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Titanic: The Search for the Lost Fugitives    by Anita Croy & Mick Posen Amazon.com order for
Titanic
by Anita Croy
Order:  USA  Can
Kingfisher, 2012 (2012)
Hardcover
* *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Two ghostly figures abandon an old suitcase by the Titanic monument in Liverpool, England. Are they the owners of its mysterious contents? Why did they leave the suitcase behind? In this latest Code Quest adventure, young readers are challenged to answer these and a host of other questions to solve the mystery of what's going on here.

Joining with reporter Brendan McDowell, who narrates the story, the reader must sift through all the clues included in the narrative and break the secret codes and figure out some puzzles to solve this mystery. Of course, the secret of the mysterious suitcase is really only an excuse to provide lots of good information about the ill fated passenger ship and her tragic maiden voyage.

The short chapters are well illustrated with vintage photos and art, plus they cover everything from how the ship was constructed and who traveled on her to the events that led up to and followed the collision with the iceberg that sank her. This interactive book pulls the young reader into the story because of the mystery that focuses on some of the ship's passengers, who they were and what happened to them. But, of course, along the way the history of the ship unfolds as well.

A number of children's books have been released this year in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking but this is one of the best. It doesn't oversimplify the story and cleverly engages the reader so that he or she must read the text closely to solve the mystery.

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