Review by Booklist Review
This handsome, oversize title sets itself apart from this year's other Titanic books by taking each segment of the journey and exploding it into a panoply of tidbits, sidebars, profiles, time lines, and anything else you can think of. It's a veritable museum in book form, and it's at its best when providing schemata for hard-to-describe facts, such as the distribution of lifeboats; the percentages of men, women, and staff who survived; how one too many water compartments became flooded; and so on. The four-page pull-out cutaway of the ship is among the finest yet produced, and is replicated on a poster that comes packaged with each book. The computer-generated illustrations of onboard life aren't always up to snuff, but everything else, from the historical photos to the artifacts rescued from the ocean floor, is excellent. Even the oddest spread, about various curses and predictions, fascinates. The rapid pace and sparse back matter makes this of limited use as a resource, but it's ideal for browsers if this doesn't hook them on the Titanic, what will?--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2012. 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
This thorough, accessible volume begins with background about "the Golden Age of Ocean Liners." Two-page chapters then discuss building and loading the Titanic, the ship's geography (with a useful foldout diagram), the iceberg strike and its aftermath, victims and survivors, and "superliners" today. Many archival photos along with pictures of recovered artifacts and digital re-creations of shipboard scenes enhance the presentation. Websites. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
