During my first two writing programmes in 2020-21, one participant (who wrote this poem) recommended the I Survived series. She spoke about it time and again, and somehow, I never ended up picking up a copy. In June this year, when I travelled to Nagpur for a set of workshops, I ran out of books to read, so I visited Crossword. There, I came across the I Survived series and decided it was high time I read at least one of the books. It’s perfect for my reading programme, Read, Write, Explore!
The I Survived series tells the stories of young people caught in disasters and turmoil out of their control. I wanted a book that is set in the lifetime of my participants, which is why I chose I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018.
Many of us read about the deadliest fire season in a hundred years, and the story of a pair of cousins escaping a forest fire is a compelling one, perfect for a book discussion. The protagonist Josh is in the midst of a personal crisis too, providing us with the perfect opportunity to discuss characters, problems and setting. Ideal for a reading programme that introduces creative writing!
Book Discussion
All of us know about the climate crisis. Even as I write this, Pakistan is experiencing the worst floods in a century. What should we do? Can we do anything? I will ask each of the children to share something they know about climate change and climate activism; I’m sure all of us will learn something new!
Vocabulary
What kinds of words build suspense and tension? How do cliffhangers at the end of each chapter work?
Vocabulary games are always fun, and we’ll see what words we can use to create greater emotional impact. We’ll also work with a few literary devices – the book is full of examples of personification and hyperbole.
Characters and Plot
Josh is nowhere near perfect. Does a protagonist need to be perfect? Let’s explore this!
The blurb of I Survived the California Wildfires 2018 says that a family crisis is ‘burning him up inside’, even as a wildfire blazes around him. And here, we have something else to discuss – the way character’s story is intertwined with the larger setting.
And finally, as we discuss this, we will look at different kinds of conflict – internal and external – and how writers use both in multiple ways.
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