Tarshis, Lauren (1963-…), is an American children’s book author. She became known for her best-selling series “I Survived,” which began with I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (2010). Each book in the series tells the story of a fictional young person who survived a real-life war, disaster, or other danger.
The “I Survived” books are works of historical fiction. Each book features an important historical event, such as the Hindenburg Disaster in 1937 or Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The story is told through the eyes of a child experiencing the event. The related nonfiction series “I Survived True Stories” collects the stories of real children who survived various dangers. It began with I Survived True Stories #1: Five Epic Disasters (2014). Tarshis is also known for her children’s novel Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree (2007) and its sequel, Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love (2009).
Tarshis was born on Nov. 23, 1963, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated from Barnard College in New York City in 1985. Tarshis became editor-in-chief of the publisher Scholastic’s Classroom Magazine Division in 2018.
