"I Survived: The Joplin Tornado, 2011" by Lauren Tarshis

4 of 5 stars.

The Basics: This book is part of a series titled, I Survived. The novels are all historical fiction documenting real tragedies. This book, in particular, documents a realistic fictional account of the Joplin tornado disaster in 2011. Dex, meets an old friend of his dad's, Dr. Gage, who is a noted storm chaser. As they explore a brooding storm nearby, Dr. Gage realizes that the storm is more dangerous than expected. Dr. Gage and Dex get caught in the midst of the Joplin tornado which caused vast destruction to the city of Joplin and caused over 100 deaths.

My Thoughts: This is a great introductory novel to the destruction caused by the Joplin tornado. It gives some background information through Dr. Gage on the dangers of rain-wrapped tornadoes and storm chaser's plight to track and uncover the secrets of tornadoes.
I teach eighth grade, but I had some of my lower-level students read this novel as an extension of our reading of "The Evil Swirling Darkness" narrative, nonfiction article in SCOPE magazine, written by Lauren Tarshis. After reading this novel, I purchased a class set of another I Survived book because it is a quick read that gets students interested in historical events.