Random Things Tours: The Titanic Tunnel by Glen Blackwell

Introducing tragical historical moments to children is not easy and although one may think that the storyfied versions offered to children are easier to create than a nonfiction cold account, nevertheless it requires a precise art of storytelling. Indeed, for a nonfictional story, all you need is to relate the facts, sometimes in a direct cruel way. For the story, one should convene a rare art of respecting the real life facts while creating a story which answers the preoccupations and interests of a specific age range. 

The Titanic Tunnel by Glen Blackwell is a time travel adventure book for midgrade children, set on the trails of the Titanic. While visiting Belfast, where the ship was built, the curious friends Emmie and Jack are brought back in time, at the begining of the 20st century, on the ill fated boat. Stuck back in time, they are carefully observing their environment and some strange creatures hiding in the dark that seem to be there not for a good cause. Thus, they should do their best to be out of the ship as soon as possible, before the tragedy.

It´s hard to keep the typical midgrade child focused unless you offer them a lot of adventure, a touch of mystery and eventually some riddles he or she should solve by him- or herself. The Titanic Tunnel has an entertaining style, with realistically depicted characters and an eventful story. Although it follows the track of the historical fiction it adorns it with stories and relatable characters one may be interested to find out more. Particularly the time travel element is very attractive for this age, and I remember myself often captivated about such topics when I was that age. Nowadays, it´s almost impossible to keep me interested into such stories.

The Titanic Tunnel is the second from the series featuring Emmie and Jack but can be easily read as a stand alone story. Even if you are no more belonging to the target age of the book, still the story is appealing and may keep you a long winter weekend busy. Anyway, I can´t wait for my son to grow up for him to discover this funny duo. I hope until then there will be even more series featuring them.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own