On Board the Titanic: What It Was Like When the Great Liner Sank (by Shelley Tanaka)

Jack's privileged point of view is intercut with that of twenty-two-year-old wireless operator Harold Bride. After an iceberg splits the ship in two, both boys find themselves clinging to the same life raft-struggling to survive while bravely helping others.

Tanaka uses imagined conversations and thoughts to give a narrative structure to the real-life stories of Thayer and Bride. Copious pictures, paintings, and diagrams mesmerize as well as instruct. A glossary and a list of books recommended for further reading round out the educational value.

With ON BOARD THE TITANIC, Shelly Tanaka turns the real-life stories of 17-year-old Jack Thayer and 22-year-old Harold Bride into a suspenseful narrative. Visuals crowd each page: a shot of the postcard given to travelers as they boarded, a picture of the telegram announcing the wreck, a Morse code diagram. Drawings of the ship's interior jockey for space with haunting black-and-white passenger photos. While the information adds to the story, the design can at be overwhelming.

Many lessons emerge from the fate of the Titanic. The true stories of first-class passenger Jack and working-class Harold underscore the class differences that meant life or death for many passengers. It's tragic -- although no shock -- that the higher one's class, the higher one's chance of survival. Also, the Titanic has become a symbol of the dangers of poor planning and overconfidence.