Titanic Sinks! Resources for Children and Young Adults

Although a century has passed since the “unsinkable” steamship Titanic collided with an iceberg in the north Atlantic during its maiden voyage, children and adults alike remain fascinated with the disaster that shocked the world and claimed hundreds of lives. From picture book cats to time-traveling teens, novels in verse to graphic novels, there is a story and a format for every reader eager to learn more about the tragic Titanic.

To find additional titles about the Titanic in the library’s online catalog, try using the subject terms “Titanic (Steamship)–Juvenile fiction” for fiction about the Titanic and “Titanic (Steamship)–Juvenile literature” for nonfiction about the Titanic. The call numbers for many of the nonfiction Titanic books are 910.9163 and 910.91634. Browse the shelves in the S-Collection and see if any catch your eye!
Nonfiction: The Disaster

Brown, Don. All Stations! Distress!: April 15, 1912, the Day the Titanic Sank. 2008.
Provides the captivating story of this amazing vessel, the people who built it, and its tragic demise during its maiden voyage across the Atlantic as told through first-hand accounts and detailed illustrations of the events as they happened. Age 9-12.
[Education S Collection S. 910.91634 B8128a]

Dunn, Joe and Ben. The Titanic. 2008.
This book, in graphic novel format, describes the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and how the tragedy led to improvements on safety for oceangoing vessels. Includes a browser-based read-along CD that is both Mac- and PC-compatible. Age 9-12.
[Education S Collection S. 910.9163 D922t]

Jenkins, Martin. Titanic: Disaster at Sea. 2008.
On April 14, 1912, the largest and finest ocean liner of the age struck an iceberg and sank to the icy depths. Here, in clear, compelling prose illustrated with evocative scenes, extensive diagrams, and historical photos, is the story of the Titanic’s rise and fall — from details on her state-of-the-art design and widely varying accommodations to a timeline showing how structural and human failure contributed to her demise. Age 9-12.
[Education S Collection S. 910.9163 J417ti]

Marschall, Ken, ill. Inside the Titanic. 1997.
In this lavishly illustrated book, the gripping story of the R.M.S. Titanic is told in a spectacularly visual way that makes readers feel as if they are actually “inside” the giant doomed liner. A compelling text featuring the stories of real-life children who sailed on the Titanic accompanies the detailed cutaway illustrations of the ship. Age 9-12.
[Education Storage Q. S. 363.123 M351I]

Stewart, David. You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Titanic! One Voyage You’d Rather Not Make. 2001.
This book revels in the gory, dark, horrific side of the giant steamship’s doomed voyage. The reader is on center stage, as he or she gets a tour through the experiences of passengers and crew members alike! Hilarious illustrations, captions, and sidebars leave no doubt that you simply wouldn’t want to be there. Age 9-12.
[Education S Collection S. 910.91634 St492y]

Vander Hook, Sue. The Titanic. 2008.
Provides an account of the events of April 15, 1912, when the Titanic luxury liner sank in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg, claiming the lives of approximately 1,200 passengers. Age 12+
[Education S Collection S. 910.91634 V282t]


Nonfiction: The Legacy

Ballard, Robert D. and Rick Archbold. Ghost Liners: Exploring the World’s Greatest Lost Ships. 1998.
Written by the oceanographer who discovered the wreck of the Titanic and illustrated by a maritime artist who served as a consultant for the motion picture Titanic, this book depicts five famous ships that have been lost at sea in modern times: the Empress of Ireland, the Lusitania, the Andrea Doria, the Britannic, and the Titanic. Age 9-12.
[Education Storage Q. S. 910.91634 B212g 1998]

Hill, Christine M. Robert Ballard: The Oceanographer Who Discovered the Titanic. 1999.
A biography which covers the life and professional work of the man whose numerous missions to study the ocean floor led to the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic. Age 12+
[Education Storage SB. B189h]

Landau, Elaine. Heroine of the Titanic: The Real Unsinkable Molly Brown. 2001.
Margaret (Molly) Brown is best known for her bravery and compassion during the tragic sinking of the Titanic, which catapulted her to international fame virtually overnight. But few people are aware that she was also an outspoken suffragist, a tireless champion of miners’ rights, and one of the first women to run for the U.S. Congress. This biography tells her full life story. Age 12+
[Education Storage SB. B8793h]
Historical Fiction

Crisp, Marty. White Star: A Dog on the Titanic. 2004.
Twelve-year-old Sam, a passenger on the Titanic’s maiden sea voyage, volunteers to help care for the dogs in the ocean liner’s kennel and becomes fast friends with the Irish setter of J. Bruce Ismay, the ship’s owner. Age 9-12.
[Education Storage S. C868w]

Peters, Stephanie. The First and Final Voyage. 2008.
In this graphic novel, fourteen-year-old Christopher Watkins boards the Titanic with his family on April 10, 1912. While sailing across the Atlantic, the giant ship strikes an iceberg and begins to sink! Christopher must quickly find a way to save his family. Age 9-12.
[Education Storage S. 741.5973 P4422f]

Tarshis, Lauren. The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912. 2010.
Excited to board the Titanic with his aunt and little sister, ten-year-old George begins to explore the ill-fated ship’s first-class storage cabin when the ship is rocked by a collision with an iceberg and begins to sink. First book in the I Survived series. Age 9-12.
[Education S Collection S. T177s]

White, Ellen Emerson. Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912. 1998.
In her diary in 1912, thirteen-year-old Margaret Ann describes how she leaves her lonely life in a London orphanage to become a companion to a wealthy American woman, sails on the Titanic, and experiences its sinking. Entry in the Dear America series. Age 9-12.
[Education Storage S. W5824v]

Wolf, Allan. The Watch that Ends the Night. 2011.
This novel-in-verse recreates the 1912 sinking of the Titanic as observed by millionaire John Jacob Astor, a beautiful young Lebanese refugee finding first love, “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, Captain E.J. Smith, and others including the iceberg itself. Age 12+
[Education S Collection S. W831w]
Picture Books

Crew, Gary. Pig on the Titanic: A True Story. 2005.
A pig on a passenger liner? Impossible! No! No! It’s me … Maxixe, the music box pig! Everyone knows the story of the night the great ship Titanic sank. But few know the story of Maxixe, one of the unsung heroes of that night, and how this small musical pig soothed the fears of a lifeboat full of children. Age 5-8.
[Center for Children’s Books Q. SE. C867p]

Crisp, Marty. Titanicat. 2008.
A boy who has signed on as cabin boy aboard the Titanic helps ready the ship for its maiden voyage, but when it is time to set sail and he cannot find the ship’s cat on board, he leaves the vessel to search for her. Age 5-8.
[Education S Collection Q. SE. C8681t]
YA Paranormal Novels

Gray, Claudia. Fateful. 2011.
When seventeen-year-old Tess Davies, a ladies’ maid, meets handsome Alec Marlow aboard the RMS Titanic, she quickly becomes entangled in the dark secrets of his past, but her growing love puts her in mortal peril even before fate steps in. Age 14+
[Center for Children’s Books S. G7916f]

Turetsky, Bianca. The Time-Traveling Fashionista: A Novel. 2011.
Twelve-year-old Louise Lambert accepts an invitation to a private sale of vintage clothing but upon donning an evening gown, she finds herself in 1912 aboard the Titanic as the gown’s original owner, silent film star Alice Baxter. Age 12+
[Center for Children’s Books S. T844t]

Weyn, Suzanne. Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic. 2009.
In the early twentieth century, five sisters and their widowed mother, a famed spiritualist, travel from New York to London, and as the Titanic conveys them and their acquaintances, journalist W.T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor, home, Tesla’s inventions will either doom or save them all. Age 12+
[Center for Children’s Books S. W547d]