I Survived

Sort of, but not exactly. The disasters and events in the I Survived books are real—like the Titanic sinking or the shark attacks of 1912. But the main kid characters are made up. The author mixes real history with fictional kids so readers can experience the event. Some stories are inspired by real survivor accounts, but they're not biographies. So the background is true, while the characters and their personal stories are fictional.

You don't have to read them in any particular order. Each I Survived book is a standalone story, so you can just pick up whichever one looks the most interesting to you.

But if you like having a plan, there are two main ways to go about it:

Publication Order: This is the best approach if you're a collector or just like reading things in the order they were released. You'd start with I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (2010) and move forward from there.

Chronological Order: This is a fun option if you want to travel through history. You can start with the oldest event, like I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79, and read your way to the more recent ones.

The author herself, Lauren Tarshis, has said that either way works. She just wants kids to start with whatever topic excites them the most.

The I Survived books are generally aimed at kids around 7 to 12 years old. That covers roughly grades 2 through 7, depending on the source.

Reading levels typically fall in the 550L to 740L range for the main series, with an AR level of about 3.8 to 5.1.

The author, Lauren Tarshis, has said she generally doesn't recommend the series for kids younger than third grade, though some advanced second graders can handle it.

So if you're picking them for a reader, 8 to 10 is a solid sweet spot. But older kids and even adults can still enjoy them.