Back to the Titanic (Travelers Through Time, No. 1) [Paperback]

Beatrice Gormley (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Using their great-grandfather's invention of a way to travel through time, Matt and Emily, along with Matt's best friend, Jonathan, travel back to the Titanic and try to save the great ship from disaster.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590462261
• ISBN-13: 978-0590462266
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked this Book a Lot, July 29, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Back to the Titanic (Travelers Through Time, No. 1) (Paperback)

This book Back To The Titanic is based on the event that happened on the night of April 14 1912, when Titanic sank. The story is about three children Emily, Matt and Jonathan who time-travel back to the Titanic and try to save it. This story tells about the disappointment, anger, sadness, doubt and happiness that they encounter on their mission. This book is very good. The situation is well explained. The emotions are very clear and the characters are excellent, you really get to know them. The author has enhanced the story of the Titanic and made it exciting and intense. This book is for all ages, And anybody who is interested in the Titanic . This book is also equipped with a map of the Titanic, which helps when you are reading the book. The cover is very eye-catching and draws you over to it. This story is well put together and leaves you guessing. The book gives you a lot of information about Titanic and her passengers, it makes you feel your there with the characters. I have read this book lots of times and it seems to get better every time. My favorite part was at the end where they said that they wouldn't go back to the Titanic but it didn't mean that they wouldn't use the time machine again. I couldn't put this book down and encourage other people to read it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traveling through time masterpiece!, February 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to the Titanic (Travelers Through Time, No. 1) (Paperback)

When Matt and his friends discover his grandpas time machine and what it can do they go back to the titanic. This hair raising tail is perfect for the family. Though little kids might not understand it its educational. It show were every thing was on the titanic and what happend when it went down. It also has a very awesome ending. So read it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inevitability of History, April 25, 2009

By 

Dwight Blubaugh "MichiBlue" (The only Eaton Rapids on Earth, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back to the Titanic (Travelers Through Time, No. 1) (Paperback)

Back to the Titanic is the first of the three books in Beatrice Gormley's highly underrated Travelers Through Time series. All three books were available through school book orders when they were first published in paperback.

In each of the books, three children go back in time using a time machine and try to change the course of history for the better. In this book, the kids go back to the Titanic on its maiden voyage and try first to prevent the ship from hitting the infamous iceberg. However, everyone they try to warn about the possibility of icebergs just "poo-poos" the warnings, thinking that they know better, and of course, that the Titanic is unsinkable. This mirrors what actually happened aboard the Titanic when iceberg reports were totally ignored and even after the ship hit the iceberg, few seemed to be worried that the ship was in any danger. When the kids are unable to prevent the collision, they then turn their attention to convincing crew and passengers that the ship is actually going to sink and that the lifeboats should be filled to capacity. But, of course, being a well-written time travel book, the children realize they can't let on to anyone that they're from the future, so they have to find more subtle ways of warning people, such as asking pointed questions. The kids have a decent, but realistic, knowledge of history for their ages, which helps them know some of the questions to ask.

The kids do NOT end up changing the basic course of history - the Titanic still sinks with most of the passengers going to their watery graves. However, they do manage to help save a young passenger who turns out to be one of their ancestors.

I liked this books for many reasons. Gormley's writing is engaging, and she does not underestimate her young characters or readers. I've always loved time travel books, especially when they include real history. I've been fascinated by the Titanic and its demise since long before the 1997 movie. And I love the concept in this book that some of history is quite inevitable - that no matter how much someone tries to intervene and help prevent bad situations / disasters, there are often ignorant people who just don't want to be confused by the facts (we all know the type). They know everything and are arrogant about anyone trying to tell them differently. This is a great concept I try to get across to my fourth graders - we tend to want to see history only from our own egocentric / ethnocentric viewpoints, when history really needs also to be seen through the context of those who lived it, a very tough lesson to get across in our era of revisionist history.

The other two books in the series are #2 / Back to Paul Revere! and #3 / Back to the Day Lincoln was Shot!. Both are recommended reads, though I enjoyed the third book more than the second.

Though I have rated this book 5 out of 5 stars, using the Amazon rating system, my own system of rating would be 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 (since Amazon does not allow half stars - i.e., 4 1/2 out of 5).