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. ( )

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. ( )

This is a good book for instructional purposes. I was able to teach a lot of different reading strategies in each of the different chapters that we read. I was surprised how well my READ180 class did with not only reading this but also comprehension.It's probably not the kind of book I would like to read on my own though. ( )

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. ( )

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 ( )