose the titles he did for each chapter? and "Would you continue to live in the same town that burnt up or would you move to another town? Why or Why not?