Scan barcode
jaij7's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I have been dazzled by this book. What a great topic for a book. I have never heard of this art form during World War I. Love that the author chose to show how women played an important role.
johnnymacaroni's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting part of WWI history I wasn't previously aware of and I found the writing exceptionally accessible-perfect for a wide range of age groups. But I was really blown away by the artwork (which is mainly why I was reading it...for our Mock Caldecott). It's reminiscent of wartime posters but also feels very original and new.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
A quick and beautiful nonfiction picture book. Tells about how artists (many of them women) tried to camouflage ships during WWII to protect them from being torpedoed by German submarines.
alisonwonderland823's review against another edition
5.0
I love when nonfiction books are visually stunning, feature a topic I know little to nothing about and have excellent text that gives a great narrative feel. This book has that in spades.
kristi_starr35's review against another edition
5.0
This is a visually beautiful book. The illustrations are striking with their color and frequent symbolism. The story itself blends a focus on the historical events of painting dazzle ships in World War I (the US also dabbled in dazzle with over 1200 ships painted) to protect British boats from German U-boats with a call for creative solutions. Norman Wilkinson's suggestion to use camouflage not to hide but to disorient submarine commanders was certainly an example of "thinking outside the box". In addition to shedding light on a little-known piece of maritime history, author Chris Barton underscores the need for seeking solutions that, on the surface, might seem foolish. But really, does painting ships seem any more foolish than other suggestions of training birds and sea lions to spot subs, or to have swimmers smash U-boats' periscopes?
Book includes insightful author and illustrator notes, a timeline with photos, and a selected bibliography (plus a URL for the full bibliography).
Book includes insightful author and illustrator notes, a timeline with photos, and a selected bibliography (plus a URL for the full bibliography).
saidtheraina's review against another edition
3.0
Gorgeous art, like everyone says.
I picked it up hoping it would be a good candidate to take out to the elementary schools in my visits leading up to the Summer.
Unfortunately, I generally have a hard time figuring out how to booktalk Juvenile content in a picture book style, and with this one, the hook never emerged in my head.
I wanted a teensy bit more story to it, and the art - though beautiful - didn't feel particularly kid-friendly. In a book about imagery, I really missed photography. There is ONE photo of one of the dazzle ships in the back, but that's it. There are also a few images of anthropomorphized countries, which I feel like would be confusing for kids without any explanation.
Suffice it to say, gorgeous piece of work, and great for classroom use (I imagine), but not one that fit my needs of the moment.
I picked it up hoping it would be a good candidate to take out to the elementary schools in my visits leading up to the Summer.
Unfortunately, I generally have a hard time figuring out how to booktalk Juvenile content in a picture book style, and with this one, the hook never emerged in my head.
I wanted a teensy bit more story to it, and the art - though beautiful - didn't feel particularly kid-friendly. In a book about imagery, I really missed photography. There is ONE photo of one of the dazzle ships in the back, but that's it. There are also a few images of anthropomorphized countries, which I feel like would be confusing for kids without any explanation.
Suffice it to say, gorgeous piece of work, and great for classroom use (I imagine), but not one that fit my needs of the moment.
beths0103's review against another edition
5.0
Chris Barton is one of my all-time favorite nonfiction writers because not only are his stories interesting and little-known, but his writing is full of voice and make for great mentor texts.
worldlibraries's review against another edition
5.0
There are so many things to love about this book. First of all, it is visually stunning. It demands to be picked up. There is no way a human being could look at this book and not want to learn more! Thank you, illustrator Victo Ngai, for making this book irresistible to reluctant readers.
Secondly, the story is fascinating. I admire Chris Barton's editor for bringing the idea to him of creating a picture book about ship camouflage in WWI and for his expression of slowly-accruing belief in her idea as he researched the topic. How fantastic is it that he credited her so visibly? How wonderful is it to see behind the scenes in how a picture book gets created? We should all have such lovely wind beneath our wings as editor Carol Hinz brought to author Chris Barton on this book.
Thirdly, the author helps the reader see what to learn from the story that could be applied to the reader's own life. This is brilliant passage: 'a willingness to tackle problems by trying the unlikely, the improbable, the seemingly bonkers will always be needed.'
Fourthly, Chris Barton includes his inquiry and research process in the book, and his curation of what should and should not be included. Especially for PYP students, this visible deliniation of process from ideation, to research, to curation is fabulously detailed. Thank you, Mr. Barton, for your example that students can learn from.
I also appreciated that the author was so careful to include female contribution to the project of camouflaging these ships. Another fun addition: the illustrator, Victo Ngai, puts in her spectacular illustrations her own Chinese chop as her signature - just the sort of thing to keep young people examining each illustration for that much longer as they search for it.
Additional winning details of this picture book include a timeline, photos from the period of ships being camouflaged, and a bibliography of sources.
Secondly, the story is fascinating. I admire Chris Barton's editor for bringing the idea to him of creating a picture book about ship camouflage in WWI and for his expression of slowly-accruing belief in her idea as he researched the topic. How fantastic is it that he credited her so visibly? How wonderful is it to see behind the scenes in how a picture book gets created? We should all have such lovely wind beneath our wings as editor Carol Hinz brought to author Chris Barton on this book.
Thirdly, the author helps the reader see what to learn from the story that could be applied to the reader's own life. This is brilliant passage: 'a willingness to tackle problems by trying the unlikely, the improbable, the seemingly bonkers will always be needed.'
Fourthly, Chris Barton includes his inquiry and research process in the book, and his curation of what should and should not be included. Especially for PYP students, this visible deliniation of process from ideation, to research, to curation is fabulously detailed. Thank you, Mr. Barton, for your example that students can learn from.
I also appreciated that the author was so careful to include female contribution to the project of camouflaging these ships. Another fun addition: the illustrator, Victo Ngai, puts in her spectacular illustrations her own Chinese chop as her signature - just the sort of thing to keep young people examining each illustration for that much longer as they search for it.
Additional winning details of this picture book include a timeline, photos from the period of ships being camouflaged, and a bibliography of sources.
amysutton's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this! I have never heard of Dazzle Ships (WW1 camoflauge to protect boats from German torpedo attacks), so this book was really interesting. The illustrations were absolutely perfect. I felt like I was looking through an art book at times. This would be great for upper elementary teachers who wanted to reinforce WW1 terminology while focusing on some really cool lesser known historical info.
I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.