Titanic Sinks! by Barry Denenberg

Reviewed by Lori

Titanic Sinks!

Title: Titanic Sinks!

Author: Barry Denenberg

Perma-Bound Canada Catalogue#: 56340

Description:  Uses fictional framework to present the true story of the building and launching of the Titanic, to give a "you are there" feeling as the ship goes down.

Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It.

Why I Read it: I read this book around the 100th anniversary of the Titanic Disaster.  I thought the format was an interesting concept.


Lori's Notes: This book is set up as a series of newspaper articles and interviews from the "Modern Times: Your World Illustrated."  The book is done in sepia tones to look like old newsprint.  (I think this makes the book stinky - I found the pages really smell.  Be wary if you have a child with any scent sensitivities).  It announces the construction of the ship, the death of one of the 15-year-old boys working on this ship, and a journal account of a fictional reporter on the ship.  Along with interviews of the captain of the Californian, who was the first on scene to rescue survivors and accounts from witnesses who survived.  I'm not entirely keen on the mixing of fact and fiction - the beginning of the book implies that the articles and everything is authentic when they are the author's creations.  He does, however, use first hand accounts for the articles and witness statements etc.  A good book for a senior elementary or high school audience to experience the Titanic disaster as people at the time would have done - through the newspaper, not the social media/24 hour updating that we get today.

Recommended Readers: Grade 7 and Up.

Themes: Non-Fiction, Titanic 100th Anniversary, Shipwrecks, Disasters, History, North Atlantic Ocean, Rescues, Death, Survival, Man-made disasters.

Cross-Genre Links: 
Search: Titanic Disaster
Movie: Titanic (1997)
Youtube: Titanic Sinks in Real Time
Search: Titanic Canadian Connection
Search: Newspaper articles 1912 Titanic

Inquiries and Activities: 
  • Research some of the newspaper articles that were written about the Titanic Disaster.  What do you notice about the reporting.  Is there any bias in the articles?  
  • What sort of media would the Titanic disaster receive today.  Use one social media example to create a countdown of events -- eg. a twitter feed of the events as they are unfolding from someone on board, a blog post by a survivor, a Facebook account by one of the rescuers.
  • What do you think actually caused the Titanic disaster?  Hitting the iceberg, flawed ship design, Marine law, Captain's error?  Etc.  Give arguments and state your case.
  • Write your own newspaper article as if you were living in 1912.  
  • How did the sinking of the Titanic change the laws regarding boats and safety?
  • Would you have wanted to sail on the Titanic?   What about a modern day cruise ship?  What safety issues might you be faced with today?

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