Allison Lassieur has never had pop-star dreams, but she once sang in a choir that went on a multi-state tour on the way to Walt Disney World. Today she's an award-winning author of more than 150 history and non-fiction books about everything from Ancient Rome to the International Space Station. Her books have received several Kirkus starred reviews and Booklist recommendations, and her historical novel Journey to a Promised Land was awarded the 2020 Kansas Library Association Notable Book Award, and Library of Congress Great Reads Book selection. Allison lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, a scruffy, loveable mutt named Jingle Jack, and more books than she can count.
Can see this appealing to boys and reluctant readers. Artwork and
(3d?) renderings do much to show what it was like aboard the ship,
and maps as well as black and white illustrations offer additional
material to "read." the text itself is a little straightforward and
simple, but readers going in should be well aware of the situation
and they are given stories of people according to class and
location onboard. a good revamp of the choose your own adventure
series, looking forward to other titles. As usual, capstone title
stands out above others!-- "NetGalley"
Both books blend facts and historical accuracy with the ability to
make decisions about what happens to a character trying to stay
alive. In Can You Survive the Titanic you can choose to be a first
class passenger, a medical worker, or a third class passenger, and
then attempt to survive the sinking (two-thirds of the passengers
didn't). In Can You Survive Antarctica you can try to survive
temperatures up to one hundred degrees below zero fahrenheit as
either a modern explorer or with Scott and Amundsen in the early
1900's. Each has a basic section at the end that explains what
happened to the real people that experienced these extremes. Why I
picked it up: I was looking for quick reads for reluctant and
low-ability readers, and these segmented, Choose Your Own
Adventure-type books appealed to me because of their format. Why I
finished it: I found myself madly flipping back and forth to see if
I would be killed by a rogue leopard seal, or if I would drown in
third class under a wave of oil-fouled water. I'd give it to:
Wyatt, who would like the danger, because so many of the paths end
in death. T.F., who has serious ADHD and would like the ability to
stop and restart reading these without losing the narrative thread,
because his attention waxes and wanes. http:
//www.unshelved.com/bookclub/2011-7-22-- "Unshelved Book Club
blog"
Decisions in life are what make our personal roads twist and turn
as they do. But what would you do if a decision you made was the
difference between living or dying? The reader in this interactive
book make life or death choices, but thankfully in the safe
confines of an informative book. Readers of Can You Survive the
Titanic? go along for the ride as a medical crew member, a staff
member to a wealthy employer in charge of young children, and a
twelve year old expert to the nuts and bolts of the grandest ship
to ever set sail at the time. Written in the second person, the use
of the words "you are" really make the voyage and its occupants
very important decisions (should you give your blanket to a fellow
lifeboat inhabitant or should you offer to share it?) literally
spring to life. The interactive way the book is arranged (to follow
another path, turn to page ___) would make a superb entryway for a
parent or teacher to segue way into life choices, informed decision
making and the luck of the draw. Impressionable readers could learn
a great deal more than history in this deceptively skinny book. Can
You Survive the Titanic? reminded me of Meanwhile: Pick Any Path by
Jason Shiga in its organization. So popular is Meanwhile, that I
was forced to put out a hostage notice (an idea gleaned from
Donalyn Miller) in order to locate the popular book's whereabouts.
I predict Can You Survive the Titanic will be equally as popular in
my classroom, and look forward to the book's publication. http:
//www.recycleyourreads.com/?p=2648-- "Recycle Your Reads blog"
Middle graders will have fun making choices and learning more about
the Titanic's fateful voyage. I appreciate the amount of research
done by the author.-- "Reading Vacation blog"
The children want anything Titanic right now. Thank you for filling
that hole.-- "NetGalley Review"
These are fast reads that will have students turning the pages back
and forth until they think they've reached every permutation
possible. The photos are bright, vivid, and exciting, and the books
are graphically appealing.-- "School Librayr Journal"
These books are going to be popular with your young readers,
especially the boys. The books describe a variety of choices to a
disaster. If the reader makes the wrong choices, they are dead. A
benefit is that the books teach survival skills, and each book
describes a different type of environment. These books will be
popular with children who are adventurous, plus they provide mental
exercise for the reader. Each book provides three story paths and
contains a survival guide related to the topic, Real Survivors, and
Survival Quiz sections. Recommended.-- "Library Media
Connection"
This choose your own adventure is a great addition to any up and
coming reader. Also, since it is fairly historically actuate, it
would be great for a project on the Titanic to get the kids in the
people's shoes.-- "NetGalley"
Whether they read these books in the classroom or on their own,
they will come away knowing much more about all sides of a
historical event or time period. These are excellent books for
reluctant readers as they love interacting with the text, art
elements and primary sources in the story.-- "Grand Forks
Herald"
You guessed it! Another "Choose your own Adventure!" This one,
surprise, surprise, takes place on the Titanic. You are a passenger
on the Titanic. It's a pretty awesome ship, nearly 4 city blocks
long. You notice, though, that there are only 16 life boats, not
enough for the 2200 people on board. You don't freak out though
because there are enough life vests for everyone. Plus, what are
the odds you are going to need to use them? But bad things do
happen and the ship crashes into an iceberg. At this point you get
three options on which character you will play in the story. I, of
course, chose the 12-year-old boy traveling with his father to New
York. I know this probably isn't the best decision since the others
include a surgeon's assistant or the governess to a wealthy family,
but it's the closest to who I actually am. It was quite perfect
because it turns out this little boy (me!) is a Boy Scout! This
time I have better luck and my father & I survive! After the
"adventure" the book explains why only 705 of the 2200 people
survived. Most of them were third-class passengers. This is the
part of the boat that hit the iceberg, flooding first. Also, this
part of the ship was separated from the rest. The rich believed
third-class carried diseases so they were kept away. But since they
were separated, the third-class passengers couldn't reach the life
boats. Another reason was that many people didn't want to leave the
ship to get on the life boats. I don't think they understood how
serious the situation was. When they did realize, it was too late
and the life boats were gone. The end of the book lists several of
the real survivors of the Titanic, including the youngest passenger
on the Titanic, a little girl who was only two months old! She
lived to be 97 years old and was the last living survivor of the
Titanic sinking. I didn't do as well on this survival quiz because
I haven't quite learned what to do if a ship begins to sink, but
you better believe I know now! Like the Antarctica book, I liked
this book because I got to take part in an adventure but also
learned a lot! http:
//www.jennsbookshelves.com/2011/08/04/tales-of-a-formerly-reluctant-reader-the-capstone-edition/--
"Jenn's Bookshelves blog"
Ask a Question About this Product More... |