The Edmund Fitzgerald

November 17, 2003
In a book likely to hold chiefly regional appeal, Wargin and van Frankenhuyzen (previously teamed for The Legend of Sleeping Bear
) grapple with the tragic true story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
, a cargo ship that sailed Lake Superior and sank in November 1975. As a raging storm engulfs his vessel, the captain maintains radio contact with the captain of the nearby Arthur M. Anderson
, informing him of his dire situation. Approaching a dangerous shoal, the Fitzgerald
loses first its long-range and then its short-range radar, begins "taking on" water and can no longer detect the radio-direction beacon from land, leaving the ship "blind in the storm." Shortly after the captain of the Fitzgerald
radios the Anderson
to say, "We are holding our own," however, his ship, with all 29 men aboard, simply (and disturbingly) disappears. Despite the dramatic subject, the narrative is often dry, with some occasional color added by the interspersed rhymed couplets that make up the "Song of the Bell" of the subtitle ("The battered bell rang as the storm held its grip—/ It rang for the men as the heart of the ship"). Van Frankenhuyzen's realistic paintings convey the ferocity of the storm, yet similar images of the dark, tumultuous lake water grow repetitive and unfortunately lose their punch. Ages 6-12.

February 15, 2004
K-Gr 3-A picture book about the sinking of the cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald during a storm on Lake Superior in 1975. The vessel's bell, which eventually became a memorial to the lost sailors, is the focal point of the narrative. Tension builds steadily as the story unfolds. Members of the crew are introduced by name, and the fictionalized dialogue makes the story more immediate and true to life. Conversation, largely between Captain McSorley and the captain and first mate of the Arthur M. Anderson, another ship on the lake at the time, is undocumented. A poem interspersed throughout the text creates a sentimental, disjointed effect. Endpapers list names, positions, and hometowns of the men, and an afterword by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society describes how the bell was retrieved and became a memorial. Paintings show the movement and danger of the lake, and different angles are used to capture the drama of the tragedy. This title should be considered an additional purchase where there is regional demand.-Debbie Stewart, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2004
Gr. 2-5. This handsome picture book draws on history to tell the story of the last voyage of the " Edmund Fitzgerald," a ship that sank in a Lake Superior storm in 1975. All 29 crew members drowned. The text combines prose paragraphs with rhymed couplets, a device that works fairly well, as the book both tells the tale and laments those who drowned. Wargin uses the ship's bell as a unifying focus for the story. When the ship was at sea, the bronze bell clanged every four hours to signal the watch change, and later, "The battered bell rang as the storm held its grip-- / It rang for the men at the heart of the ship." Finally, it was retrieved from the sunken vessel and replaced with a replica inscribed with the names of those who perished. The dark, dramatic paintings expressively illustrate the somber story with respect for the men and for the danger of the treacherous storm, which is vividly portrayed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2004
In November 1975, the cargo ship "Edmund Fitzgerald" and its entire crew sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. Despite the somewhat confusing and dull narration, the ship itself becomes a compelling character in the moody paintings and an epilogue adds emotional depth to the presentation. The inclusion of a map would have been useful.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)