All Stations! Distress!--April 15, 1912

November 1, 2008
The Titanic 's fateful maiden voyage receives a riveting review in Brown 's latest work. Passengers ' perilous experiences aboard the doomed vessel, from those traveling in luxury to the third-class guests, unfold as the taut writing exposes the floundering attempts to save the passengers, punctuated by quotations from survivors. Double-page spreads capture the turmoil; thin lines and darkened eyes depict the mass terror even as the expressive watercolors build to the waves ' crashing climax. Clear and accessible language describes the controversy surrounding the sinking and the alarming number of lower-class casualties. "For no reason other than the stubborn notion that the poor shouldn 't mix with the rich, not even in the face of calamity, they had been kept below. " In a companion title, Let It Begin Here (ISBN: 978-1-59643-221-5), the events leading to the American Revolution and the monumental milestones of this tumultuous period are captured. Both books include bibliographies, but there is no specific documentation for quoted material. These suspenseful and fast-paced nonfiction selections provide arresting snapshots of history. (Nonfiction. 8-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from November 1, 2008
Gr 3-5-On the title-page spread, a "Titanic" crew member confides that "God himself could not sink this ship!" preparing readers for the well-known fate of the "unsinkable" steamer. A combination of poor choices and bad luck dogged the "Titanic" on its maiden voyage from England to New York, and controversy remains about its design, its speed in the iceberg-laden North Atlantic, and the lack of preparations for evacuation. Brown's watercolor illustrations capture the grandeur of the ship and the enormity of the failed escape: a mass of angry passengers confronts a crewman waving a gun, the steerage passengers are released to find that many of the lifeboats have been lowered half-empty, and survivors watch from a capsized lifeboat as the ship upends and sinks into the ocean with hundreds of passengers trapped onboard. Brown includes first-person testimony in the narrative, which ends with the rescue of some of the survivors. This is a wonderfully accessible version of an endlessly fascinating subject."Rebecca Donnelly, Loma Colorado Public Library, Rio Rancho, NM"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2008
Grades 1-3 This compactbook begins with a few basic facts and a rendering of the construction of the ship. It then moves to theexcitement of the launch, though even that is clouded with this ominous statement: Titanic needed more months to be fully fitted, but a ship launching is something of a birth . . . No one could have guessed that she would be dead within a year. Fast forward to the day before the catastrophic events. Brown gives a quick description of the types of passengers before providing a play-by-play portrayal of the events leading up to the ships sinking and, then, the rescue of some of the passengers. While the riveting text could stand alone, the illustrations are an integral part, enhancing without overwhelming. They are appropriately somber, filled with action, but not overly dramatic. This is an excellent example of how a complex topic can be made accessible and interesting to young children.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)