On Board the Titanic: What It Was Like When the Great Liner Sank - Softcover

Tanaka, Shelley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786813180 ISBN 13: 9780786813186

Publisher: Hyperion/Madison Press, 1996

Synopsis

Named an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists and a Notable Children's Book in the Field of Social Sciences, a vivid account of the infamous shipwreck, as experienced by two young men aboard the ship, includes powerful paintings and ship diagrams. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author:

Shelley Tanaka is an award-winning children’s book author and editor. She is the author of Amelia Earhart and Mummies: The Newest, Coolest & Creepiest from Around the World, as well as several other books in the I Was There series. She lives in Kingston, Ontario. Ken Marschall is a maritime artist and the illustrator of The Discovery of the Titanic and The Discovery of the Bismarck. He lives in Redondo Beach, California.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5?This book covers the six days surrounding the sinking of the Titanic, as seen through the eyes of two survivors: 17-year-old Jack Thayer, a passenger, and Harold Bride, the 22-year-old assistant wireless operator. With fictionalized words and feelings attributed to these actual historical figures, the text has a slightly stilted feel to it. Facts and details about the ship are sometimes awkwardly inserted into Jack's experiences, especially during the first part of the book. But overall, the fictionalization works fairly well. Jack observes details that give immediacy to the disaster and the people involved. As the story progresses towards the catastrophe, it is hard not to get caught up in the tension. By the time of the actual shipwreck, readers know Jack pretty well, as well as a few other passengers, so the tragedy has a personal impact beyond the sheer numbers. Numerous full-color and black-and-white diagrams, historical photographs and drawings, and original paintings help bring the voyage to life. Technical flaws that contributed to the tragedy are woven neatly into the text and diagrams. Robert Ballard's Exploring the Titanic (Scholastic, 1988) is more fascinating, and Deborah Kent's The Titanic (Childrens, 1993) gives a drier, more straightforward account, while Daisy Spedden's Polar the Titanic Bear (Little, 1994) offers a more fanciful fictionalized version. Tanaka's book will serve as an attractive introduction to a popular topic.?Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library,
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hyperion/Madison Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0786813180
• ISBN 13: 9780786813186
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Marschall Ken