Horn Book Guide 4/1/2000

An unnamed girl detective leads readers through the real-life 'history mystery' of an abandoned ship from 1872. Capable watercolors portraying shipboard scenes also include definitions of unfamiliar words and supplemental nautical information. Theories about what happened to the crew are presented at the end, while questions pointing to clues in the text encourage critical thinking. Bib. Reviewed by: alb Copyright 2000 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

Personal Review:

The narrator/sleuth creates a timeline that presents in great detail the facts known about the abandoned ship The Mary Celeste. The work of nonfiction clearly explains and illustrates in most cases, the nautical terms that apply to sailing and ships. She then goes on to present possible scenarios and explanations as to what happened. The colorful illustrations make it a fun book to read or share. ( )

Children's detective stories seem to be perpetually "in," The Mary Celeste: An Untold Mystery from History plays on that theme successfully. Without giving us a name, the author introduces us to the narrator, a young girl who is curious...a trait that every detective needs! This young lady isn't curious about just anything, she's particularly curious about her fathers file of mysteries that have never been solved..."histories mysteries." The narrator then goes on to detail her "process" for trying to figure out the given mystery...first she reads as much as she can about the incident, learning everything she can, and she keeps a notebook of the most important clues and information. Sometimes she even includes maps and timelines!! This particular "case" focuses on the Mary Celeste a ship whose crew disappeared on the high seas more than 120 years ago.

With that bit out of the way, the book transforms into a fact filled narrative of the events, starting with the discovery of the Mary Celeste abandoned on open water by the captain and crew of the Del Gratia. We follow the crew through searching the ship (quite a detailed account, including showing that there was food for 6 months stored carefully and that all their belongings were left on board), reporting back to the Del Gratia's captain with their findings; the decision to tow the Mary Celeste back to port for salvage; and a summary of six of the most popular theories about what became of the crew of the Mary Celeste. This final section is done in the notebook style, and the narrator has included questions for the reader to answer, which if answered, will help the reader figure out which of the theories is most likely...at the very least, it's an excellent opportunity for a class project (dividing students up into groups and each exploring a given theory and presenting to the class, with discussion at the end on which of the theories are most likely...and maybe even encouraging students to come up with their own theories!). The story ends with the narrator saying she's really not sure WHICH theory is right...but she's got her own and now she hopes you (the reader) do too.

Each two page spread is given a narrative box and most include "post-it" style pink and yellow boxes which define terms used in the narrative box and most include a cut out of a spiral notebook which is meant to be the narrator taking her notes...which provides additional information and/or perspective on the information given in the narrative box. I love the section on the theories...the way they are presented with questions that the reader should be able to answer directly out of the text and/or with minimal additional research. I really do think this would make an excellent group project for a classroom, or the jumping off point for a written report by a single student...or just interesting reading!! I'd say this book is idea for kids ages 4-10, as a real aloud to about age 6, older kids will enjoy reading this alone...the text is EASY...but the opportunity for exploring the theories and doing additional research is what I think makes it suitable for readers 8-10. I give it five stars and think it would make a fine addition to any classroom or school library. I love the format; it presents the necessary information (and definitions) on the page (without flipping back and forth to a glossary) in a way that doesn't detract from the narrative or the illustrations. There is a bibliography, but it's located in the front of the book, just before the title page, rather than in the back. Pick this up for your curious young reader, you won't be disappointed! ( )