Titanic

Gr 2–4—The public's fascination with tragedies in general, and the Titanic in particular, is remarkably strong even 100 years after the disaster. This title provides a highly visual experience for students looking to learn about the ship, the people on it, and the events surrounding that infamous night in April 1912. Formatted in an attention-grabbing scrapbook style, each spread features period photographs, full-color artwork, a paragraph or two explaining a specific topic, and captions that highlight interesting facts. Some spreads also include a related time line that is a useful tool for outlining the happenings over the course of the night. The artwork seems to be computer-generated and has the appearance and texture of a virtual simulation game. The final few pages are dedicated to life after the disaster, including recent advances in modern ocean liners, the search for relics from Titanic, and how it is portrayed in books and films, all of which are interesting addenda. Libraries looking to update their collection for younger readers who are new to the subject will find this a solid companion to Simon Adams's Titanic (DK, 1999) or David Stewart's You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic (Watts, 2001).—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA