Mayday! Mayday!: A Coast Guard Rescue - Hardcover

Demarest, Chris L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689851618 ISBN 13: 9780689851612

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004

Synopsis

A thirty-foot yacht,
adrift well out to sea,
sends, "MAYDAY! MAYDAY!
Please respond to our plea!"
Hearing this call for help, the United States Coast Guard leaps into action. A team of four highly trained rescue specialists head out in an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter. Battling fierce conditions, the Coast Guard team finally locates the disabled boat, rescues the crew, treats injured passengers, and carries them back to safety.
Complemented by dramatic, striking illustrations, Chris L. Demarest's text brings into vivid focus one of the many important jobs performed by the U.S. Coast Guard. A detailed author's note provides additional information about the search-and-rescue process, making this a terrific book for any school or home library.

About this title

About the Author

Chris L. Demarest says: "A few years ago my wife and I brought our two-year-old son to an open house at a fire station. Ethan loved the big red fire trucks and I became totally enthralled not only by the trucks, but by the idea of serving my community as a firefighter.

"Being a full-time illustrator, I work at home, so I could be on call at any time. I took a lot of classes, passed some hard tests, and became a volunteer firefighter. I am on call for the Meriden, New Hampshire, station, where I now get to drive those big red fire trucks.

"I created Firefighters A to Z to show Ethan and other children what firefighting is really like. It can be an exciting job, but it's also a dangerous one. I hope to convey that through this book."

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 3–Rhyming text and breathtaking illustrations show how the Coast Guard uses aircraft and highly trained personnel to respond to a call for help. The spare yet informative text conveys the urgency and drama of a rescue at sea. The specific role played by each member of the crew is made clear as the pilot locates the troubled vessel, the flight mechanic directs the operation, and the rescue swimmer assists the frightened sailors. Stunning two-page paintings, rendered in pastels, capture the excitement of the action. Also included are large diagrams of the uniforms of the rescue swimmer and flight crew and the H-60 Jayhawk used during the mission. An author's note offers more information about the history of the U.S. Coast Guard, the helicopter, and the actual rescue. This attention-grabbing book will be useful for reports and will satisfy browsers.–Doris Losey, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, Tampa, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

K-Gr. 2. Similar in format to Demarest's Smokejumpers One to Ten (2002) and Hotshots! (2003), this title features rhyming text and action-filled illustrations that show a Coast Guard rescue. Responding to a call for help from a yacht caught in a storm, the four-person team goes into action. Each highly trained specialist has a particular job to do as they locate the boat, rescue the crew, treat the injured, and carry them back to safety. Although children unfamiliar with Coast Guard terminology will need help understanding some of the terms, the pastel illustrations show not only the drama but also the details of a rescue at sea. An author's note explains a rescue operation, and full-page drawings show the special gear and the parts and specifications of the helicopter. Karen Hutt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689851618
• ISBN 13: 9780689851612
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Demarest Chris L.
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40