Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Hindenburg Disaster
Illustrator: Steve Erwin , Charles Barnett III , Keith Williams
Nonfiction Graphic Novel Series
For ages 7 to 9
Capstone Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-0736854818
When the Hindenburg, a large hydrogen-filled zeppelin, left Germany in early May in 1937 to travel to the United States, some of the passengers were worried that the air ship might be unsafe, but the three day journey across the Atlantic was uneventful. The weather in New Jersey was unstable and landing was postponed for a while until the evening of May 6th. Then, at around 7: 30, landing lines were released and just a short while after people on the ground saw flames licking at the airborne ship.
Because of the flammable nature of the gas in the air ship, the fire spread in just seconds, and soon the whole airship was an inferno. People leaped from the burning airship, and in the end thirty six people died as a result of this disaster. Because of the loss of the Hindenburg airships soon went into a decline.
This graphic novel style account of what happened to the Hindenburg is sure to capture the interest of young readers who like to read about the history of air travel. Carefully researched and including the accounts people who were present on that dreadful day, this is one of the titles in the “Graphic Library” series.
