Review by Booklist Review
"Clearly a labor of love, this picture book explains and illustrates the use of the Beaufort scale for measuring wind force at sea. From 1805 to 1810, Francis Beaufort, a captain in the Royal Navy, developed a scale from 0 to 12 based on observations of the wind's effects on the sea, the land, and the ship. To bring this information to his readers, Malone begins with His Majesty's Ship Zephyr in port in 1805 Beaufort 0: sea like a mirror, smoke rising vertically, ship becalmed. Each turn of the page shows the vessel venturing farther away under more vigorous conditions (light air, light breeze, gentle breeze, moderate breeze, fresh breeze, strong breeze, near gale, gale, strong gale, storm, violent storm) until the winds reach hurricane force. The right-hand pages carry large, strikingly executed paintings, while the facing pages offer the wind-scale information, fictional letters from a midshipman on board, and information on ships of the period. An informative book that will fascinate those intrigued by tall ships."--"Phelan, Carolyn" Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Captain Francis Beaufort of the Royal Navy spent the years 1805-1810 developing a graduated scale for measuring the wind. In a treatment that manages at once to be entirely informative and utterly charming, the author presents the captain's work through a rousing story. Young William Bentley, who provides the engaging narrative voice, is a fictional midshipman on the Zephyr, a man-of-war making a voyage from Portsmouth to Naples and then to Jamaica and back. The Beaufort scale of the prevailing conditions is given on the versos, while the rectos sport exquisite watercolor-and-gouache paintings that are reminiscent of the work of Barbara Cooney in their clarity, detail, and use of forms. The text is epistolary, as William writes from the dead calm of Naples (Beaufort scale 0-1), the sailing breezes of the voyage toward Jamaica (Beaufort scale 2-6), a gale and then a hurricane (Beaufort scale 7-12), and finally, a safe landing in Bridgetown, Barbados-far off course, but alive. Along with the instructive full-page illustrations (the Zephyr disappearing in the swell of the hurricane is unforgettable), many small inset drawings give information on sailing ships. A double-page diagram of a man-of-war makes clear both the complexity of the rigging and the enormous number of trees that went into creating these graceful vessels. A map of the voyage and a biography of Beaufort complete a truly lovely job of bookmaking that covers a topic rarely treated in children's literature. While it will take promotion to move this title, it is a wonderful addition.-Ann Welton, Helen B. Stafford Elementary, Tacoma, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
An author's note introduces Beaufort's maritime wind-force scale before sending readers on a fictional 1805 transatlantic voyage with twelve-year-old midshipman William. Verso pages, peppered with spot illustrations, present an engaging, if somewhat disjointed, collection of information: wind measurements (from 0 [calm] to 12 [hurricane]), excerpts from William's letters, and different nautical facts. Malone's soft-focus paintings, on recto pages, are gorgeously detailed. Glos. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
For young tars in training, Malone offers an informative, if loosely organized, excursion into several nautical matters. Between notes on the 12-stage Beaufort Scale--developed in the early 19th century as a quick comparative gauge of wind speed--and carefully detailed paintings of a British frigate and her crew under sail in increasingly rough weather, he tucks in a fictional midshipman's account of an Atlantic Ocean crossing, along with explanatory comments on topics from shipboard jargon to navigation in the Age of Sail. Closing with a spread of additional notes on wooden ship construction, and a capsule biography of naval hydrographer Francis Beaufort, this not only makes pleasant browsing, but could introduce such more detailed outings as Patrick O'Brien's The Great Ships (2001), or Philemon Sturges's Down to the Sea in Ships (2005), illus by Giles Laroche. (glossary) (Fiction/nonfiction. 9-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
