Audrey Under the Big Top: A Hartford Circus Fire Survival Story

by Jessica Gunderson (Author) Wendy Tan Shiau Wei (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: Girls Survive

Twelve-year-old Audrey wants nothing more than to be a dance performer and aerialist, but that feels far from reality in 1944 Hartford, Connecticut.

So when she learns the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming to town, Audrey is determined to be there under the big top. It's her only chance to see the Flying Wallendas, a world-renowned highwire act, perform. Audrey convinces her mother to let her take her six-year-old twin sisters with her to the show. But disaster strikes when a fire breaks out under the big top. Can Audrey escape--and find her siblings--before the tent comes crashing down?

Readers can learn the real story of the Hartford Circus Fire from the nonfiction backmatter, including a glossary, discussion questions, writing prompts, and more, in this Girls Survive story.

Select format:
Paperback
$9.99

More books in the series - See All

Other series you might like

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781666330625
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Stone Arch Books
Publication date
January 01, 2022
Series
Girls Survive
BISAC categories
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV016150 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | United States - 20th Century
JUV001010 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Survival Stories
JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
JUV031010 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Circus
Library of Congress categories
History
Circus
Survival
Sisters
Historical fiction
Twins
Connecticut
Fires
Hartford Circus Fire, Hartford, Conn., 1944
Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined
Hartford
Hartford (Conn.)

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!