This collection of first-person accounts from the Titanic disaster breathes life into the history. The extensive use of primary sources, all taken together, gives a vivid account of the ship’s sinking. The printed book features extensive use of photographs, while the audio is performed by several people voicing the accounts of different individuals. Beyond the quoted primary sources, there are a few places where conjecture is given as fact, and where the writing isn’t as objective as it perhaps should be. Nevertheless, this poignant Titanic volume is well worth reading. Chilling, deeply moving, and quite memorable. ( )

Utterly gripping account of the "real" happenings between setting sail and post disaster.

The survivors are introduced and woven throughout cohesively and dramatically. I highly recommend if you 1. are a reluctant non-fic reader or audiobook reader 2. drive a long distance too and from work 3. feel your knowledge of the events is lackluster 4. Love oral history and hearing retellings from the actual person/s involved in the tragedy 5. have no idea what to read next! ( )

Utterly gripping account of the "real" happenings between setting sail and post disaster.

The survivors are introduced and woven throughout cohesively and dramatically. I highly recommend if you 1. are a reluctant non-fic reader or audiobook reader 2. drive a long distance too and from work 3. feel your knowledge of the events is lackluster 4. Love oral history and hearing retellings from the actual person/s involved in the tragedy 5. have no idea what to read next! ( )

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster is a very good nonfiction book giving a voice to survivors of the Titanic disaster. Most accounts are very personal and filled with emotion. The appendix section at the back of the book sums up lots of information that is presented within the text. ( )

After reading The Watch that Ends the Night, my appetite was whetted for more Titanic info. This book takes a different approach, but is just as good. Again, this is geared toward kids, and really delves into detail, complete with pictures, diagrams and artifacts. Here all the accounts are nonfiction, but the book is constructed well and reads more like a story than a compendium. It also includes an epilogue on the finding of the Titanic in 1985 -- bringing the tale into more modern times. A lengthy section in the back includes a glossary, historical documents, statistics, and web links to survivor interviews, so worth it to keep reading after the "story" is finished. The overall sense of heartbreak is conveyed well, especially through the element of timing, though it is not a depressing read, just a poignant one. So many "if onlys!" This is a Caudill nominee for 2016 and would do well to win. ( )

00012815

I enjoyed this book as it follows the vivid true stories of passengers on the fateful voyage of the Titanic. The passengers whose stories are told range from the wealthiest to the poorest. It gives a look at the class separation of the times. This book includes many black and white photographic images of the passengers and the ship--inside and outside. It also includes tables and diagrams with detailed statistics of the ship's construction and cargo which could be useful in studying engineering and physics in a science class. The book also includes details of what might have caused this state of the art unsinkable ship to sink. While there have been many stories told about this disaster, this book paints a picture like none other of what went into the ship's construction and just why it seemed so sophisticated at the time. This would be a great book for middle to high school classrooms to complete cross-curricula studies in history and science. ( )

This book details the events of the sinking of the Titanic, from when it set sail til when it sank to the bottom of the ocean. The book includes many pictures from all over the ship, of passengers, and life vests. The book also includes letters from survivors of the shipwreck. The book is full of facts and details that help to bring the tragedy to life on the page.

This book is about a girl and a boy meeting for the first time on a ship and it was love at first sight. The ship hit a iceberg and it was downhill from that. I recommend this book for jr.high and above. (INFORMATIONAL TEXT) ( )

I know logic dictates that the characters followed in this book survived based on how their accounts were collected, but it would have been nice if that wasn't immediately spelled out in the book. This book described some things I hadn't really read about yet - the specific details about the Marconi operators, the investigation after the accident, more graphic details about people evacuating the ship at the last moments (*as* it was disappearing into the water). ( )

Very well written, although I am not a Titanic enthusiast. Definitely worth the Siberia honor. ( )

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster is a very good nonfiction book giving a voice to survivors of the Titanic disaster. Most accounts are very personal and filled with emotion. The appendix section at the back of the book sums up lots of information that is presented within the text. ( )

Book was a copy received via GoodReads for a review. Thanks!

This is a superb book to introduce young readers to all aspects of the Titanic disaster. It's written in a very readable style, introducing late elementary school and middle school children to the individuals in the disaster in a way that brings them to life.

And yet this book has a ton of information from the sequence of events that happened to mini biographies on the parties involved to data tables with disaster statistics and timetables. I was pretty impressed with the amount of information provided and the broad scope of that same information.

If you've got a young reader in your life and you're looking to introduce them to this fascinating historical event, definitely give this book a look. They'll enjoy the reading of it and learn stuff, too. ( )

It was interesting not only to learn what really happened, but to hear the first-hand accounts. But I had to work hard to figure out what was going on at times. The diagrams provided in the book, while nice and clean-looking, do not include everything the author references. So for a visual learner like myself, I had to go elsewhere to figure out what exactly was going on. I don't know that what the book contained on its own was enough to paint a clear picture of the technicalities of the sinking. Also, it wasn't easy to keep track of various names and boats (collapsible b & c for example), though I don't know how much that could be helped. ( )

No matter how much I read about the Titanic, it turns out I can always read more - and learn something new. Deborah Hopkinson's Titanic is an excellent new resource, with a clear, chronological narrative and plenty of added value in the form of photographs, illustrations, charts, lists, and back matter including a glossary, letters from survivors, a timeline, facts & figures, statistics, snippets of primary source documents, and a bibliography. She highlights a few lesser-known survivors, including men, women, children, passengers from all classes, and crew members.

Quotes

Would history have been changed if the men on the Californian had been more decisive? What might have happened if the Californian arrived on the scene after the first distress rocket was spotted? (The Titanic and the Californian, 102)

A list of drowned passengers who died when the RMS Titanic went down. (Caption for image, 186)

"I think we all realized that time may be measured more by events than by seconds and minutes: what the astronomer would call 2:20 a.m. April 15, 1912, the survivors called 'the sinking of the Titanic,'" [survivor Lawrence Beesley*] said. (197)

[9yo] Frankie Goldsmith and his mother, Emily, arrived in New York destitute...they only received fifteen dollars from the White Star Line and two railroad tickets to Detroit... (208) The Truth About the Titanic originally published 1913 (mentioned p. 213)

The events of the Titanic disaster can be seen as a symbol of what happens through overconfidence in technology, complacence, and a mindset of profits over people's safety. (217)

*Fun fact: Beesley's son Alec later married Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmatians and I Capture the Castle. (227)

Survivor letters from the Carpathia:
"Our ship struck an iceberg. I went on deck and met a sailor who asked me to help lower the boats. The sailor said, 'Take a chance yourself.' I did, as did my friend, but the officers came along and ordered us off the boat. A woman said, 'Lay down, lad, you're somebody's child.' She put a rug over me and the boat went out, so I was saved. I'll write you a note when I get to New York." -Daniel Buckley, 3rd class passenger ( )

This wonderfully compiled book of first-hand accounts from people who were on the ship, photos and letters let me as a reader into the story of the Titanic better than ever before.

Throughout the text, personal narratives and primary documents like letters, telegraphs, etc are used to provide the reader with background knowledge and to forge a connection between readers and the people who suffered this terrible circumstance.

Little tidbits of information are also scattered across the book to provide explanations about the ship, how it functioned, where, why and how the problem came in, as well as why there weren’t enough lifeboats available to save everyone on the ship.

Every detail is organized chronologically in the book, giving an accurate and timely account of the events surrounding this disaster. Original photos accompany the story where appropriate, many of which were taken by a priest, whose story is perhaps the most intriguing.

A young man at the time, the priest was told by the church to get off the ship in Ireland. He could not afford to stay on but a wealthy couple said they would pay. Still, he was told to disembark. If he hadn’t he would have still been on the ship when it sank and possibly wouldn’t have survived.

Speaking of money, class difference has always been known to be a factor in the lives loss with the tragic sinking of the Titanic. We find out through our reading of this text that when the ship hit the iceberg, the people in first class knew nothing of what had happened. Second class passengers only felt a slight bump that the text says wasn’t even enough to make someone fall. But the lowest class passengers-- third class-- heard a noise and water quickly began rushing into their cabins.

The author of this book, however, is careful not to jeopardize credibility and remains objective, letting the accounts from former passengers and crew members tell the story. For example, for years researchers and commentators have discussed how issues of class played out on the ship, especially when doling out seats in the insufficient supply of lifeboats. But no opinion was offered by the author in regard to the more wealthy passengers’ privilege in escaping when disaster struck. Those who were interviewed were given the chance to give their own accounts.

There are about 50 pages of endnotes and appendices that offer facts about when the Titanic was found in 1985, and how much pieces of the ship and items from aboard the ship are worth. There are drawings from newspapers and tables and diagrams, as well as a list of further reading suggestions including websites.

Older elementary through junior high readers sometimes struggle to make the transition from non-fiction written for kids, and non-fiction written for adults. This is a good "bridging chapter book" for the older reader. This book reads almost like a graphic novel, with the amazing text features like pictures,"sidebars" written media and other artifacts of one of the most well known tragedies in history. Readers will find new stories, and will learn how to craft a dramatic, engaging non-fiction story.

4Q 4P
Deborah Hopkinson provides a unique approach to the common told story of the Titanic's sinking. Told from passengers' points of views, Hopkinson gave a very intimate account of the historical event. Filled with historical photographs, telegrams from the doomed ship, and letters from passengers, the book has numerous fascinating aspects that does not disappoint. ( )

As any book about the Titanic goes, this one takes the reader on the ship's journey from her construction to the inevitable and perilous plunge of her demise. It is heartbreaking and engulfing as most books about the Titanic are, but it is also different from most other ones I have read. What makes this one different is that it is told through the eyes of several passengers and crew members who survived that fateful night. The points of view offered by this book come from first, second, and third class passengers of differing ages, ethnicities, and gender, as well as from crew members ranging from stewardesses and wireless operators such as Violet Jessop and Harold Bride, to the very owner of White Star Line J. Bruce Ismay. Some of the view points are from passengers who barely escaped death during the disaster. The details are horrifying and exact, painting a brilliant timeline of the ship's sinking. The book also tells of the aftermath of the sinking, how the passengers dealt with their losses, and how the world reacted to the event. There are brilliant photographs of the ship, provided by surviving passengers, and paintings giving a detailed portrayal of the events of April 14, 1912. Any quotes give credit to the speakers and photographs are cited and sourced as well. The end pages are pictures of the Titanic and of blown up CQD messages sent by the wireless operators. The book contains a ton of additional information: an epilogue, a glossary, people in the book, other famous Titanic figures, survivor letters from the Carpathia, a Titanic timeline, more research information to explore, Titanic facts and figures, the British Wreck Commissioner's final report, the Titanic lifeboat launching sequence, statistics on who lived and who died, a selected bibliography, source notes, photo credits, an index, acknowledgements, and information about the author. This is a fantastic book for history classrooms for outside reading and for quick references. It gives a multitude of great perspectives on the events of the Titanic's sinking, before, and after. Great book. ( )

This book is recommended for children 8 and up--which I surprised me considering the length of the books and the amount of words per page. Though, once I started reading the book I realized that the book was easy to follow and the author often explained terms that the reader may not understand. This book gave voice to those on the boat by reflecting on their lives before they stepped onto the boat along with their experiences on the Titanic. This author used many primary resources, such as journals and pictures. I would have really enjoyed this book as a child, because it presents many interesting facts in a narrative form. I would recommend this book to those who would would like to read about the Titanic for pleasure. It may be a difficult read if someone needed the book for a report and is looking for quick facts about the Titanic because this book is lengthy and written as a collection of narratives. ( )

Adult Reader Reaction: I admit that the Titanic isn’t of great interest to me. I was excited to read the book so that I could learn more and see what everyone is so fascinated with. While enjoyable, I found the book hard to read, particularly with all of the details about decks, room locations, etc. Usually I can keep that stuff in my head, but I kept going back to the diagrams to try to sort it out. If I’m doing that and getting frustrated, will a MG / YA reader have the same reaction?

Pros: Readers who think they know about the Titanic will enjoy this unique perspective from people who were there and poring over lots of great imagery.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.

Recommended Ages: Gr. 5-10

Plot Summary: The story of Titanic, including letters and photographs from people who were on the ship.

Setting: Atlantic Ocean, 1912

Characters:
Frank Browne - 17 y/o, given a ticket for the maiden voyage from England back to his home in Dublin by his uncle, photographer
Violet Jessup - 24 y/o, stewardess

Recurring Themes: Titanic, survival, mistakes

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: I'm having a hard time separating this book from what I already know about the Titanic. I was obsessed with the Leonardo DiCaprio movie and while that was definitely fictionalized, I used the images burned into my brain to help me with this book. I would love to know what a student thinks of it. This book would be very good for rigorous text for the common core.

Genre: informational text

Pacing: slow - lots of description
Characters: hard to keep track of everybody
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

The sinking of the Titanic, feathuring the stories of actual survivors. ( )

Once in the grip of this story of the famous disaster, how can you let go? It has everything: injustice, tragedy, technological hubris, valor, and finally tenacity in the face of sure doom. I have memories of reading Walter Lord's A Night to Remember, and the chronological treatment of the inevitable tragedy repeats here. But this time around we get to know a few different characters. For example, Lightoller, the crew member who was genuinely heroic, stands out.

There are excellent maps and glossaries, front and back matter.

A sure fire quick read. ( )

5Q, 4P. This book was very well written and organized. I think that it would be pretty popular because of the narrative quality of the writing and because the Titanic is almost always fascinating. I really enjoyed it, as much as something so depressing can be enjoyed. It largely focused on the accounts of some of the survivors, giving the reader a very personal experience as they follow these people through the disaster. The accompanying photographs, paintings and charts add a lot to the text. I think it was a fascinating read. ( )