The Great Fire

One dark night when we were all in bed
Old lady Leary lit a lantern in the shed
And when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said
There'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 show more 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. show less

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, show more 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. show less

Read for Newbery club. Not an enjoyable read, but very well written, and researched. The last chapter is particularly important, as it busts the myths of O'Leary and the drunken firefighters, and explores the problems that had long-lasting repercussions, like the classism that actually increased, making the rich richer and poor poorer.

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy sets the story straight about the Great Chicago Fire; and Mrs. O'Leary's cow did not knock over a lit lantern! Although the fire supposedly started in the O'Leary barn, the O'Leary's were in bed by 8pm and the fire didn't start until well after 9pm. This was corroborated by at least 2 different witnesses who were knocking on the door of the O'Leary's earlier in the evening. This book is a Newberry Honor book as well as winning nine other prestigious awards. I found this YA book more than deep enough to give me all the info I wanted on the Great Chicago Fire. 138 pages

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 show more read extensively. show less

By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with the carefully researched history of Chicago and the disaster, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative of the Great Fire of 1871 and recreates the event with drama and immediacy.

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.