Friday, February 21, 2014

On Board the Titanic by Shelly Tanaka

Cover image for On board the Titanic : what it was like when the great liner sankI picked up this book because my co-worker was doing an after school program on the Titanic this week.  This is the story of the sinking of the Titanic as seen through the eyes of two young men.  One, 17-year-old Jack Thayer, was a passenger, while the other, 22-year-old Harold Bride, was a crew member. I was amazed at how many facts the author was able to work into this short fictionalized narrative.  Tanaka fits so many facts into the story that it is a little devoid of intense emotion.  She doesn't really explore how the passengers might have felt beyond saying that they were frightened, or panicked, etc.  It is a very mild mannered account of an epic disaster.  At the end of the book Tanaka includes additional facts and figures about the ship and what happen when and after it sank.  It is a good short introduction to a historical event for kids who might be too upset by a more dramatized account of the story. (48 p.)

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