Titanic

Starred review from February 20, 2012
Hopkinson puts a human face on the Titanic’s sinking in this riveting nonfiction chronicle of the ship’s collision with an iceberg and the tragic aftermath. She threads together the stories of many passengers and crew members, focusing on a handful of survivors that includes an Argentine-born stewardess, a rambunctious nine-year-old British boy, a science teacher from England, and an American teenager traveling with his parents. The author quotes these four and others freely, their voices forming a deeply intimate account of the tragedy. Hopkinson packs her thoroughly researched story with a wealth of information about the ship itself (this book is an invaluable resource for students), and her portraits of the shipmates are fully realized and often heartbreaking. Chapters detailing the sinking, the scramble for lifeboats, and the harrowing wait for the Carpathia’s arrival are fast-paced and riveting. Photos of the ship, the (purported) iceberg, telegrams sent to and from the Titanic, and of the survivors’ rescue add significant context and amplify the immediacy of the drama. Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Starred review from January 1, 2012
In what's sure to be a definitive work commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, Hopkinson offers a well-researched and fascinating account of the disaster. On Monday, April 15th, 1912, the magnificent Titanic sank after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 712 survived. It's a well-known story, though maybe not to young readers, who, if anything, might have seen the movie. Hopkinson orchestrates a wealth of material here, using a third-person narrative voice to tell the story while incorporating eyewitness accounts of people on the "most luxurious ship the world had ever seen." A huge number of archival photographs and reproductions of telegrams, maps, letters, illustrations, sidebars and even a dinner menu complement the text, yielding a volume as interesting for browsing as for through-reading. The voices include a stewardess, a science teacher, a 9-year-old boy, the ship's designer, the captain and a mother on her way to a new life in America. Best of all is the author's spirit: She encourages readers to think like historians and wonder what it would have been like on the Titanic and imagine each character's story. Fifty pages of backmatter will inform and guide readers who want to know even more. A thorough and absorbing recreation of the ill-fated voyage. (Nonfiction. 8-16)

(COPYRIGHT (2012) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from February 1, 2012

Gr 6 Up-As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches, there is a whole new output of books reexamining and updating the information about the tragedy. This one weaves together the memories and writing of the survivors, and what makes it stand out is the intimacy readers feel for the crew and passengers. The story itself hasn't changed, but through Hopkinson's work, young people get to know and care deeply about the people involved. Children, stewards, officers, and passengers from all three class designations are included, and their stories combine to recount the events of that fateful April night. Readers with even a passing knowledge of the Titanic will find themselves drawn into the drama and heartbroken at the inevitable end. Period photographs, artwork, diagrams, and maps appear throughout to illustrate points and help clarify events. Traditionally accepted details about the ship from its construction to its luxurious appointments, are discussed, and some of the controversies that have arisen since the wreck was found, but the real focus here is on the people and the narrative. Students looking for real-life drama will find this an absorbing and richly satisfying read.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
Grades 4-8 This sturdy synthesis of the events leading up to, during, and following the Titanic disaster is, like other books of its kind, a model of minute-by-minute reconstruction. What gives Hopkinson's effort a unique flavor is her almost exclusive use of the recollections of survivors as her source material, giving the tale we know so well a grittier, far less mythic feel. Legends are dispelled (the third class was not held back by locked gates) and little-known opinions are voiced (a head-on collision with the iceberg may have been preferable to the sideswipe). The prose can be a bit pat at times, and though some poetic license is taken ( Looking at photographs, it's almost as if one can still hear the rustle of satin dresses ), the firsthand recollections have an immediate feelparticularly during the moments when each person first realizes the ship is beginning to list. Back matter, meanwhile, is exemplary: detailed bios, survivor letters, a time line, facts and figures, wreckage reports, lifeboat launching sequences, and excellent source notes are only some of what researchers will find waiting for them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)