I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967

I Survived

by Lauren Tarshis

No grizzly has ever killed a human in Glacier before . . . until tonight. Eleven-year-old Melody Vega and her family come to Glacier National Park every year, and it's always been a place where she can forget her troubles. But this year is different. With Mom gone, every moment in the park is a heartbreaking reminder of the past.Then Mel comes face-to-face with the mighty grizzly. Now her only thought is one of survival. Mel will soon be a part of one of the most tragic seasons in the history of America's national parks - a summer of terror that will forever change ideas about how grizzlies and humans can exist together in the wild.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Juvenile, Historical

114 pages, Library Binding

First published September 25, 2018

About the author

Lauren Tarshis often wonders how she came to spend most of her waking moments thinking about disasters, as the author of the children's historical fiction series "I Survived." Each book takes readers into the heart of history's most thrilling and terrifying events, including the sinking of the Titanic, the Shark Attacks of 1916, Hurricane Katrina, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the San Francisco earthquake, 9/11, and the Battle of Gettysburg. Writing these books often makes her feel very nervous, as though at any moment a volcano could erupt right outside her window. Then again, she has learned a thing or two about avoiding being eaten by a shark.
Lauren is also the author of the the award-winning Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree and its sequel, Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love.

For more information, go to her website: www.LaurenTarshis.com

And check out the I Survived Website: www.Scholastic.com/ISurvived

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our friend Smokey the Bear must have been grieved over the grizzly bear crisis in Glacier National Park in the 1960's. There were two deaths and many attacks due to carelessness and encroaching on the bears' natural habitat. Our parks are safer and cleaner today due to the catastrophe in 1967. Includes handy bear facts.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glacier National Park - 1967

"No grizzly had ever killed a human being in Glacier National Park. Until tonight."

This is both a fun and scary little adventure, plus imperative learning experience for both adults and children alike. It not only teaches us about the difference between a grizzly and a brown bear....what to do and not do if confronted by one, but also 30,000 reasons to avoid a porcupine. Yikes!

Book #17 in the I SURVIVED series is also a sad and important reminder of how fragile our environment is to wildlife and our future. It makes me never want to use anything plastic again, and I can't believe hikers are still dumping trash in our beautiful National Parks. Back in the 60's, I am ashamed to admit how common it was to see people throwing trash out their car windows.

Of the eight books I've read in this series, ATTACK OF THE GRIZZLIES is my favorite thus far.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo and I undertook our second adventure in the world of I Survived and chose a great one. Mel and Kevin have enjoyed their annual trips to see their grandfather in Glacier National Park, but this one is a little different. Months after their mother died in a car accident, there is a pall over the trip. The year is 1967 and while the world is changing, the children are happy to be able to hold onto something they know. While telling stories, the children and their ‘Pops’ end up in a scary and very unusual encounter with a grizzly. While these bears do not normally attack humans, this one almost made mincemeat of them all. Shaken, Mel and her Aunt Cassie look to alert the rangers the following day, though it is dismissed as being an anomaly. A local scientist hears their story and wants them to help him as he investigates on the other side of the park. What they find not only stuns them, but creates quite the unsettling discovery. Will Mel and those around her be able to cast light on the grizzly issue in Glacier National Park, or will be be swept aside, left to campfire stories? Lauren Tarshis tells all in this piece that captures the attention of the young reader.

Neo and I both learned a great deal from this book, both about grizzlies and their habitat. Neo was especially interested in hearing about the attack scenes, feeling as though he were right there. I enjoyed the storytelling, which was detailed, but not to the point of losing the intended audience. The information and narrative are easy to handle and with shorter chapters, readers (or listeners) will surely be able to devour this book in short order. I have enjoyed both books in his loose series and know Neo wants to read more. We’ll make sure to do so soon.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967 (I Survived, #17), New York Times bestselling author Lauren Tarshis tackles the historic grizzly bear attacks in Glacier National Park in this latest installment of the groundbreaking I Survived series.

No grizzly has ever killed a human in Glacier before . . . until tonight. Eleven-year-old Melody Vega and her family come to Glacier National Park every year, and it's always been a place where she can forget her troubles. But this year is different. With Mom gone, every moment in the park is a heartbreaking reminder of the past. Then Mel comes face-to-face with the mighty grizzly. Now her only thought is one of survival. Mel will soon be a part of one of the most tragic seasons in the history of America's national parks - a summer of terror that will forever change ideas about how grizzlies and humans can exist together in the wild.

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

In August 1967 in Glacier National Park, two young women in separate campgrounds were mauled to death on the same night by different grizzly bears. And there were many other aggressive grizzly bear behaviors that summer. It was determined the cause was people leaving food and trash all over the park. It caused all of the National Parks to enforce rules to change these habits.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow....this one is intense! I've read several of the "I Survived" series to share with my students, but this one was more nerve wracking personally. My students will love this one.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Overdrive app *


When I'm in a reading slump, sometimes I turn to this series and read a 2 or 3 in a row.. I space em out so I don't get series fatigue but I really enjoy listening to these and would recommend them for adults and the young and/or readers in your family.

Small complaint I wish they would just jump right into the first chapter instead of the prologue/preview.. it'd be make more sense in my opinion *shrugs *

Story/characters: 3.5 stars 🌟
Narration: 4 stars 🌟
---

It's sad it usually takes a tragedy for change to happen. And some people still don't listen.

A good story. 👍

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the only I Survived book where I didn't know anything about the historical incident, so I was excited to read it. I would've given it four stars except for one very particular line that really bothered me. It is a bit of a spoiler, though. When they meet the bear expert, the guy tells them a story about when he and his dad were attacked by a bear, and his dad ended up dying (because he hit his head on a rock). Then he said "almost even worse [than my dad dying] was that the bear was killed." I read that and thought WTF????? I'm sorry but a bear being killed for attacking humans is sad, but not "almost as bad" as your father dying!!!! Especially in a bear attack! It was just absolutely too ridiculous.

The story is, at a famous Chalet in Glacier, the place is leaving out all their garbage and bears are coming to eat it, which makes it so people are coming to watch them. Obviously a very dangerous situation.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one with the kiddo. We finished the last few chapters by listening to the audio.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate that the author teaches the reader how to treat the forest with respect. The bears are not the bad guys of the tale.

[Kyisha Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I read it aloud to my cousins. We read it quickly and enjoyed learning about why the Grizzles attacked and why it's important to respect wildlife. This is the first I survived book I have read since I was in elementary myself, but I feel that it was a good representative of the series. However, the book was more on the simple side, and I could often guess the plot-beats. Some action pictures also somewhat spoiled the plot of coming pages. Overall, it was a fun read, and we will be reading another.

[Snake · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a little scary. I liked the story. I liked Mel in the story because she survived. Two girls were killed by the grizzlies. The story was very good.

[Charity Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! The is one of Lauren's newest in the series, and it did not disappoint. As a librarian, it was a super quick read for me, but I am sure it would take a bit longer for children/students. I have purchased this one to add to our collection.

This book is great for reluctant readers. The cool thing about it, is the fact that these events really happened and the reader gets to learn the history of the event through a fictional retelling. The main character in the story might be slightly made up, or only based on a true person, but all the events are explained in detail at the end of the book. This book made me want to actually visit the park it's based on. Or at least start doing some research (which I did.)

Warning for young readers: it's definitely scary, and sad when you find out these bears did in fact kill people in real life. It's not overly graphic, but having a good imagination can make it scarier. However, the takeaway from this book is not make you terrified of bears (in fact the author has written a short section regarding this in the back of the book). Her point was that as man interferes with nature, we often do it in such a negative and disrespectful way that is causes harm to us and the animals/wildlife. And she's right. You need to respect wild animals and have a certain amount of fear for them, or the results can be tragic.

Recommend for reluctant readers, kids who love true stories, adventure, wildlife stories, survival stories. And honestly, adults can enjoy this quick read as well! Maybe it will inspire you to do some research into history as well!

[Dottie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: There are animal and human deaths. There are also graphic descriptions of animals suffering.

This was a hard one to read. I had to stop several times. I kept getting stomach pangs. As an animal lover this book brought me so much sadness. I don’t regret reading it though. I had no idea this even took place. Nonetheless I got through it and learned something new.

[Azra's Book Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love history and this is perfect

[Harlyn Rengel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all of the, I survived books and I love them ALL!! Lauren Tarshis is a super good author but this one is MY favorite. It’s a really good book about Melody Vega.

Love Harlyn.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic I survived. We did learn what to do if you run into a grizzly (play dead, don’t run, maybe climb a tree). We also learned that these specific bear attacks were why national parks started having better garbage containment/disposal and giving more guidance on how not to attract bears. The girl in this story isn’t really all that close to the actual attacks but does get attacked by a bear in the general area.

[Luke Port · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brave male protagonist with no other character traits (X)
Story about parents (Check)
Adult protagonist looks up to (X)
Deceased/Absent parent ✅
Younger kid who is attached to protagonist ✅

This one feels more like a hippie nature preservation book than a book about grizzly bear attack but I still really liked it!

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by far, my favorite in this series!

[Reygan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book called I Survived The Attack of the Grizzlies because I never wanted to put it down, and every chapter was a cliff hanger for me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third graders were riveted- and that’s nearly impossible in the month of May. As a result, all her books flew off the library shelf!

[Isabella Conley]

These books were my favorite as a child and now I’m reading them to my little sister! ❤️

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my 9 year old. She was fascinated by it.

[Vinnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

People are dumb. But this is great for kids to respect nature

[Jarod Bauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, thrilling at times. Love the story behind the trash dump

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! The thing I appreciated most about this book was that it showed the devastating effects of not appropriately appreciating and interacting with nature.

[trinity ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don’t know how to rate this because again it’s for children but at least it brings up my reading goal

[Clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty good entry in the series, though not as exciting as others.

[Khalil McMorris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren Tarshis’s I survived the attack of the grizzlies took place in 1967. It was about an eleven year old girl named Mel who was visiting glacier national park. At the park people were littering and it was driving grizzlies crazy. I would really recommend this book especially if you enjoy animals such as grizzlies.