Every I Survived Book in Order, 1 to 26 (2026 List)

Your child closes I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 and asks for the next one before the lights go out. Then you search "I Survived books" and find a Titanic novel, a Titanic graphic novel and a nonfiction book with "True Stories" on the cover, so you type "how many I Survived books are there" next. This guide puts the I Survived books in order, gives the count as of October 2026, and adds a second, history-based order for kids who love timelines.

Does the order of the I Survived books matter?

Order matters less in I Survived than in almost any other long series. Every book has a new child hero, a new place and a new disaster, so a child can start with book 17 and miss nothing.

The Scholastic Parents guide to the series says the same: kids can start with any book, and letting them pick what interests them is the best way in. Publication order is still the easiest way to track which books a child owns.

The two orders that work

Two orders make sense for this series. Publication order, book 1 to 26, follows the numbers on the spines and is the order libraries use, while history order sorts the books by the year of each event and turns the series into a walk through world history.

Scholastic's guide suggests the history order as one option, starting with Pompeii. Pick one order, write it on a bookmark, and let your child check books off.

All 26 I Survived books in order

Twenty-six I Survived books are out as of October 2026, all written by Lauren Tarshis and published by Scholastic. Dates below come from the I Survived bibliography on Wikipedia, checked against the numbered list on Lauren Tarshis's own site.

The series ran at about two books a year until 2019 and has settled at one a year since 2020, each new book arriving in the fall. That pace explains why a box set bought a few years ago is already several books short.

The newest I Survived book: Night of the Lions

The newest I Survived book is I Survived the Night of the Lions, 2025, book 26, released September 15, 2026. The title says 2025 because that is the year the story is set, and the release came a year later.

Scholastic's listing gives 144 pages for ages 8 to 12. Eleven-year-old Dylan travels to Botswana with his filmmaker sister, and a plane crash leaves him stranded in the wilderness with lions nearby. Lauren Tarshis's site marks it as the newest book, and no book 27 is listed there yet.

I Survived books in history order

History order puts the 26 books on one timeline, by the year of the event in each title. Two books share 1944 and two share 2011; inside each pair, read the lower number first.

History order front-loads two heavy books, Pompeii and the Black Death. For a younger or sensitive reader, start the timeline at 1912 with the Titanic and come back to the early books later.

Reading by theme instead

Theme order groups books that talk to each other. Scholastic's guide pairs the two volcano books (10 and 14), the World War II books (4, 9, 13 and 18), and the early-1900s books (1, 2 and 19). Lauren Tarshis's own favorite pairing is book 1 with book 13, because the Titanic and the Hindenburg share so many connections.

I Survived graphic novels and nonfiction books

The I Survived shelf holds three kinds of books, and they are easy to mix up in a store. The graphic novels retell existing novels in comic form, and the True Stories books are nonfiction.

The 14 graphic novels, in order, retell Titanic, Shark Attacks of 1916, Nazi Invasion, September 11, Attack of the Grizzlies, Hurricane Katrina, Great Chicago Fire, American Revolution, D-Day, Pompeii, Great Molasses Flood, Japanese Tsunami, California Wildfires and, from July 2026, Pearl Harbor. They tell the same stories as the novels, so a child who owns both gets the same plot twice.

The four True Stories books are Five Epic Disasters (2014), Nature Attacks! (2015), Tornado Terror (2017) and Courageous Creatures. Lauren Tarshis's site also lists a newer nonfiction line, I Survived True Survivors, starting with the 1925 Tri-State Tornado and the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora.

A graphic novel is a fair way into this series for a child who stalls on chapter books. Our guide to graphic novels for kids covers how to read comics together and what to try next.

Common mistakes when buying I Survived in order

• Counting the graphic novels as new stories. All 14 retell existing novels. Check before you buy both versions of the same book.
• Assuming a box set is complete. A new book comes out about once a year. Count against the 26 in the table above.
• Starting a young reader with September 11. Book 6 is one of the most complex. Start with book 1 instead.

What age are I Survived books for?

Scholastic suggests the series for kids in grade 3 and up, and its guide says Lauren Tarshis "generally doesn't recommend her series for kids younger than third grade." Common Sense Media rates the series 7+, and Scholastic lists the newest book for ages 8 to 12.

Most 8- to 10-year-olds read I Survived on their own, and a confident 7-year-old can read one with an adult nearby. For more picks at this level, see our books for 7-year-olds and the top 20 must-read children's books for ages 8 to 10.

Content note: these are real disasters

The I Survived books are about real disasters, and people die in them. Common Sense Media calls the series "captivating, emotional, and historically accurate" and notes that the tension "can be intense for young readers." Lauren Tarshis tells parents to consider a younger child's sensitivities, because her characters "experience loss and frightening events."

Scholastic's guide names the Titanic (1), Joplin Tornado (12) and Hindenburg (13) books as better for young readers. It calls September 11, the Nazi invasion and other World War II books more complex, so those are good ones to save for an older or steadier reader.

How to read I Survived with a sensitive child, step by step

A sensitive child can still love this series with a little planning.

1. Start with a gentler book. Pick Titanic, Joplin Tornado or Hindenburg, the three Scholastic names for young readers. Save September 11, the Nazi invasion and D-Day for later.
2. Read the first chapter together. Hearing the danger in your voice, with you beside them, is easier than meeting it alone. Once your child is hooked, let them take over.
3. Read in daylight. A disaster story right before sleep can stick. Move I Survived to the afternoon and keep bedtime for calmer books.
4. Pause at the hard parts. Ask what the hero is feeling and what they might do next. A child who talks through a scary scene usually wants to keep going.
5. Talk about what happened next in real life. After the last page, look up together what people changed after the disaster, such as new safety rules or warning systems. A child who learns how the world responded finishes the book with context.
6. Let your child stop. A book that is too much today can wait a year. The series will still be there.

Try itCreate a personalized storybookYour child's name and photo, a story in minutes

Signs a book is too much are easy to spot: trouble falling asleep, repeated questions about whether it could happen to your family, or a child who avoids the book. Switch to a graphic novel retelling of a gentler title, or to a lighter series, and come back later.

What to read after I Survived

A child who finishes all 26 books has a few good next steps.

• Another long series in order. The Magic Tree House books in order give a gentler option for kids who like to collect a numbered series.
• Mystery books. The same page-turning tension, without the disaster. Try our list of mystery books for kids.
• The nonfiction shelf. I Survived True Stories books answer the "was this real?" question with real survivors' accounts.
• A story of their own. A child who loves history adventures can star in one.

Your I Survived reading checklist

• Confirm the count. Twenty-six novels are out as of October 2026, the newest being Night of the Lions.
• Pick an order. Publication order for collectors, history order for timeline lovers, theme order for curious readers.
• Start gentle. Titanic, Joplin Tornado or Hindenburg first.
• Read the first chapter together. Then let your child take over.
• Keep the graphic novels in mind. They help a reluctant reader into the same stories.

A child who loves history adventures can also star in one of their own. KidTeller turns your child's photo into the illustrated hero and writes a fresh story from any idea you type in free text, such as a trip back to ancient Rome or a voyage on a tall ship. For readers 8 and up, the story is built around what the hero wants versus what they need, and story ideas by theme give a first plot in a minute.