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I Survived True Stories: Five Epic Disasters

Page 8

by Lauren Tarshis


  comes face-to-face with a bloodthirsty shark!

  I SURVIVED

  THE

  SHARK

  ATTACKS

  OF 1916

  HIS WHOLE WORLD IS UNDERWATER . . .

  Barry’s family tries to evacuate before Hurricane

  Katrina hits their home in the Lower Ninth Ward

  of New Orleans. But when Barry’s little sister gets

  terribly sick, they’re forced to stay home and wait out

  the storm.

  At first, Katrina doesn’t seem to be as severe a

  storm as forecasters predicted. But overnight the levees

  break, and Barry’s world is literally torn apart. He’s

  swept away by the floodwaters, away from his family.

  Can he survive the storm of the century — alone?

  HURRICANE

  KATRINA,

  I SURVIVED

  2005

  Ever since Danny’s mom moved him to Hawaii, away

  from the dangerous streets of New York City, Danny

  has been planning to go back. He’s not afraid of the

  crime or the dark alleys. And he’s not afraid to stow

  away on the next ship out of Pearl Harbor.

  But that morning, the skies fill with fighter planes.

  Bombs pound the harbor. Bullets rain down on the

  beaches. Danny is shocked — and, for the first time, he

  is truly afraid. He’s a tough city kid. But can Danny

  survive the day that will live in infamy?

  I SURVIVED

  THE BOMBING

  OF PEARL

  HARBOR, 1941

  A DAY NO ONE WILL EVER FORGET . . .

  Leo loves being a newsboy in San Francisco — he

  needs the money but the job also gives him the freedom

  to explore the amazing, hilly city as it changes and

  grows with the new century. Horse-drawn carriages

  share the streets with shiny automobiles, businesses

  and families move in every day from everywhere, and

  anything seems possible.

  But early one spring morning, everything changes.

  Leo’s world is shaken —literally —and he finds

  himself stranded in the middle of San Francisco as it

  crumbles and burns to the ground. Can Leo survive

  this devastating disaster?

  I SURVIVED

  THE SAN

  FRANCISCO

  EARTHQUAKE,

  1906

  A CITY ON THE RISE — SUDDENLY FALLS . . .

  A DAY THAT WILL CHANGE THE NATION . . .

  The only thing Lucas loves more than football is his

  dad’s friend Benny, a firefighter and former football

  star. He taught Lucas the game and helps him

  practice. So when Lucas’s parents decide football is too

  dangerous and he needs to quit, Lucas has to talk to

  his biggest fan.

  On a whim, Lucas takes the train to the city instead

  of the bus to school. It’s a bright, beautiful day in

  New York. But just as Lucas arrives at the firehouse,

  everything changes . . . and nothing will ever be the

  same again.

  I SURVIEVD

  THE ATTACKS OF

  SEPTEMBER 11 ,

  2001

  It’s 1863, and Thomas and his little sister, Birdie, have

  fled the farm where they were born and raised as slaves.

  Following the North Star, looking for freedom, they soon

  cross paths with a Union soldier. Everything changes:

  Corporal Henry Green brings Thomas and Birdie back

  to his regiment, and suddenly it feels like they’ve found a

  new home. Best of all, they don’t have to find their way

  north alone — they’re marching with the army.

  But then orders come through: The men are called to

  battle in Pennsylvania. Thomas has made it so far . . .

  but does he have what it takes to survive Gettysburg?

  I SURVIVED

  THE BATTLE

  OF

  GETTYSBURG ,

  1863

  THE BLOODIEST BATTLE IN AMERICAN

  HISTORY IS UNDER WAY . . .

  Visiting his dad’s hometown in Japan four months after

  his father’s death would be hard enough for Ben. But one

  morning the pain turns to fear: First, a massive earthquake

  rocks the quiet coastal village, nearly toppling his uncle’s

  house. Then the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family

  are swept away— and pulled apart —by a terrible tsunami.

  Now Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country a

  million miles from home. Can he fight hard enough to

  survive one of the most epic disasters of all time?

  THE

  JAPANESE

  TSUNAMI , 2011

  THE DISASTER FELT AROUND THE WORLD . . .

  I SURVIVED

  In a Polish ghetto, Max Rosen and his sister Zena struggle

  to live after their father is taken away by the Nazis. With

  barely enough food to survive, the siblings make a daring

  escape from Nazi soldiers into the nearby forest.

  Max and Zena are brought to a safe camp by Jewish

  resistance fighters. But soon, bombs are falling all around

  them. Can Max and Zena survive the fallout of the Nazi

  invasion?

  THE NAZI

  INVASION ,

  1944

  ONE OF THE DARKEST PERIODS

  IN HISTORY . . .

  I SURVIVED

  No one in the bustling city of Pompeii worries when the

  ground trembles beneath their feet. Everyone knows that

  the beast under the mountain Vesuvius, high above the city,

  wakes up angry sometimes — and always goes back to sleep.

  But Marcus is afraid. He knows something is terribly

  wrong — and his father, who trusts science more than

  mythical beasts, agrees. When Vesuvius explodes into a

  cloud of fiery ash and rocks fall from the sky like rain,

  will they have time to escape — and survive the complete

  destruction of Pompeii?

  How are YOUR survival skills? Take the quiz

  and learn more about real-life disasters at

  SCHOLASTIC.COM/ISURVIVED

  I SURVIVED

  THE

  DESTRUCTION

  OF POMPEII ,

  AD 79

  THE BEAST BENEATH THE MOUNTAIN

  IS RESTLESS . . .

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lauren Tarshis is the editor of Scholastic’s

  Storyworks magazine and group editorial director

  for language arts for Scholastic classroom maga-

  zines, in addition to being the author of the

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling I

  Survived series and the critically acclaimed novels

  Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree and Emma-

  Jean Lazarus Fell in Love. She lives in Westport,

  Connecticut, and can be found online at

  LaurenTarshis.com.

  www.scholastic.com

 

 

 


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