Rescuing Titanic A true story of quiet bravery in the North Atlantic

Gr 4--7--Young readers have been fascinated with the timeless tale of the Titanic ever since the tragedy occurred 110 years ago, but what about the brave ship that rescued the survivors? This superb picture book tells the parallel stories of Titanic and Carpathia with a mixture of narrative and detailed explanations of each part of steamship travel. Full-color, often spread-length illustrations painstakingly demonstrate a vast array of information on topics such as duties of crew, navigation, and the history of each vessel in key spots during the story. Beginning with the building of the ships and following their individual time lines until they intersect at the point of rescue, readers will understand just how heroic an act it was for the Carpathia to backtrack through iceberg-infested waters in search of survivors. Once the fateful night begins, clocks in the corner of each page show the time of events on each ship. Included is a glossary for the very few terms not explained in the text and a few sources for further reading. VERDICT This gorgeously illustrated tale of heroes and hope amid one of the most well-known marine tragedies of all time is a must buy for collections serving curious readers of all ages fascinated by the Titanic.--Emily Beasley, Omaha Public Sch., NE

Learn about what happened after the Titanic went down. While many readers may know the tragic history of the Titanic, few will know the important part the RMS Carpathia played in the saga--until now. Illustrated in a nostalgic style that pays homage to bygone greats like Ludwig Bemelmans and Hardie Gramatky, the story follows both ships as they begin their voyages, the Carpathia from New York City and the Titanic from Southampton. With an analog clock face on most spreads helping to mark time, readers will learn how the ships functioned and meet some of the passengers who traveled on each vessel. Some information, such as explanations about how ships navigated, is an added bonus, but a layout of "key crew and passengers" feels extraneous, especially as some are never mentioned beyond this initial introduction; all depicted in this spread are White, but some anonymous members of the Carpathia's crew depicted further on are people of color. Readers interested in history or nautical stories will enjoy the tale, but the placement of dark text on a dark background in one spread will have readers squinting, while the single wordless spread may have them wondering if text is missing from it. The bibliography and recommendations for further reading will be useful to academically minded readers eager for more information. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Not a shipwreck, but not smooth sailing either. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.