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I've read a couple others in the "I Survived ..." series. When I picked up this one, I didn't realize this had been the first one! Of the ones I've read (Mt.St.Helens, and The Children's Blizzard) this was my favorite. Staying on topic, not a ton of miscellaneous backstory (as I found in the other two). Rating based on my adult perception of it for middle grade.
I'd read a couple other Titanic books aimed at younger audiences (#middlegradeMay) and this would be the simplest. Very short. Starts right at the iceberg, then goes back 19 hours (and a flashback or two of time before) but most of the action is on the ship, during/after the collision. Despite the whole 'sinking' ... it didn't feel too overwhelming to me (thinking of reading it to/recommending it for younger readers).
In all I've read - the ship designer, Thomas Andrews, comes off well (despite his ship not being unsinkable as thought). In this and Gordon Korman's books, he's portrayed as very affable, willing to talk to children ... I wonder if that is based on real life/research. Ismay (White Star director) gets some looks in [book:Iceberg|60758287] ... not very positive, as he got on a lifeboat, didn't look back. In [book:Unsinkable|9473340], he and the captain make the decision not to go back for binoculars (I haven't finished that series to see how else his part of the story is told in that one) and being in a hurry. Ismay is not in the story here, but in the special edition (print/Kindle) with extras, his photo is there with the caption "Passenger J. Bruce Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line, which owned Titanic. He was criticized-unfairly-for escaping in a lifeboat." I do wonder at the "unfairly" tone ... as if it was women and children given the space in the lifeboats, and the captain and designer and all the other men stayed and went down with the ship, why should he not be judged negatively?
The special edition (and one reason I like to check out the various formats) had a TON of extra information/illustrations and photos. Mostly information I've heard before, but always interesting to read again (even as an adult, not overly elementary). Very worth checking out if this story/topic is of interest to a reader. The physical book I have is an original publication - some illustrations to add visual interest. I think I'll go ahead and put my original book in my LFL, and I'll buy the special edition for my personal library shelves.
In audio - narrator was female. I might have expected male, as the MC was a boy, but it was 3rd person, so, it was fine. Audio didn't include the bonus content, just the Author's Notes from the original publication (still some good info there, just the Special Edition Bonus content has SO much more).
I'd read a couple other Titanic books aimed at younger audiences (#middlegradeMay) and this would be the simplest. Very short. Starts right at the iceberg, then goes back 19 hours (and a flashback or two of time before) but most of the action is on the ship, during/after the collision. Despite the whole 'sinking' ... it didn't feel too overwhelming to me (thinking of reading it to/recommending it for younger readers).
In all I've read - the ship designer, Thomas Andrews, comes off well (despite his ship not being unsinkable as thought). In this and Gordon Korman's books, he's portrayed as very affable, willing to talk to children ... I wonder if that is based on real life/research. Ismay (White Star director) gets some looks in [book:Iceberg|60758287] ... not very positive, as he got on a lifeboat, didn't look back. In [book:Unsinkable|9473340], he and the captain make the decision not to go back for binoculars (I haven't finished that series to see how else his part of the story is told in that one) and being in a hurry. Ismay is not in the story here, but in the special edition (print/Kindle) with extras, his photo is there with the caption "Passenger J. Bruce Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line, which owned Titanic. He was criticized-unfairly-for escaping in a lifeboat." I do wonder at the "unfairly" tone ... as if it was women and children given the space in the lifeboats, and the captain and designer and all the other men stayed and went down with the ship, why should he not be judged negatively?
The special edition (and one reason I like to check out the various formats) had a TON of extra information/illustrations and photos. Mostly information I've heard before, but always interesting to read again (even as an adult, not overly elementary). Very worth checking out if this story/topic is of interest to a reader. The physical book I have is an original publication - some illustrations to add visual interest. I think I'll go ahead and put my original book in my LFL, and I'll buy the special edition for my personal library shelves.
In audio - narrator was female. I might have expected male, as the MC was a boy, but it was 3rd person, so, it was fine. Audio didn't include the bonus content, just the Author's Notes from the original publication (still some good info there, just the Special Edition Bonus content has SO much more).