Iron Thunder (I Witness) [Hardcover]

Avi (Author), C. B. Mordan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: I Witness

When his father is killed fighting for the Union in the War Between the States, thirteen-year-old Tom Carroll must take a job to help support his family. He manages to find work at a bustling ironworks in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, where dozens of men are frantically pounding together the strangest ship Tom has ever seen.  A ship made of iron.

Tom becomes assistant to the ship’s inventor, a gruff, boastful man named Captain John Ericsson. He soon learns that the Union army has very important plans for this iron ship called the Monitor. It is supposed to fight the Confederate “sea monster”--another ironclad--the Merrimac. But Ericsson is practically the only person who believes the Monitor will float. Everyone else calls it “Ericsson’s Folly” or “the iron coffin.”


Meanwhile, Tom’s position as Ericsson’s assistant has made him a target of Confederate spies, who offer him money for information about the ship. Tom finds himself caught between two certain dangers: an encounter with murderous spies and a battle at sea in an iron coffin …

 

 

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–8—Early in 1862, 13-year-old Tom Carroll must go to work when his father is killed in a Maryland battle. He finds a job at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he is put to work on "Ericsson's Folly," the ironclad that will become the Monitor. He works closely with Captain Ericsson and becomes fascinated with this odd "raft." The floating battery is scoffed at by many, but the "Copperheads," Northerners who sympathize with the Southern cause, are distinctly interested. Tom is approached by Confederate spies but cleverly escapes them with the help of his friends. To stay clear of these dangerous men, he moves onboard the Monitor and lives there until its completion. Tom is an eyewitness to history as the ship travels to join the Union blockade fleet and enters into its fateful battle with the Merrimac. He takes pride in the vessel, and his part in her construction is evident in his firsthand telling of the story. Factual information and historical terms are woven smoothly into the narrative. Period photographs, engravings, and newspaper headlines are strategically placed throughout the text to further bring history to life. A glossary provides added clarity, and an author's note explains that although Tom Carroll really existed, the boy in this story is a compilation of several people on the ship and the author's imagination. This exciting, fast-paced historical adventure will add a bit of drama to Civil War units. Even reluctant readers will appreciate it.—Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Decked out with the appurtenances of nonfiction—maps, a resource list (leaning toward upper-level titles), and a generous array of contemporary prints for illustrations—Avi's historical novel views the construction of the Monitor and the ensuing epochal battle with its Confederate rival through the eyes of an actual but fictionalized crew member. Narrating in a clipped style that speeds the tale along nicely, 13-year-old Tom describes meetings with the Monitor's inventor, John Ericsson, and other historical figures; run-ins with "Copperhead" spies; the dangerous sea voyage from New York to the Union blockade; the exciting climactic fight; and the brief, ill-fated later careers of both ironclads. More compelling (and better illustrated) than Maureen Stack Sappey's similar Dreams of Ships, Dreams of Julia (1998), this opener for the I Witness series won't draw readers who prefer their nonfiction straight up, but it will please fans of My America titles and the like. Peters, John

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 203 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (September 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423104463
• ISBN-13: 978-1423104469
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Avi has published more than sixty books. Among them is Crispin: The Cross of Lead, winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal. Other novels with nineteenth-century settings, like The Traitors' Gate -- his grand nod to the work of Charles Dickens -- are listed before the title page, and include the Newbery Honor Book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Avi and his family live in Denver, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the story of Civil War era ship Monitor, October 16, 2008

By 

third time mom (Naperville, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iron Thunder (I Witness) (Hardcover)

As a schoolchild I learned of the famous battle of the Monitor vs the Merrimac. I couldn't have told you much about what I learned many years ago other than I remembered both ships were iron-clad; a new idea in shipbuilding.

Iron thunder is told from Tom, a 13 year old Brooklyn boy's point of view. He gets a job as assitant/errand boy to the Monitor's designer. While the ship is frantically being built, Tom is approached by Confederate spies hoping to glean information about the mysterious ship that's being built in New York. There is quite the element of suspense just from that subplot.

Moreover though, the Monitor was an experiment. Most people didn't think an iron ship could float at all, let alone be a powerful warship. Even though I, as an adult reader, KNEW the outcome of what would come of the Monitor, I was still pulled in and wanted to keep reading as the author described the setbacks in construction.

The battle scene is well written and moves fast. There is a nice glossery of terms that kids should be directed to before reading as well as a worthy authors note at the end. There were a few passages where I thought that some younger readers might not understand what was going on (not a fault in the writing, just from the reader's own youth and inexperience in life) so when my 4th grader reads it I will be sure to remind her to ask about any scenes she's confused by.

It's nice to have history presented in an accesible, exciting manner. The book is completely pro-Union. As the author points out, history is written by the victors. The North won the Civil War; the book represents a pro-Union point of view. All in all, a refreshing, different read. It will get some minds really thinking about the layers in history; in this case the work that went into the cumulating battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac.

My only gripe: many kids (including mine) choose a book by its cover (literally. This cover would be completely uninteresting to my 9 year old girl. Petty, maybe, but true. It's on my daughter's reading club list so that's why we have it; I'm glad she is getting the exposure to it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Iron Thunder, July 1, 2009

By 

jhaack (Rochester, IN United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Iron Thunder (I Witness) (Hardcover)

Author Avi has once again created an exciting, story for readers of all ages! He has clearly researched the facts to bring us a historical fiction account of what it must have been like to serve on one of the most famous boats in American history. Through the eyes of young Tom Carroll, a young fatherless lad, the reader is led through the building, launching, and fighting of the famous ironclad ship. This would make an excellent book for classrooms to read while studying the American Civil War! The actual photos, pictures, and maps give truth and background to the story.

1.0 out of 5 stars Title cover photo, January 24, 2012

By 

Greggory C. Jennings (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iron Thunder (I Witness) (Paperback)

The boy on the title cover is a Confederate (Edwin F. Jemison) but placed in a Union sailor uniform. Thats wrong on many accounts--especially since he was killed by "those people".