Worlds Afire

Publishers Weekly

Janeczko, who has edited such standout collections as A Poke in the I, here takes on an ambitious task: a novel in verse about a circus fire in Hartford, Conn., on July 6, 1944. Separated into three parts (before, during and after the fire), the 29 poems together create an impression of the devastation that resulted in the deaths of 167 people. Only four of the speakers are children, but their poems are the most affecting. In Part I, 11-year-old Polly McDonald says, "I'd've been happy to stay/ in the animal tent all day,/ but Aunt Betty insisted/ we see the show," and 13-year-old Anne Bibby blames her mother for missing the circus because the woman has to work. As the novel unfolds, the irony of both girls' words becomes clear. In Part II, when the fire has started, 13-year-old Donald Hutchinson recalls the kinds of details that people become aware of in times of crisis: "I was under the bleachers/ .../ I'd scooped/ three quarters,/ a half-eaten Baby Ruth bar,/ and a linen handkerchief/ with the initials NVE." The 25 poems from the adults' perspectives are less compelling; the arsonist's confession seems vague, for instance, and because the audience doesn't get to know the townspeople, their words likely won't pull readers in as much as the children's do. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

The Hartford, Connecticut, circus fire of July 6, 1944, killed 167 people (mainly women and children) in only a few minutes and left another 500 badly burned. In a gripping collection of free-verse poems, acclaimed poet Janeczko gives voice to 29 different persons who eagerly anticipated the excitement of the circus, experience the sudden horror of its inferno, tend to the wounded and dying, and then identify and bury the dead. These are actual poems, not merely evocative prose arranged in a poetic-looking way on the page, as seen in so many recent free-verse YA novels. Each one presents a life either doomed or transformed by the events of one tragic summer's afternoon: the gorilla trainer who regales curious kids with bald, bloodthirsty lies about her charges ("Nobody comes to the circus for the truth"); the maimed World War II veterans released for the day from the army hospital to come to the circus and gawk at the freaks; the valiant musicians in the circus band, playing "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "until our uniforms blackened with soot and our gold buttons were too hot to touch;" and the haunting story of an angelic-looking six-year-old child, toe-tagged in the morgue as Number 1565, whom no one ever came to collect or to mourn. The subject matter is undeniably grim, an unsparing, painstakingly observed record of devastating loss. But, as with September 11, it's also painfully fascinating to relive. Fortunately, it's punctuated with a few piercing stories of quiet and selfless heroism that make us able to bear to keep on reading. 2004, Candlewick, Ages 12 up.
—Claudia Mills

VOYA

On July 6, 1944, the big-top circus tent in Hartford, Connecticut, caught fire, and in only a few minutes burned out of control, killing 167 and injuring more than 500 as they tried to escape the conflagration. Although the event has been recorded in several fiction and nonfiction accounts, Janezcko is the first to tell the story in poetic form. This poetic novel truly captures the terror, chaos, and horrible aftermath of the tragedy and allows readers to experience it from many different viewpoints. Each poem's title is the name of the character speaking (all based on real people), and the poems are arranged in chronological order. Voices include an animal trainer, an usher, a fire expert, a nurse, a police detective, and several spectators, both victims and survivors. Most compelling are the words from children and parents, rescue workers, and a man who captured the scene on his eight millimeter home movie camera. The author and editor of more than thirty books of or about poetry, Janeczko crafts an authentic tale of a little-known tragedy. It is a history lesson thanks to his thorough research, but one told in the spirit of the individual, which always brings history to life. This collection will definitely enhance the recent popularity of novels written in poetic format, such as After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields (Henry Holt, 2002/VOYA December 2002) and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic, 1997/VOYA April 1998). It should appeal to many students, regardless of their interest in poetry. VOYA Codes: 5Q 3P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9;Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Candlewick, 112p., Ages 11 to 18.
—Kim Zach

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-A riveting account of a horrific event that killed 167 people, mostly women and children, and injured 500. In a collection of narrative poems, Janeczko describes a circus fire that took place on July 6, 1944 in Hartford, CT, from the viewpoints of those who were there. The event's horror leaps vividly from each poem. The brief book is divided into three parts-a sort of introduction, the fire itself, and the aftermath as people tried to understand what went wrong. Readers hear from police officers, and many circus people, as well as the 13-year-old girl whose friends were lucky enough to go to the circus while she had to stay home. The voices lend immediacy to the story and enhance the sense of tragedy. This is a memorable historical fiction selection, similar in intensity to Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (1997) and Witness (2001, both Scholastic).-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In 29 taut, free-verse poems, Janeczko describes the Barnum & Bailey Circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1944, this catastrophe killed 167 people and injured over 500 others. Three parts anticipate the performance, describe the fire, and recount its aftermath. Each poem features a different person and provides a specific point of view of the calamity. This device has its strengths (creation of plot tension, accurate depiction of WWII Hartford, and the texture of daily life) and weaknesses (lack of cohesiveness and character detail). Each voice is distinct: in toto, they convey the horror of the event, while moving the reader's attention forward. As in several YA novels published recently, adult voices predominate. This will not discourage YA readers and it increases the amount of factual information in the poems. Just as Edgar Lee Masters's Spoon River Anthology described a midwestern town through the voices of its dead, this work creates an overview of a community in tragedy rather than a fictional whole. A rich, challenging poetry experience. (Poetry. YA)