Geo Librarian

BLIZZARD OF GLASS The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker Henry Holt & Co, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-8050-8945-5 Source: purchased Ages 10-14 MG/YA Historical Nonfiction (Narrative) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK On December 6, 1917 two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. One ship was loaded top to bottom with munitions and one held relief supplies, both intended for wartorn Europe. The resulting blast flattened two towns, Halifax and Dartmouth, and killed nearly 2,000 people. As if that wasn't devastating enough, a blizzard hit the next day, dumping more than a foot of snow on the area and paralyzing much-needed relief efforts. Fascinating, edge-of-your-seat storytelling based on original source material conveys this harrowing account of tragedy and recovery. This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum. REVIEW After reading about the Halifax explosion in anoth...

With the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic being memorialized this year, there has been an influx of new books on the topic, both fiction and nonfiction.  This is a perennially favorite topic among my students so I'm sharing some of the ones I've read.  Today I'm highlighting two nonfiction books, later this month I hope to highlight several fictionalized stories.  See here for another nonfiction book on the Titanic. ICEBERG, RIGHT AHEAD! The TRAGEDY OF THE TITANIC written by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson Twenty-First Century Books, 2012 ISBN: 978-0-7613-6756-7 Grades 3 and up Reviewed from personal copy. Only 160 minutes passed between the time a sailor on lookout duty uttered these chilling words and the moment when the mighty ocean liner Titanic totally disappeared into the cold, dark waters of the North Atlantic. This century-old tragedy, which took more than 1,500 lives, still captivates people in the twenty-first century. Seventy-three ...

EXPLORE TITANIC: Breathtaking New Pictures, Recreated with Digital Technology by Peter Chrisp, with illustrations by Somchith Vongprachanh Barron's, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-4380-7159-6 Grades 3 and up Reviewed from purchased copy. Boys and girls will be enthralled by this dramatic pictorial history of the great ocean liner "R.M.S. Titanic, " and its fateful sinking in the North Atlantic. Approximately 125 photos and illustrations in color and black and white--including 12 astonishing 3D-rendered graphics--tell the "Titanic's " story, from its 1911 launching at the Belfast shipyard to its tragic destruction on April 15, 1912 during its maiden Atlantic crossing. Young readers will see faithful reproductions of both exterior and interior ship's details, from the Boiler Room and Engine Room far below decks to the luxury passengers' cabins and the ship's grand ballroom. Among the 3D-rendered artworks are two remarkable double-gatefold illu...