Titanic: Voices from the Disaster

Bibliographic Information: Hopkinson, D. (2012). Titanic: Voices from the disaster. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0545116740

Plot Summary: The tragic story of the sinking of Titanic appeals to readers of all ages. In Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, we read several first-hand accounts from passengers and crew aboard the doomed ship about her descent into the depths of the Atlantic.  There are many photos of the ship before it set sail, and each chapter brings to light the luxurious nature of the ship.  The first-hand accounts tell of ship life, the collision with the iceberg, the ensuing moments when danger was looked over, and finally, when the realization hit when the ship was going down.  The voices of the story are from those who were fortunate enough to either get in a lifeboat, or hold onto wreckage from the ship until they were rescued.  They tell about watching the last bit of the ship sink beneath the water, about the screams and cries from those left bobbing in the frigid sea, about waiting for hours in the cold darkness for a rescue ship, and finally about the kindness shown them from the passengers and crew aboard the Carpathia.   

Critical Evaluation: The fate of the Titanic is known by anyone who picks up a copy of Titanic: Voices from the Disaster.  The Titanic, said to be unsinkable, sank four and a half days after setting sail on it’s maiden voyage.  Using points of view from Titanic survivors makes the story feel more sad, more tragic, and more real.  The pictures interspersed through the pages, some including the survivors described therein, serve to showcase the beauty and majesty of the doomed ocean liner. Other pictures of passengers and crew who did not survive the sinking add a sense of eeriness and mourning.  Reading the firsthand accounts leads us to conclude that the tragedy of the Titanic was a combination of small errors.  Some points of interest lead to what if questions, like what if the message from the Mesaba warning of ice directly ahead of the Titanic had reached the captain?  What if more effort was made to fill the lifeboats to capacity?  What if regulations were in place to require enough lifeboats for the number of passengers?  What if  the men aboard the Californian acted when they saw the first distress signal from the Titanic?  These questions have haunted us for over 100 years, along with the senseless loss of life.  

Reader’s Annotation: What really happened the night the Titanic sank?  Titanic: Voices from the Disaster gives first-hand accounts from the maiden voyage of the doomed ship.

Information about the author: Deborah Hopkinson enjoys bringing history to life for young readers.  She has published over forty books for young readers, and often speaks to students at school.  She has won many awards and earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master’s degree in Asian studies from University of Hawaii at Manoa.

    Hopkinson serves as the Vice President for College Advancement for the Pacific Northwest College of Art.  Her works include short fiction, non-fiction, and pictures books about ordinary people in history (Hopkinson, 2010).  

Genre: YA Non-fiction

Curriculum Ties: History

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. List of facts about the sinking (number of people who perished, time it took for the ship to sink, distance from nearby ships, etc.)

2. Description of the ship’s final moments.  

Reading level/Interest age: 14+

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why I included this book: The intrigue and curiosity still surrounding the tragic demise of the Titanic makes this books a great addition to my collection.  According to Publishers Weekly, "Hopkinson puts a human face of the Titanic's sinking" through the retelling of passengers' and crews' stories (Publishers Weekly, 2012).  

References:

Hopkinson, D. (2010). Deborah Hopkinson biography. Deborah Hopkinson. Retrieve 7 May

from http://www.deborahhopkinson.com/bio.html.

Publishers Weekly. (2012, February 20). Titanic: Voices from the disaster. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-545-11674-9