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Explore Titanic: Breathtaking New Pictures, Recreated with Digital Technology

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Boys and girls will be enthralled by this dramatic pictorial history of the great ocean liner RMS 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 illustrations:
• The Titanic under steam
• A cutaway diagram of the ship

Other 3D artworks include:
• The Grand Staircase in First Class
• A First-Class Cabin "Parlor Suite"
• The Bridge and Wheelhouse
• The First-Class Dining Room
• Second-Class Promenade Deck
• The Grand Staircase flooding as the ship sinks . . . and more

The end product of meticulous research, this book's 3D-rendered artwork virtually draws readers aboard the ship, employing painstakingly realistic facsimiles of details both large and small. Enclosed with this unusual book is a CD-ROM that walks viewers through the ship's interior from stem to stern, showing hundreds of details. Viewers can zoom in and out to examine details more closely, and they can move around inside cabin interiors in a way that heightens the illusion of realism.

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2011

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About the author

Peter Chrisp

176 books8 followers
Peter Chrisp is a British children's author of books on history. With over sixty books published, his various works include Blitzkrieg!, Dorling Kindersly's Ancient Egypt Revealed and Ancient Rome Revealed, The Spanish Conquests of the New World, and many more.

He first began writing history after working on the Mass-Observation archive at the University of Sussex. He has also worked as a writer on the online project "Icons of England".

Aside from his publications in literature, he is also an artist, who has exhibited collections of his cartoons and hand-drawn postcards during Brighton Festival. He is an inveterate theatre- and concert-goer, and during the Edinburgh Festival regularly views three shows a day. He collects original art works, and is a fan of Eric Ravilious and Jonny Hannah among others.

At present, Mr. Chrisp acts as one of Brighton's cultural attaches to Lewes. This is believed to be largely an honorary position. He is also being talked of as a possible future Mayor of Brighton.

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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
Author 3 books1 follower
April 17, 2019
Explore Titanic takes readers on a tour of the most luxurious passenger liners ever built. Beginning with a little background on the Titanic’s construction, the book then guides readers through the accommodations of the ship’s three passenger classes, along with some discussion about its sinking and legacy. Using digital artistry, a number of recreations of several of the ship’s extravagant features, such as its famed grand staircase, indoor swimming pool, and promenade area, are presented. In addition to the digital art, rare photographs and White Star promotional materials are also included. Each topic is given a 2-page collage, creatively designed using picture frames, luggage tags, log books, and other passenger ship themed objects. A beautiful and well-crafted book, Explore Titanic provides a rich and splendored vision of the ship that has captured imaginations for over a hundred years.
Profile Image for Jina Bacarr.
Author 59 books155 followers
March 31, 2012
Titanic, ships and dreams, oh my!

Explore Titanic is charming, historically engrossing and fun. With text by Peter Chrisp and illustrations by Somchith Vongprachanh, for the first time you can take a tour of the ship using the black and white images of Titanic we know so well and see them in color.

And in 3-D.

Explore Titanic is a fascinating look at the ship of dreams that offers a different presentation than other books on the subject. Written as a “dramatic pictorial history” for young readers, the historical information presented is concise and includes well-researched facts that are interesting to read and arranged in an artistic design that stays true to the Edwardian era.

I was a lucky winner of Explore Titanic in a recent contest run by Erin Klein on her Kleinspiration blog. Click here to read all about Erin and her important work as an educator. As one of the three winners, I want to thank Eric at Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. for sending me a copy of the book.

Here are my thoughts:

The writer and researcher in me would like to have a table of contents that would make it easy to find specific information; there is a list of picture credits, but the book has no page numbers.

The Titanic enthusiast in me was like a kid with a box of Titanic chocolate bars—I couldn’t get enough (Yes, Virginia, there are Titanic Belgian chocolate bars from a company in the U.K.). I’d open a page and sit there fascinated by the pictures and info displayed in the book, then I inserted the CD and took a 3-D tour of the ship on my computer.

An illustration of the ship is your guide to the “360 tour.” I think it would add to the viewer’s enjoyment if the “360” icon lit up with the destination when you hover your mouse over it; I liked the idea of clicking on the White Star red flag to change your viewing position.

Navigating the controls can be dizzying if you lose control of your mouse and end up looking at the ceiling of the first class dining saloon like I did, but that is a minor point. The ride is worth it. Sit back and enjoy a stunning view of Titanic like you’re really there.

I would have loved narration and music to accompany the 3-D tour. Voices of the Titanic—the captain, ship’s officers, designer, first class, second class and steerage passengers, stewards and stewardesses and crew. For my own enjoyment, I played my “Back to the Titanic” album in the background.

(Retail for Explore Titanic is $17.99 including the 3-D tour CD).

On a personal note: I had so much fun “walking the decks” on the 3-D tour with my heroine, Katie O’Reilly, in Titanic Rhapsody and her handsome hero, Captain Lord Jack Blackthorn. I imagined them standing at the rail together…looking up at the starry night overhead. In the first class dining saloon…or admiring the Grand staircase.

A grand adventure it is, as Katie would say.

Explore Titanic is a 32-page picture book filled with facts and beautiful pictures recreated with digital technology that transports you there. It’s recommended for grade level 4 and up. This is a book you can pick up again and again and discover something new each time.

The dream plays on…

Profile Image for Heidi.
2,908 reviews67 followers
April 16, 2012
found this book fascinating and gorgeous. The 3-D renderings are very detailed and provide a fascinating look at the famous ship. I learned quite a bit about the building of the ship. For example, I had no idea the ship was built in Ireland. I also learned that the ship's builders did not call her unsinkable, that was a myth that developed later. I think the most powerful part of this book are the quotes from individuals who sailed on the ship, from both survivors and victims. The text is divided up into short sections that match the visual elements. This makes the book especially appropriate for reluctant readers. The illustrations include 3-D renderings, along with photographs, artifacts, quotes and primary documents. I think the most powerful images are the pictures of the ship as a whole. These give the reader a feel for how impressive the Titanic really was and the shock and horror involved in her sinking. As I read this I felt sympathy for those who suffered and lost so much.

The CD offers the user a 3-D look at some of the main features of the ship, including one of the boiler rooms, the bridge, the promenade, the staircase, and the 1st class dining room. It's interesting to turn 360 degrees and see the room as if you are standing in it. I recommend this book to all those who find themselves fascinated by this tragic event.
Profile Image for Go.
780 reviews
January 1, 2022
Gorgeous book. The Titanic was undeniably impressive. I love the style of this book…very grand which is fitting for the tale of Titanic. It is very detailed providing a fascinating look at this famous ship. There are photos in black and white, color, and renditions of what it looked like in all its glory. Even blueprints of the ship are on display…so cool. There are also two big foldout photos. It tells the story by way of photos gradually shifting from luxury to tragedy. This part of history comes to life not only with photos but with quotes from individuals who actually sailed on the ship, including survivors and victims who lost their lives. This too changes from awe to shock and horror from the survivors who witnessed the sinking. I cannot imagine how terrifying that must have been. No detail was too small from the china that was used on board to the furniture in the cabins, the nearby ship that missed the distress calls, illustrations of the Grand staircase flooding, and the ship splitting in two. I would have liked to have seen more photos from the discovery of the wreckage in the end. Overall, it was beautifully done.
Profile Image for RumBelle.
2,097 reviews19 followers
November 29, 2019
I got this as a library book, and as a result did not have the benefit of the CD Rom experience.

This book was a good, what I will call, basic primer to the Titanic. It covered design and building, launch, the maiden voyage (including various areas of the ship, and amenities for each class of passengers), the sinking and the eventual discovery of the wreck in 1985 by Dr. Robert Ballard. Each of these sections had a two to four page spread, and there were I would say no more than 30 pages in this book.

Each subject had basic information, along with several insets on the page. The insets included information about passengers, the mechanics of the ship, equipment and items on board and more. Each subject was illustrated with a mixture of art, historical photos and documents, and digital art.

This is a great book for younger readers that explains the basics, and outlines the Titanic's brief existence.
13 reviews
February 19, 2020
This book is about titanic and the company that built the titanic. This book has lots of photos of the titanic and gives description of each important part of how the ship was built and sank. It also gives real deck plans for the ship and the layout. This book comes with a explore titanic CD were you can take a tour of the real ship. The book also gives details about people who were on the real ship.

I personally really liked this book. It gave real photos of the ship and layout plans for the titanic's construction. This book is just the right size it is not to big or to small for someone to read the book and know what happend to the ship. This is a really good book especially since it came with a explore titanic CD. Overall I would give this book a 5 out of 5.
Profile Image for Madame Jane .
1,102 reviews
April 12, 2021
An excellent, brief read about the Titanic. There are 3D images that you can picture yourself on the ship. Its was interesting to read how the ship was built and how it was essentially a stylish post office.
Profile Image for SABRINA.
196 reviews
March 18, 2019
Very informational with some really great pictures!
Profile Image for Sarah Daniluk.
229 reviews2 followers
November 7, 2019
This is a wonderful, quick reference book about the Titanic. With brightly colored pictures and photographs from 1912, this book is sure to be a big hit!
Profile Image for Heidi-Marie.
3,855 reviews88 followers
March 19, 2012
This was awesome. Digital recreations of what the Titanic looked like, according to existing photos and design plans for the ship. The visuals were amazing. Most of the facts were old hat for me (considering my "study" this year), but some was new. Some pictures I hadn't seen before. The best part for me was the CD--it let you look at various places throughout the ship in a 360 degree format. Sweet! Of course, the 360 technology tends to make me seasick, but that was only fitting in this subject! :-) It really was pretty fantastic, though, and I enjoyed the quick read. It's basically the closest I've felt to getting an idea of being in/on the Titanic.
Profile Image for Liesl.
590 reviews16 followers
August 20, 2012
I absolutely LOVE the layout of this book. It appeals to me now, and I know it would have appealed to me as a child. It has both a "vintage" look yet modern. It has sepia-toned pictures of passengers laid out in lockets and keys with their room number (LOVE), and has just the right amount of text/information to be informative but not overwhelming which can often cause one to lose interest. Very engaging, plus has CD where you can "explore" the ship.
Profile Image for Wendi.
56 reviews
October 21, 2013
this was a very different book. I never learned so much by reading a picture book before. you can learn a lot from a picture book. the 3D artwork that was in the book. they make it look so realistic. when they were talking about the ship sinking. that is a huge ship to just have it sink like that. when they talked about how it sank. that you can learn more from a picture book then from a text book. yes it is a great way to learn about the titanic in a fun way.
Profile Image for Megan.
47 reviews
November 30, 2013
Historical Text-I loved this book! The detail in all of the pictures were amazing. I also really enjoyed how the pictures went from the construction of the Titanic, through it's trip and ended with the ship under the ocean. This is a good source of educational information for older elementary students.
Profile Image for Tracie.
54 reviews
October 3, 2014
This is a really cool, short book for introducing your kids to The Titanic. It comes complete with a CD-rom that shows a recreated Titanic in 3-D. Very cool! There isn't a lot of information in this book but it does provide a nice over view. I used it as an introduction to the topic and from here we will move on to a survivor's tale type book for a more first handed experience.
Profile Image for Donna Jean.
122 reviews4 followers
September 5, 2012
This is a beautifully done book with great detail and pictures of Titanic during its building as well as underwater after the disastrous sinking. The CDROM is a fantastic addition with historical and scientific information my 7th and 8th grade students found intriguing.
6 reviews1 follower
April 10, 2012
Nice layout and graphics to hold interest
Profile Image for Jessica Rawden.
100 reviews1 follower
April 13, 2012
Sweet book, too much text for a read-aloud (also hard to hold). There's a CD-Rom too, but it's sort of an add-on just waiting to be lost.
44 reviews
December 2, 2013
Great Historical picturebook. I have never seen pictures of the titanic being built nor have i seen pictures from the voyage. I learned from this book and had fun while doing it.
42 reviews
December 11, 2013
I loved looking at all of the pictures about the titanic and it made me sad to think about. I really fond this book awesome even though it was just pictures it made me think about the past.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews

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