Worlds Afire

Worlds Afire
By Paul B. Janeczko
Candlewick Press, 2004. 92 pgs. Young Adult Nonfiction

On July 6, 1944, a fire at a circus in Hartford, Connecticut killed 167 people. Here Janeczko, in a series of poems told from the point of view of different people involved in that fire (children, parents, detectives, etc.) shows the anticipation of the circus, the horror of the fire, and the aftermath of it.

Although this book is short, it is powerful. I'd never heard anything about this tragedy, but I appreciated the way Janeczko could provide so much information in so few words. A bibliography as well as additional information about the fire would improve this book (the brief note is not enough to fill the reader's need for information), but still, I highly recommend this one.

AE