Exploration & Discovery, 1900s, Planes & Aviation 

A look at the luxury airship and its infamous disaster of 1937. A fictionalized narrative of the voyage of two young people who were on board provides a serviceable story, but it is the illustrations-which include pictures of artifacts and a rare color photo of the crash scene-that are the draw here. Marschall's large-scale art is historically and technically accurate, amazingly detailed and dramatic, and informative and interesting. It succeeds in conveying the scope of both the airship's size and demise, featuring a foldout quadruple-page spread. Students will be able to tour the inside of the engine room, walk the catwalk beneath the gasbags and girders, and take a shower or play the baby grand piano in the passenger areas. The artist's talent allows for views of all of this, and the perspectives are fantastic. When the destructive flames begin, readers will almost be able to feel and hear them. For the in-depth picture, pair this with some of the other recent titles on this topic such as Patrick O'Brien's The Hindenburg (Holt, 2000) for younger readers, and Gina De Angelis's The Hindenburg (Chelsea, 2000) for older readers. Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL - from Amzon