Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review
It was said that the Titanic was “the safest ship ever built” and she was certainly the biggest. She was also incredibly luxurious, especially for the first class passengers who had every comfort that they could possibly want. Unfortunately for everyone on the ship, the Titanic was not as indestructible as everyone thought for just before midnight on April 14th, 1912, she struck an iceberg. The huge piece of ice tore such a big hole in the side of the ship that she began to sink at once and in just a few short hours she was gone beneath the waters of the Atlantic taking more than 1,500 souls with her. Readers of this graphic title will quickly find themselves enthralled by this gripping account of the Titanic disaster. In the account they will meet some of the people who experienced it, which makes this telling feel very personal and poignant. There is the Laroche family, Molly Brown, members of the crew, and Ida Straus who refused to leave her husband and who went down with him when the ship sank. Bright full-page comic book style art gives the story a strong sense of immediacy and will make this slice of history very accessible to young readers who are reluctant to read large pieces of text.
Pennsylvania School Librarians Association
Each of the Graphic Library titles presents a short introduction to the chosen topic. The books use bright comic-type illustrations to capture the interest of the reader. Although all aspects of the historical topic or person's life are not addressed, the books do provide basic information. Direct quotations from primary sources are included in each book and an index is provided. The books would be useful in schools that have ESL programs or with students who have learning disabilities.
Dan Tandarich
I am very excited and impressed with The Sinking of the Titanic. I think this is one of the best ways that I have seen history presented and I know my students will be falling over themselves trying to grab copies of it. Dan Tandarich, New York City Comic Book Museum and English teacher at PS #124, Brooklyn, New York
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Looks like a comic book, but doesn’t feel like one! Yet when youngsters open the pages of this library bound title there is a distinctive graphic format of text and images that work together to create a comic book style historical adaptation. Readers will find various sized color panels packed with cartoon-like illustrations, framed boxes providing a sense of time and space of the event, and text balloons conveying the dialogue of the individuals. The “Graphic Library” history series title offers a fast paced nonfiction visual narrative into the events surrounding the maiden voyage, collision, fate, and end of the “unsinkable” Titanic. Bold detailed scenes and images on board the grand steamship capture the drama as it moves from the elaborate festivities of its maiden voyage to dark chilling horror when an iceberg ruptures its hull causing it to sink into the sea. Expanding research bonuses include factoids, glossary, book titles, bibliography, index, and web sites. (Two of the web sites are not user friendly and the third is a dead link.) A useful graphic account appears at Encyclopedia Britannica’s site (http://search.eb.com/titanic/01_01.html) and “Titanic A Voyage of Discovery” (http://www.euronet.nl/users/keesree/start.htm) provides extensive details. This fascinating history spin with its graphic and easy-to-read style will instantly attract inquiring young minds.
Booklist
In the tradition of Illustrated Classics, the legendary series of abridged, comic book-style literary classics, comes this high-interest title in the new Graphic History series, a part of the larger Graphic Library imprint. Bold inking and coloring by a studio of DC and Marvel veterans give the pages a polished, dynamic look, although the tan backgrounds that indicate primary source material (which, unfortunately, is left undocumented) are a bit subtle. Of course, the Titanic disaster provides ample occasion to employ the “Ka-Pow! Boom! Krak!” language of the genre, and accordingly moments of high drama (“Iceberg, right ahead! Reverse the engines!”) receive more play here than subtler issues, such as the way passengers’ economic and social status affected the likelihood of their survival. Still, this noncondescending volume represents a shot in the arm for a category of children’s publishing too prone to blandness; a URL to a publisher-maintained list of Web resources will help interested youngsters fill in the gaps.
Candian Titanic Society
This quality hardcover book is very well done and very historically accurate. The vividly coloured graphics are well done and the quality of the book is very high with glossy pages through-out. This book is aimed at school age children but I feel would be interesting reading for any age and I recommend it for all Titanic enthusiasts and collectors to have as part of their personal Library on Titanic.
Children's Literature Comprehensivve
Looks like a comic book, but does not feel like one! Yet when youngsters open the pages of this library bound title there is a distinctive graphic format of text and images that work together to create a comic book style historical adaptation. Readers will find various sized color panels packed with cartoonlike illustrations, framed boxes providing a sense of time and space of the event, and text balloons conveying the dialogue of the individuals. The "Graphic Library" history series title offers a fast paced nonfiction visual narrative into the events surrounding the maiden voyage, collision, fate, and end of the "unsinkable" Titanic. Bold detailed scenes and images on board the grand steamship capture the drama as it moves from the elaborate festivities of its maiden voyage to dark chilling horror when an iceberg ruptures its hull causing it to sink into the sea. Expanding research bonuses include factoids, glossary, book titles, bibliography, index, and web sites. (Two of the web sites are not user friendly and the third is a dead link.) A useful graphic account appears at Encyclopedia Britannica's site (http://search.eb.com/titanic/01_01.html). This fascinating history spin with its graphic and easytoread style will instantly attract inquiring young minds. 2004, Capstone Press, Ages 8 to 12, $23.93.
