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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

With spellbinding detail, Murphy follows the spread of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. His exacting research is woven with historical illustrations, maps, photographs and eye-witness accounts of survivors as he reports on the progress of the relentless flames burning through the wooden streets, buildings and walkways of the rain-deprived city with a power both dangerous and seductive to those in their path. In the fire's aftermath, Murphy chronicles the devastation: 300 people dead and 100,000 homeless - wandering streets or setting up shelters in parks and cemeteries. But out of the ashes, Murphy notes, a new city was built - one that pushed the poor from the city's center even as it presented a new and shining face to the world. (Ages 11-14)

CCBC Choices 1995 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1995. Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from June 1, 1995
Gr. 5^-9. The great Chicago fire has long been the stuff of folklore and legend. Yet separating fact from fiction in this major disaster has often appeared a secondary priority at best. Murphy sets the record straight through carefully selected documents, personal accounts, photographs, and illustrations. Beginning on that warm Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, in the O'Leary barn, Murphy traces the fire through its three horror-filled days as, fed by lusty prairie winds, cinders from a Saturday night blaze, and structures (even streets and sidewalks) built almost entirely of wood, it consumed block after block of homes, businesses, and bodies, eventually leaving 100,000 people homeless. The book's design complements the author's treatment of the subject. Six double-page spreads of Chicago street maps show the sweep of the flames from the little-known Saturday blaze until rain finally extinguished the fire on Tuesday. Photographs and illustrations of the conflagration and the damage it left behind only add fuel to the author's dramatic text, a riveting narrative that combines the details of the fire itself with personal anecdotes gleaned from newspaper accounts and books written during and immediately after the fire. "The Great Fire" will automatically draw readers with its fiery cover and illustrations of disaster, but the text will keep them reading. ((Reviewed June 1 & 15, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from April 3, 1995
For more than a century, poor Mrs. O'Leary and her cow have shouldered the blame for Chicago's infamous Great Fire of 1871. Now Murphy (The Boys' War; Across America on an Emigrant Train) lays bare the facts concerning one of the biggest disasters in American history, in the process exculpating the maligned bovine and her owner. Murphy demonstrates that the fire could have been contained: he unfolds a tale of botched communication, class discrimination (the fire began in a working-class section of the city and only later spread to the wealthier areas) and plain old bad luck. Strategically quoting the written accounts of witnesses-who include a 12-year-old girl and a newspaper editor-Murphy both charts the 31-hour spread of the fire and conveys the atmosphere in the streets. This volume, beautifully printed in sepia tones, contains historic photos, engravings and newspaper clippings on nearly every page. Especially helpful are maps placed at intervals throughout the book that represent the progress of the fire. Engrossing. Ages 8-12.

From AudioFile Magazine

Listening to THE GREAT FIRE narrated by Taylor Mali is like watching a History Channel program with one's eyes closed. The personal narratives, eyewitness accounts, and expert opinions that piece together the events of the Chicago fire of 1871 are here but not, unfortunately, the maps and illustrations showing the fire's rapid spread and damage. Award-winning author Jim Murphy meticulously researched the circumstances of one of the worst conflagrations in American history, a disaster that left more than 200,000 people homeless and hundreds dead. Slam poet Mali conveys the terror, rage, and hope reborn experienced by the stunned Chicagoans, making this Audio Bookshelf production one that will burn in memory long after the recording ends. M.M.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine