The Edmund Fitzgerald: Song of the Bell (True Story)

In a book likely to hold chiefly regional appeal, Wargin and van Frankenhuyzen (previously teamed for The Legend of Sleeping Bear) grapple with the tragic true story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a cargo ship that sailed Lake Superior and sank in November 1975. As a raging storm engulfs his vessel, the captain maintains radio contact with the captain of the nearby Arthur M. Anderson, informing him of his dire situation. Approaching a dangerous shoal, the Fitzgerald loses first its long-range and then its short-range radar, begins "taking on" water and can no longer detect the radio-direction beacon from land, leaving the ship "blind in the storm." Shortly after the captain of the Fitzgerald radios the Anderson to say, "We are holding our own," however, his ship, with all 29 men aboard, simply (and disturbingly) disappears. Despite the dramatic subject, the narrative is often dry, with some occasional color added by the interspersed rhymed couplets that make up the "Song of the Bell" of the subtitle ("The battered bell rang as the storm held its grip-/ It rang for the men as the heart of the ship"). Van Frankenhuyzen's realistic paintings convey the ferocity of the storm, yet similar images of the dark, tumultuous lake water grow repetitive and unfortunately lose their punch. Ages 6-12. (Oct.)

Copyright 2003 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

The text is compelling, filled with action-packed verbs and vivid adjectives, enabling the reader to feel the fear of the captain and his crew and the power of Lake Superior that tossed that gigantic ship as if it were a toy boat in a bathtub. The true strength, power, and dynamism of the story lie in the double-page illustrations. Each illustration glows like an oil painting and perfectly complements the action-packed text... However, this is a well-written and beautifully illustrated piece of history. Recommended. — Library Media Connection, May 2004