80. Story of the Titanic (DK Publishing)

Story of the Titanic. Illustration by Steve Noon. Consultant: Dr. Eric Kently. (US) - (Canada)

Pages: 45
Ages: 7+
Finished: Ar. 13, 2012
First Published: Feb. 21, 2012
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Genre: children, non-fiction, history
Rating: 4/5


First sentence: "In the late 1800s and early 1900s, millions of people emigrated from Europe to North America."

Publisher's Summary: "Young readers will learn and discover how the ship was built and equipped, what kind of passengers and crew she carried, and what facilities she offered on board. Learn how she struck an iceberg, why she sank so quickly, how many people were saved, and how many lives were lost.

• Detailed double-page artwork with cutaway scenes tell the tragic story of the 'unsinkable' liner
• Pictorial details and lively annotation give fascinating insight into the Titanic's construction and the daily life of its passengers and crew from the start of the maiden voyage to its sinking
• Covers the official inquiries into the sinking, as well as the discovery of the wreck"

Acquired: Received a review copy from DK (Canada).

Reason for Reading:  I have always been fascinated with the Titanic and am participating in a Titanic Reading Challenge this year.

Just mentioning that this book is published by DK will automatically give you an impression as to what to expect.  An oversized, hardcover with a plentiful profusion of illustration and upon the survivor's return photographs and contemporary items such as newspaper headlines.  The book takes us on a matter of fact chronological course of events that led up to that fateful night, through the sinking and then finally through photographs of the return of the survivors, the news, the inquiries, short blurbs of some survivors and final information on Ballard's finding of the ship 1985.

Each topic is a two page spread and drawn in cutaways to show the reader the inside of the boat as she stood.  The illustration is labeled all over the place, like one of those old Richard Scary word/picture illustrations.  Along the top and the bottom of each page are little vignettes of something happening within the large scene and then the reader is supposed to find that little illustration in the larger picture as in a "look-and-find" book.  Spending time one will find all sorts of interesting little bits of events going on in the pictures and the occasional humorous one too, like the sailor who happens to be sitting on the toilet in one picture!  The pictures are awesome and the cutaways are the perfect way to explore the inside of the ship as we can see where things were situated in comparison to each other. 

Though no mention of this is made in the book's copyright page this is a reprinting of an earlier title of the same name.  The only difference between this book and the earlier "Story of the Titanic" illustrated by Steve Noon is that the original is a very large, oversized horizontally wide book, making for an extravagant picture book.  This book is oversized but only slightly in the vertical direction and obviously it would loose it's extravagance compared to the original.  Having never read, nor seen the original I was non the wiser and enjoyed this book for what I got.  Kids will especially like the "search and find" interactive component of the book which will have them finding many more hidden treasures in the gorgeous paintings.  Recommended mostly for 11 and under.