Returning from England with his aunt and little sister, ten-year-old George Calder explores the Titanic and revels in the luxury of their first-class suite-until the night the ship hits an iceberg and his explorations and determination save their lives. In this first of a new adventure series aimed at reluctant readers, Tarshis has woven plenty of concrete, factual information into her narrative. In an attention-grabbing opening scene the sinking ship lurches and George falls and loses consciousness. Backing up 19 hours, the author describes George's last day aboard ship, using short paragraphs with plenty of dialogue. George recalls earlier escapades: climbing into the crow's nest, meeting third-class passengers-an Italian immigrant and his son-and sliding down the banister of the grand staircase. On the final night, looking for a mummy in the baggage room, he encounters a thief. Both immigrant and thief play roles in his survival. The plot involves too many convenient coincidences, but the fast pace and intrinsically fascinating disaster story will keep readers turning the pages to the unexpectedly sentimental ending. (author's note, additional facts) (Historical fiction. 7-10)
Summer’s almost over, but that doesn’t mean summer reading should be winding down. We’ve got a sizzling set of stellar new books for young readers to help soak up those final lazy days before school is back in session. A new edition of Jeff Kinney’s bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid; new installments of favorite […]
Even if your kids aren’t psyched for summer to be ending, they will be about all of the awesome reads coming their way in August. Mythological heroes, a newbie from the author of Holes, monster hunters, a half-mermaid, and Harry Houdini himself! Our book picks for this month will help take the sting out of the […]
The New York Times bestselling series, I Survived, brings young readers from the year AD 79 to the present day, racing through thrilling adventures based on real-life events. Author Lauren Tarshis carefully takes us through natural disasters, wars, and cataclysmic world events, weaving history with a personal, intimate story of survival by amazing kids.
All throughout my school career, there was something about history class I just didn’t get. It was always the worst grade on my report card, and in college as soon as I could opt out of taking it, I did. I couldn’t relate to what I saw as simple memorization, never my strong suit: dates, […]