Chicago Fire of 1871

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-This book lacks the engaging writing and effortless history found in Jim Murphy's The Great Fire (Scholastic, 1995). The text is adequate, but pedestrian. The dryness of the preceding summer, the probable innocence of Mrs. O'Leary's cow, the human experience and toll of the blaze, the rebuilding that culminated in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and the subsequent improvements in fire-fighting technology and the establishment of Fire Prevention Week are all given their due. However, Balcavage loses credibility in the last chapter when she misstates the provenance of Chicago's famous nickname, provides obsolete statistics for O'Hare Airport, and cuts the population of the Chicago metropolitan area by almost one million. Beware of getting burned.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.