The Danger Files: Real-Life Disasters

From the Titanic to the Boston molasses flood, investigate five famous historical disasters just like a real reporter—through facts, eyewitnesses, and clues—with Emmy-winning journalist Anna Crowley Redding.

Delve deeper into some of the most dramatic disasters in history! Using case files full of firsthand accounts, critical facts, do-at-home experiments, and clues, readers can become disaster detectives and determine for themselves what happened and why. Take on the sinking of the Titanic, the crash of the Hindenburg, the Great Influenza epidemic of 1918, the Boston molasses flood, and the fire that decimated the city of Chicago. A “Your Mission!” introduction gets readers actively involved, and an inviting layout that evokes the feel of a working case file, complete with paperclipped notes and important pictures, keeps them eager for the next clue. Author Anna Crowley Redding brings her extensive journalism background to this engrossing dive into history, and Robbie Cathro’s active illustrations bring the scenes—and the real people involved—to life. Back matter includes extensive source notes and a bibliography for young journalists who want to get an even bigger scoop.

Anna Crowley Redding is an Emmy Award–winning investigative television reporter, anchor, and journalist who has turned her considerable talent to children’s books. She is the author of several young adult nonfiction titles, including Black Hole Chasers: The Amazing True Story of an Astronomical Breakthrough and Rescuing the Declaration of Independence: How We Almost Lost the Words That Built America, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. Anna Crowley Redding lives with her family in Maine.

Robbie Cathro is an illustrator and storyteller who loves to make fun, colorful, and charismatic books. He studied at the University of the West of England and is the illustrator of Be Your Own Man by Jessica Sanders and Two Grooms on a Cake by Rob Sanders. Robbie Cathro lives in Bristol, UK.