How did you get the idea for I Survived?
When my son Dylan was 8 years old, I had a hard time getting him to read anything. I asked him what his perfect book would be? He thought about it for a minute, then said, “I want it to be a real story with a lot of action and a main character who’s a kid like me.” So I wrote the first I Survived for Dylan - about the sinking of the Titanic - and he liked it! So I had to write more if I expected him to keep reading!
Why are there only boys as the main character in I Survived?
When I first started the series, I was really thinking about my son Dylan, who was about 10 years old at the time. It was so hard to find books that he wanted to read, so I decided to write some books that had characters like him and his friends. But as the series grew, I started adding girl main characters. As of now, there are five books that have girl main characters: Mt. St. Helens, Grizzly Attack, Molasses Flood, Wellington Avalanche and Black Death. The California Wildfires book has both a boy and a girl front and center. And even when I write about a boy main character, there are always strong girls and women supporting him.
What is your favorite I Survived book?
I really do love them all because I spend so much time writing them – each book takes a year. By the time I’m finished, the characters seem like real people to me, like members of my family. So it’s impossible to say one is a favorite. I do feel a strong connection to books that came about because of kids writing to me asking me to come to their communities. For example, I wrote the California Wildfire book because a boy named Lucas and his mom wrote to me in the days after their beautiful town of Paradise, California was destroyed by a wildfire. I visited the area twice, and met dozens of kids, teachers, and families. Lucas and his friends asked me to write an I Survived book about their experiences. Though my books are historical fiction, they are always based on what happened to real people. And in the California Wildfire book, the characters are all named after the people I met in Paradise.
What do you like better, your chapter books or graphic novels?
I honestly love both the chapter books and the graphic novels. The chapter books are so important because that’s when I create the characters and the plots; the graphic novels are based on those original stories. Each chapter book takes about a year to write. The graphic novels take two years, but it’s the artists who put in most of the time. I find it almost magical to see how amazing artists transform my chapter books into stories told mostly through pictures. So far, 13 of the books have been adapted into graphic novels. The next one is Pearl Harbor, which comes out in the summer.
I have suggestions for your next I Survived book - can I share them with you?
I love hearing your ideas for new I Survived’s, and you can send them to me in a letter (see my address below). I’m always on the lookout for important, fascinating events that changed history or ideas. Some are super famous, like the Titanic or the American Revolution. Others are about events that most people don’t know about, like the Boston Molasses Flood and the Wellington Avalanche. I get many suggestions from readers. For instance, the reason why I wrote about 9/11 and the Black Death is that I received hundreds and hundreds of requests from kids like you. So please do send your ideas!
Here are some frequent suggestions and I Survived books that cover these events:
- World War II
I Survived The Battle of D-Day, 1944 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937; I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 - World War I
I Survived The Great Molasses
Flood, 1919 (chapter book and graphic novel) - The Civil War
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 - The War on Terror
I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 (chapter book and graphic novel) - The Revolutionary War
I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 (chapter book and graphic novel) - Volcanos
I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Eruption of Mt. St. Helens, 1985 - Storms
I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011; I Survived the Children’s Blizzard, 1888; I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Galveston Hurricane 1900 - Fires, Earthquakes, Disasters, and Pandemics
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1212 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906; I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Molasses Flood, 1919 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived The California Wildfires, 2018 (chapter book and graphic novel); I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910; I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964, I Survived The Black Death, 1348, I Survived the Dust Bowl, 1935 - Respect for Wildlife
I Survived Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967; I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 (chapter book and graphic novel).
There are also four non-fiction books - I Survived True Stories - that cover some of the same and other stories in more detail, with a lot of pictures and illustrations:
- I Survived True Stories #1 - Five Epic Disasters
In this book I cover the Titanic, the Children's Blizzard, the Henryville Tornado, the Molasses Flood and the Japanese Tsunami. - I Survived True Stories #2 - Nature Attacks!
In this book I cover, the Shark Attacks, the Eruption of Mt. Tambora, the Peshtigo Fire (bigger than the Chicago Fire), and the deadly Box Jellyfish. - I Survived True Stories #3 - Tornado Terror
In this book I go into a lot of detail about two deadly and destructive tornadoes from different times in US history: the Tri-State Tornado of 1925 and the Joplin Tornado of 2011. - I Survived True Stories #4 – Courageous Creatures
In this book I share my research about real animals who’ve faced real disasters, including a carrier pigeon in World War I, two dolphins who were left for dead, baby cheetahs who lost their mother and penguins who survived an oil spill.
Here’s my address for letters:
Lauren Tarshis
Scholastic, Inc.
130 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10012