The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Disasters in History

By: Jessica Gunderson

Narrated by: anonymous

Tells the story of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City on March 25, 1911. Written in audiobook format.

©2006 Jessica Gunderson (P)2013 Capstone Publishers, Inc.

Baskerville Book Reviews

It’s aimed at a younger audience, and it really glosses over a lot of the details. It has a very mediocre feel to it. It’s well-illustrated, but I feel it could have been a little longer and more informative. I think it would be alright for parents or teachers to teach the very basics of this historic tragedy. I appreciate that they listed sources and properly cited them, even using first-hand accounts in the story. The pronunciation guide in the back is also a nice touch.

The audiobook narration is all over. The main male narrator doesn’t know the difference between O and 0, which I find insufferable. 19O9 isn’t a number. The rest of the narration varies from alright to mediocre at best. I think maybe it might be suitable for adults who’d like to do a read-along using the physical book and the audiobook for a very young audience. Some aspects are lost entirely when listening to the audiobook only, such as the announcement that a mouse was found alive. Without the visual, there’s no indication as to what the characters are talking about.