pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
What you'll notice first about this book is THIS ILLUSTRATOR. Sophisticated wavy lines weave and undulate like ribbons across the page, mimicking light on water, cloud shadows, and the dazzle patterns that camouflaged British and U.S. ships.
Then the story kicks in, and you may be blown away by the audacity of the idea of dazzle. Instead of painting these ships with camouflage that duplicates natural colors and patterns, dazzle ships were high-contrast and largely geometric. Like giant metal carousel horses painted by Mondrian. Avant garde drag queens of the sea.
And it's only after you've been distracted and dizzied by the art (which, don't let me out of here without performing some kind of obesiance to Victo Ngai - this is her first picture book but her editorial, product, cover, and advertising work http://victo-ngai.com/Work demonstrates a breathtaking breadth of skill. I'm thinking of getting a new tattoo) and charmed by the improbable story of dazzle's inspiration and execution that you notice the writing.
So this is our Texas pal Chris Barton, whose zeal for primary research has brought us such original nonfiction as The Day-Glo Brothers and the award-winning Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions. Usually, children's nonfiction builds on or is inspired by nonfiction written for adults. Not here. If you wanted to write a paper about the invention of Day-Glo colors, Chris's book would be one of your best sources.
One thing you'll notice in truly true stories - and kids DEFINITELY notice this - is that they don't always follow the expected path. Chris is adept at riding the twists and turns of real stories rather than trying to force them into a happy-ending shape. When he encountered inconclusive evidence as to whether dazzle actually worked, it thwarted his ability to end the book on a predictable high note. "I admit that I was initially flummoxed when I realized that "AND DAZZLE SHIPS WON THE WAR!!!" wasn't going to fly for the conclusion," he told me.
Instead, in a passage that echoes the contradictory, mysterious nature of dazzle, he leaves it open-ended. Did dazzle make a difference? Maybe? But the sailors riding these giant floating cans across vast oceans, exposed to the sky and vulnerable to attack from below, must have been comforted by the effort that was taken to hide them in plain sight.
More of this review online at unadulterated.us. http://www.unadulterated.us/pink-me/2017/06/dazzle-ships-world-war-art-confusion-chris-barton-victo-ngai-review.html
Then the story kicks in, and you may be blown away by the audacity of the idea of dazzle. Instead of painting these ships with camouflage that duplicates natural colors and patterns, dazzle ships were high-contrast and largely geometric. Like giant metal carousel horses painted by Mondrian. Avant garde drag queens of the sea.
And it's only after you've been distracted and dizzied by the art (which, don't let me out of here without performing some kind of obesiance to Victo Ngai - this is her first picture book but her editorial, product, cover, and advertising work http://victo-ngai.com/Work demonstrates a breathtaking breadth of skill. I'm thinking of getting a new tattoo) and charmed by the improbable story of dazzle's inspiration and execution that you notice the writing.
So this is our Texas pal Chris Barton, whose zeal for primary research has brought us such original nonfiction as The Day-Glo Brothers and the award-winning Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions. Usually, children's nonfiction builds on or is inspired by nonfiction written for adults. Not here. If you wanted to write a paper about the invention of Day-Glo colors, Chris's book would be one of your best sources.
One thing you'll notice in truly true stories - and kids DEFINITELY notice this - is that they don't always follow the expected path. Chris is adept at riding the twists and turns of real stories rather than trying to force them into a happy-ending shape. When he encountered inconclusive evidence as to whether dazzle actually worked, it thwarted his ability to end the book on a predictable high note. "I admit that I was initially flummoxed when I realized that "AND DAZZLE SHIPS WON THE WAR!!!" wasn't going to fly for the conclusion," he told me.
Instead, in a passage that echoes the contradictory, mysterious nature of dazzle, he leaves it open-ended. Did dazzle make a difference? Maybe? But the sailors riding these giant floating cans across vast oceans, exposed to the sky and vulnerable to attack from below, must have been comforted by the effort that was taken to hide them in plain sight.
More of this review online at unadulterated.us. http://www.unadulterated.us/pink-me/2017/06/dazzle-ships-world-war-art-confusion-chris-barton-victo-ngai-review.html
beecheralyson's review against another edition
5.0
One of Barton's best. And the illustrations are gorgeous.
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
5.0
I can't wait to have more time with this amazing book later this summer. Do not miss this book!
Yet another picture book that should be used in middle grade classrooms as they learn about this time period. What a fascinating piece of history that would go along with the lecture on the German U-boats.
Yet another picture book that should be used in middle grade classrooms as they learn about this time period. What a fascinating piece of history that would go along with the lecture on the German U-boats.
caffeinatedcasey's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Very cool! I had no idea and had to research more!
orangerful's review against another edition
5.0
I saw this book on the new cart and could not resist - the colors on the cover POPPED and, wait, is that a BATTLESHIP?
An amazing bit of history that will pull in both students interested in war and those interested in art. It's all about thinking outside the box (or boat?). I wish color photos of these ships existed, they must have been a site to behold!
This would be a fun class project, to learn about the Dazzle ships and perhaps paint a small model of your own.
An amazing bit of history that will pull in both students interested in war and those interested in art. It's all about thinking outside the box (or boat?). I wish color photos of these ships existed, they must have been a site to behold!
This would be a fun class project, to learn about the Dazzle ships and perhaps paint a small model of your own.
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.
stenaros's review against another edition
3.0
Read for Librarian Book Group
Random facts about history! Score! From World War I comes a story of an attempt to confuse enemy torpedoes by painting the ships in a crazy fashion. The illustrations were not to my taste, but fit nicely with the period.
Random facts about history! Score! From World War I comes a story of an attempt to confuse enemy torpedoes by painting the ships in a crazy fashion. The illustrations were not to my taste, but fit nicely with the period.
agudenburr's review against another edition
4.0
A very informational book about how ships were painting in different patterns in order to avoid missiles from submarines during WWI. There is a lot of words in this story so it would make a better one-on-one read for elementary children interested in this topic.