White Star: A Dog on the Titanic [Hardcover]

Marty Crisp (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Sam Harris is on the voyage of a lifetime, traveling to New York on the "Titanic". The gigantic ship has every luxury Sam could think of, but there's only one thing that Sam really wants--the Irish setter on board, named White Star. But White Star belongs to the owner of the White Star Line--he'll never be Sam's. One freezing cold night Sam is jolted out of his sleep by a loud noise. When he sees a huge iceberg form his porthole, he knows something is very, very wrong. Whether Sam escapes or not will depend on the bravery of one faithful dog--White Star. The story of the "Titanic" is one of cowardice and courage, despair and determination, and of an unbreakable bond between a boy and a dog on one terrifying, unforgettable night.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–A fresh approach to a popular topic that is both engaging and informative. Sam Harris, 12, is on his way to America to join his mother and new stepfather. A dog lover, he spends the bulk of his time aboard the Titanic in the ship's kennels and forms a strong attachment to the owner's dog, whom he names Star. Readers meet some of the other passengers and observe the strong friendship between Sam and Bucky, the friend who has helped him recover from the death of his father and loss of his mother (who moved back to America six years earlier). Life aboard ship is well described as is the sense of unreality when passengers first hear the call to lifeboats on the fateful night of the disaster. Unlike Eve Bunting's SOS Titanic (Harcourt, 1996), this story continues in the frigid waters as survivors struggle to stay afloat, as well as on the rescue ship Carpathia and back in New York. Sam, still numb from his ordeal, must deal with the anger of Bucky's mother when she realizes that Sam and the dog he loves have survived but her son has not. In a happy ending for Sam, he gets to keep Star and knows that he and his new stepfather are going to get along just fine. Back matter includes a map of the Titanic's voyage, a time line, and biographical sketches of some of the real survivors and victims. A well-researched and competently executed story.–Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Twelve-year-old Sam Harris, a passenger on the Titanic, is excited to discover dogs aboard. After living with his grandparents in England for six years, he's understandably nervous about reuniting with his mother in America and meeting his new stepfather. Helping in the kennel brings a welcome distraction--especially when it comes to caring for Star, the Irish setter that belongs to the ship's captain. Star and Sam quickly bond, and when disaster strikes, the boy can't leave the dog behind. Sam is a sympathetic character, and Crisp weaves together fact and fiction as he paints a tragedy-laced survival story of two likable protagonists--a boy and a dog. Along with historical details and a nicely diverse cast of secondary characters, Crisp includes a map, a time line, a diagram of the ship, brief accounts of several real-life Titanic passengers, a reading list, and source notes. A survival story that will appeal to dog aficionados as well as kids interested in the tragedy. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823415988
• ISBN-13: 978-0823415984
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,014,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story of Adventure, September 19, 2005

By 

L. Wenz (Dover, Ky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Star: A Dog on the Titanic (Hardcover)

White Star A Dog on the Titanic, by Marty Crisp, is a great adventure story. The book is about a twelve-year-old boy named Sam Harris who is a passenger aboard the ill-fated Titanic. Sam is on his way to America to meet his mother and new stepfather after spending six years with his grandparents in England. Sam spends most of his time on the Boat Deck where the dog kennels are kept. He befriends an Irish Setter, that he names Star, who actually belongs to Joseph Bruce Ismay.

The book takes the reader through the beginning of the voyage and introductions of many important people to the actual sinking of the boat as well as the rescue of the survivors by the Carpathia. The book's final chapters deal with the survivors as they arrive in America. The fictional aspect of the book holds many suspense filled moments and surprises for everyone.

Speaking as a teacher, the book does a very good job of blending facts about the Titanic with the fictional story of a boy who has found a true friend in a dog. Marty Crisp includes a map of the Titanic's voyage, a illustration of the decks on the boat, a time line of events, fascinating facts, and mysteries of the Titanic. He also includes a list of survivors as well as victims. This chapter book is a great read for late elementary students who have an interest in the Titanic as well as dogs.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On and On, June 13, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: White Star: A Dog on the Titanic (Hardcover)

Oh wow. I usually take a couple of days yo read one book but I read this book in a saturady morning! Not like it is short or anything, it has 16 chapters. It is so interesting. I am not telling you much about the plot in the story cause i want you to read it. It is one of those books that you just cant put down! I hope that you enjoy it. Thanks for reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars White Star, March 16, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: White Star: A Dog on the Titanic (Paperback)

White Star A Dog on the Titanic, written by Mary Crisp, is about a boy named Sam Harris who is on his way to America to live with his mom and stepfather, and his friendships during the voyage of the Titanic. Sam's two best friends are Bucky and Star: Mr. J. Ismay's award winning Irish setter. Sam is quickly acquainted with all of the dogs aboard, though his favorite is still Star. Then in the morning on April 15th, Sam runs on deck to see that women and children are boarding the lifeboats. Sam's caretaker wants Sam to get into a lifeboat for the Titanic has struck an iceberg. Sam refuses and sprints to the dog kennel to get Star. Once back on deck, all life boats are loaded and Sam is pulled off the boat and into the water by Star. They are then rescued by lifeboat #4 and later picked up by the Carpathia. Sam then arrives in New York and is taken home by his mother, luckily with Star. I definitely recommend this novel for dog lovers and anyone who likes adventure.

The first reason why I recommend this exceptional novel was for the characters. They were real and/or very believable and you got to know them very well. For example, you know almost right away that Sam's father died of influenza, his mom moved and married a stranger (to Sam), and that he had to leave his grandparents. This makes you feel bad for Sam and so you want him to live or jump in a lifeboat when the Titanic sinks because you are "on his side." Another character you come to like is Robert Daniel, who automatically becomes friends with Sam and has a dog. He is a caring and clever man who was a real survivor of the Titanic! Because Mr. Daniel, Bucky, the kennel boy-Finn, and the dogs are nice to Sam, the reader is more concerned and interested in those characters.

I also really liked how this novel was arranged. For every chapter was a name, date, place, and time which did two things. First of all, it made the novel much more believable since the dates, places, and times were real, researched facts. Secondly, the titles on the chapters helped to summarize the chapter. For example, Chapter 8 was called "Not Without My Dog" (the Titanic was somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean) with the subtitle "Monday, April 15, 1912, 12:30 a.m." From the date and title you can tell that Sam wouldn't leave the Titanic without Star and that the Titanic had not sunk yet. Another chapter was called "On the Carpathia" which told the reader that the survivors were picked up by another ship and would survive to tell the story of the Titanic.

Another reason that I recommend this book is because after the wonderful, though fictional, story of Sam and Star, there are 14 pages of non-fiction material about the Titanic. The mini-information bank includes the map of the Titanic's voyage, a timeline for the massive ship, a four-page long diagram of the Titanic, facts, mysteries, survivors, and victims of the Titanic. The listed survivors and victims were characters in White Star who interacted with Sam. It was fascinating to read about those characters' actual lives and accounts. Also, the map of the Titanic itself helped me to better visualize where Sam, Star, and Bucky were on the ship.

In conclusion, because of many elements, this novel was exceptionally realistic. The characters were real and believable just like the plot, and the whole story was very well developed. This is a fairly easy read that is full of adventure, friendship, and dogs and is a very enjoyable book. I recommend it to anyone who likes dogs or a fast read about friendship and courage on the memorable voyage of the Titanic.

-C. Chaudhury