The Titanic (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time)

American Girl: Real Stories From My Time

by Emma Carlson Berne, Kelley McMorris (Illustrator)

Explore real stories and facts about the sinking of the Titanic with American Girl BeForever character Samantha! Discover the stories of the real people and events that shaped American history in the Real Stories From My Time series. Perfect for book reports with full-page illustrations throughout, these nonfiction chapter books also include historical photos, maps, a timeline, a glossary, and a bibliography at the back. Plus, in each book, an American Girl historical character shares a bit of her own fictional story. Titanic includes real life stories of the passengers who were aboard the supposedly unsinkable ship-from everyday life on board to the night of the infamous iceberg collision. American Girl Samantha Parkington shares her own story of traveling across the ocean as a first class passenger on a steamship in the early 1900s.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Historical, Womens, Fiction, Juvenile

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Emma Carlson Berne is the author of the YA thrillers STILL WATERS and NEVER LET YOU GO (coming Fall 2012 from Simon & Schuster). She has also written the thrillers FIGMENT and CHOKER under the pen name Elizabeth Woods. She lives and writes in Cincinnati. Learn more about Emma and contact her directly at her website, www.emmacarlsonberne.com. Or check out Emma Carlson Berne Books on http://www.facebook.com/EmmaCarlsonBe... or follow her on Twitter.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The headline screams 'TITANIC SINKS!' My heart freezes. My best friend Nellie, Aunt Cornelia and little William are on the Titanic!"

Samantha Parkington, along with her Uncle Gard and adoptive siblings (Jenny and Bridget) are at home, safe and sound, when they find out the horrific news.

"A lump rises in my throat as I think of Cornelia, Nellie, and William laughing and waving from the deck of Titanic. Where are they now?"

Samantha journals her feelings as she waits and waits for news about her aunt and other family members. Will Nellie be okay? Or will everyone be lost to the ocean?

Wow. This was...unexpected.

This book isn't really part of the main series - it's more of a nonfiction book with a fictional narration from the American Girl (Samantha Parkington) providing her reaction and interpretation of the events surrounding her aunt, cousin, and adoptive sibling.

As I read the first-person journal entries of Samantha, I couldn't help but think that the writing didn't 'feel' very Samantha-esque.

This could be because this is the first time I'm getting the first-person perspective for her or because she's meant to be older in this book...but I feel like you could swap out the character for just about anybody else and it wouldn't feel much different.

That being said, I did think this book had merit. Each chapter provided information about the Titanic. We learn about why it was considered the grandest ship of its time and how such a monstrous vessel was built.

We get to see what the passengers would have experienced - activities, food, and adventures they could go on - as well as what had to be done to keep it running.

And, of course, we get into the iceberg and the real-life horrors of the rescue boats. And at the very end, we get some information from the survivors on how they felt.

I did like the primary sources included in this book and thought the real-life narratives were fascinating, it just didn't ring true as belonging to the Samantha series.

[Readaholic Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for young kids to read and learn about the Titanic.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book for Middle Grade March completed. I enjoyed this one. As with the Pearl Harbor book, I love how it's a history lesson with the fictional American Girl's (in this one Samantha) story intertwined.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this book was written for children, but I did not think it was nearly up to the quality of the original American Girl books. This book feels like it was written as a nonfiction book about the Titanic first, and then they threw some filler Samantha chapters (where nothing really happens) in there as an afterthought so they could market it as an American Girl book.

On another note, hasn’t Nellie suffered enough in her years working in a factory as a child, losing both of her parents, taking care of her sisters, moving in with her uncle who robs them, and then almost getting sent away on the orphan train? They really had to amend the lore 30 years later and put her on the Titanic, too? Insane choice lol

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of mistakes in the text and there was one part between chapters that they didn't put a Samantha narrative. I understand why the used Samantha for this book, though the event took place in Rebecca's decade. It's interesting that they assume you've read one of Samantha's mysteries and her Ocean Liner Adventure, instead of just her main line of stories.

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a book, the story of titanic always gets me emotional and reading the story, reading of people that were on the ship and had survived but lost loved ones really got to me.

It was written so incredibly well detailing everything about the ship, the journey and the people so certain it was going to be a dream come true and a smooth journey... until the harrowing incident that no one saw coming.

I also loved reading an additional story of a teenage Samantha Parkington and her experience and fear of what was happening on the titanic.

[Jessica Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually learned quite a bit from this book! Going into this one knowing that it wasn’t just a fictional novel allowed me to appreciate it better for what it was. Very informative without being boring, I’d definitely recommend it for those interested in the Titanic.

[Emily Moctzuma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not the best but it is a good book I wanted to know more about the other characters.
But please keep making books and I will keep reading them you are a great author. And have a great day. reading about samantha's story made me feel sad about the people that passed away.

[Virgil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The undeniable parentification of Samantha Parkington, and the creeping knowledge that in a timeline just slightly different from ours, Grandmary died between books 5 and 6 and Uncle Gard died on the Titanic.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

The historical blurbs are pretty cool and have the information laid out in a interesting and age appropriate manner. I would have loved this in 2008, when I was 11 and deep in my Titanic phase and the only books in the marked were target at adults.

The actual AG bits with Samantha are very weak and the writing is poor and didn’t make me feel much for the characters. The main AG books series in general are well written (including newer ones like Nanea’s and Melody’s) and it’s disappointing that outside of the core six they don’t hold the same quality standards.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written well, and was a fairly easy to understand, and easy read for the age group intended. I read this book to my kind hearted little boy, upon his request to learn some more history (and this story specifically), some of the details of the fathers being left on board made him and myself cry. However the book does tell the history of the Titanic concisely, and accurately.

I do want to add though that although the history in this book is accurate, it did also have some sad and graphic parts when it talks about children and wives being taken from their dads and husbands to never see them again. It is especially graphic when it talks about the survivors in the lifeboats hearing those who had fallen in the water screaming, crying, and moaning as they died from freezing to death, and talking about the dead bodies left in the ocean and what happened to them. It is part of the history, but I want to give a heads up to those who might not want those kind of details.

[Alaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea the "Real Stories From My Time" series of American Girl books existed until I stumbled upon this gem. The American Girl books were HUUUUGE when I was in elementary school in the early 90s. Now, as librarian, I get extremely excited whenever I see a new generation falling in love with the different characters. The addition of the Titanic - which is like catnip to kids, they just can't get enough of it - makes this addition to the American Girl books even better. Not only was it great to "catch up" with my personal favorite American Girl Samantha in her teen years, I found the information included about the Titanic to be not only interesting and informative, but also surprisingly honest and up front about how horrific the sinking was. There is no glossing over gruesome facts or sheltering kids from the tragedy. Well done, American Girl. I look forward to reading some other books in the "Real Stories..." series.

[Kara Kuehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the historical accuracy and effort put into making this book so factual. It was very insightful and yet did not feel like a textbook.
The format is really cool. There are historical notes, but also fictional stories about Samantha as well!
I really loved that the author told the reader that Samantha is a fictitious character. She said, “Although Samantha is a fictional character, her story will help you imagine what it was like to live through the Titanic disaster.”

Things to be aware of in “Titanic”

Violence:
Given the subject, be aware that there are many mentions of death. There is even discussion on hearing people scream as they die. It is a true story and wonderfully written, but might be heavy for sensitive readers.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the Titanic interspersed with log entries from Samantha Parkington, a fictional character in the American Girl series. Samantha who readers met in the books that took place ca. 1904 around the age of 10, is now a teenager. Her aunt Cornelia, sister Nellie O'Malley, and little nephew brother William are on board Titanic. Samantha worries if they survived the wreck. It also has glossary of terms, timeline of Titanic's existence, from building, sinking, to discovery of wreck, and sources. Good way to get American Girl readers into further history. I also enjoyed this window back into a beloved character's life.

[LeAnn Sigafoose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a great book! I would highly recommend this book to any middle school age kiddo!
I personal love the stories around Titanic so I know a lot about Titanic so I am so happy to say that this story really gives a lot of true information on what the ship was all about. It also gives a personal feel to it by reading Samantha's dairy writings about her aunt and family that was on Titanic when it went down.
As a child I read many AmericanGirl stories and these characters became very close to me, this book has those characters we love but also some very important history information.
Great read!

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son read this yesterday, and I didn't realized that it was an American Girl book until I took a closer look at it. One of the things that I've always loved about their books, from when I was a little girl, was the immersion of their characters into history, and this was no different. It's like they took the formula of their regular books, and reversed it. Instead of it being about the character, with the last few pages giving a "Peek into the Past" (which was always my favorite part of the books), the entire book was about the historic event, with character interjections. It also follows a variety of children on the Titanic, from all classes.

[K James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the fact that this showed Samantha a little older, with Aunt Cornelia, Nellie, and William on the Titanic. I just wish it was a longer story, instead of snapshots and tidbits of Sam, Uncle Gard, Bridget and Jenny waiting for news. I’d say it’s informative and age appropriate, without being too scary or detailed for younger children, but I do wish it were more like a linear novel. I would’ve loved to read a book about the entire experience from Nellie’s perspective.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines an AmericanGirl story of Samantha with nonfiction information about the sinking of the Titanic and it blends the two very well. There is plenty of detail for the student who wants information about the disaster, but there is also a well-done story for those who prefer their history as historical fiction. I intend to find more of this series for my libraries.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children love these little books. They thoroughly enjoy each and every story, as if they are all unique and individual without any cause for similarity among them. Even though sometimes, they might seem tedious and repetitive to me as a parent, I do enjoy being able to read short-stories to my children that are clean and respective.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting and hoping more of a story to this book then just facts but it still a good book for people interest in the Titanic. I think this book is best aged for late third graders and beginner fourth graders.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was interesting. They continued Samantha's story; different from the other history books in this series. I did think it was good. Titanic is always an easy to tell story in terms of having a beginning-middle-end. They didn't sugarcoat this one either. The sinking did seem a little rushed.

[Keshia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I don't think I'll ever get tired of reading about the Titanic.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

it tells detailed storys about real people like john jakeob astor, Eva hart and more.

[Shontel Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I read this book together. Really good book!

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Girl- Samantha Parkington

Story blends Titanic and American Girl, Samantha Parkington life.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check my review here: https://darlingilovebooks.blogspot.co...

[Charissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad subject, but very interesting and readable. Will read more "Real Stories from My Time" books!

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story of the maiden voyage and sinking of the Titanic in 1912 told partly through the log of a fictional American Girl (Samantha) who has relatives on the Titanic.

[queen victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha’s a big girl now :)

[Morning Glory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this extension of Nellie and Samantha's stories!