Published by Scholastic in 2015, I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011 is the 12th book in author Lauren Tarshis’s I Survived series of middle grade novels that narrate historical disasters through the eyes of an 11-year-old protagonist. The novel explores themes around community, resilience, and resourcefulness as responses to unavoidable catastrophic events. The I Survived books are a New York Times and USA Today bestselling series.

This study guide refers to the 2015 Scholastic Kindle edition.

Plot Summary

The novel begins in the middle of the action, with the tornado in full force. The novel’s 11-year-old protagonist, Dex, is in an SUV about to be sucked out of a broken window. He wanted to see a tornado in action but now realizes he may be unable to escape it.

The narrative rewinds to the previous day. With his dog, Zeke, following at his heels, Dex rides his bicycle through his Joplin neighborhood and chats with his neighbors. Thinking about the danger his brother Jeremy, who is a Navy SEAL, could face, Dex becomes distracted and is almost hit by an SUV, but Zeke saves him by pushing him off his bicycle. The SUV’s driver is well-known storm chaser Dr. Norman Gage, an old college friend of Dex’s father. Dr. Gage invites Dex and his father to join him the following day as he tracks the storm, but Dex knows his father’s work obligations will prevent his father from going. Dex’s mother is ambivalent about Dex going, but his father assures her that their son will be safe with Dr. Gage.

The following day, Dr. Gage gives Dex and his father a tour of the safety features and storm-tracking equipment in his SUV and discusses the research project he is working on to build scientists’ knowledge about tornadoes. A supercell storm is expected to hit Kansas that day; this is the most severe type of thunderstorm and is capable of creating a tornado. After saying goodbye to Dex’s parents, who will be going to work, Dex and Dr. Gage set off for Kansas.

As they drive through Joplin, Dex confirms Dr. Gage’s assessment that Joplin must be a nice place to grow up. Along their journey, they meet Jimmy and Sara, friends of Dr. Gage and fellow storm chasers. Dr. Gage discloses that Jimmy severely injured his leg chasing an EF-5 tornado, the strongest and most violent kind, after it abruptly changed course. Tornadoes cannot always be predicted, and they cannot always be seen. These qualities make them extremely dangerous. Dr. Gage was injured as a boy when he was caught outside during a tornado, and two of his friends were among the lives lost.

After following the storm for a few miles, Dr. Gage pulls the car over, and Dex assists him with his research. When lightning begins to strike, Dr. Gage hurries them back to the car. As rain and hail begin pouring down, Dex is struck by a large hailstone. After getting Dex safely back to the car, Dr. Gage retrieves a hailstone and stashes it in a portable freezer as a souvenir for Dex, who imagines showing it to his friends at school. After consulting his radar map, Dr. Gage becomes concerned about the severity of the storm and decides they need to head back to Joplin. Though he distracts Dex with funny stories about his father, Dr. Gage is clearly concerned about a large grey cloud behind them. A lightning flash reveals the tornado inside the cloud that is traveling toward Joplin.

Dr. Gage reports the tornado sighting to 911 and races back toward Joplin. On the SUV’s radar maps, Dex sees pink dots that represent debris and realizes the tornado is tearing Joplin apart. A telephone pole crashes across the road, causing Dr. Gage to break suddenly and spin out of control into a chain link fence. A stop sign and large pieces of roof crash into them. The winds pick up, swirling violently around them. The windshield cracks due to the force of the wind, which threatens to suck Dex out of the car, but Dr. Gage grabs his arm. Dex curls into a ball under the dashboard. The car flips over several times until the tornado finally moves on.

All around him, Dex sees debris and destruction. Dr. Gage, who was thrown from the car, lies motionless on the ground. He is breathing but bleeding profusely from a leg injury. Thinking of Jeremy, Dex resolves to do whatever he can to save Dr. Gage. Drawing on first aid training he learned the previous summer, he binds Dr. Gage’s leg. Jimmy and Sara arrive and use a door they find among the debris to make a stretcher to carry Dr. Gage to their pickup truck. They want Dex to come with them to the hospital, but he is anxious to return to his house and find his parents.

His neighborhood has been decimated, and his own family home is in ruins. Terrified that his parents are buried under the rubble, he begins digging frantically, weeping. Zeke runs up to him, and he hears his parents’ voices calling him in the distance. The family is joyfully reunited.

Two weeks later, Dex and his family are living in an apartment. Friends and volunteers from Joplin and around the country have donated items to ease the family’s situation, and Dex and his friends volunteer through their church. Dr. Gage is recovering at home in Oklahoma. After an emotional phone call, Jeremy sends Dex his SEAL pin, a symbol of courage and resilience. Dex reflects on what he loves most about Joplin, which is the strength of the community.