All Stations! Distress!: April 15, 1912 - The Day the Titanic Sank
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THE "UNSINKABLE" MEETS THE UNTHINKABLE — A gripping acount of the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic.It took 4,000 men to build it, 23 tons of animal grease to slide it into the ocean, 100,000 people to wave bon voyage, but only one wrong move to tear the Titanic apart, sinking it into the pages of history. On a cold moonless night in April of 1912, 2,000 passengers—both the uber-rich enjoying a luxury cruise and the dirt-poor hoping to find a new life in America—struggled to survive. Only 700 suceeded. Lifeboats were launched half-full; women were forced to leave their husbands and sons behind; and even those who made it out alive were forever haunted, constantly wondering "why me?" Told through captivating prose and chilling first-hand accounts, Don Brown take the pieces of the broken Titanic and gives it such a vivid shape that you'd swear you've never heard the story before.Publishers WeeklyBrown, noted for his numerous picture-book biographies of lesser-known figures, here offers a slightly older audience "you are there"-style accounts of two signal dates in American history. Expert pacing, novelistic incorporation of quotations and well-observed but straightforward reportage draw readers into the action. He humanizes complicated ideas. For example, Let It Begin opens vividly as King George III wins the Seven Years' War: "Celebration was surely in order. But George could not celebrate," writes Brown, quickly explaining how Britain's war debt contributes to the start of the Revolution. Looking at the Titanic, Brown explains the causes of the disaster and, describing the passengers' and crew's behavior, finds the details that speak loudest (a passenger stuck on the sinking ship gives his life jacket to a woman boarding a lifeboat). His subtle watercolor-and-pencil compositions skillfully capture moments in the text-people's facial expressions; the blood of battle; rushing, roiling, icy water; as well as both the valiant and understated gestures of some of the actors. Top-notch. Ages 6-10. (Dec.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
