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Boyds Mills Editor Larry Rosler calls to check on story book process.

Ocean Liners: Crossing and Cruising the Seven Seas

Author: Karl Zimmermann
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, October 2008
Reading Level: 9-11

With the tough times that families are facing economically, vacations have gone to the wayside for many, but while we sit here in the northeast staring at the snow outside, it doesn't hurt to imagine that you're lounging pool side on one of those enormous cruise ships. "Ocean Liners" is the fourth book in Zimmermann's transportation series for younger readers, following Steam Locomotives, All Aboard!, and Steamboats. This picture book traces the history of ocean liners through wars, the development of the airplane, and the evolution of the cruise ship industry. Ships such as England’s Britannia, Holland’s Statendam, and Germany’s Amerika transported the rich and famous, as well as millions of immigrants to North America. The Titanic, among the most famous of ocean liners, steamed into legend on the night of April 14, 1912, when it collided with an iceberg. Other liners, such as the Luisitania and the Normandie, were destroyed during the two world wars. Over time, airplanes changed the nature of travel—and the role of the ocean liners. The last of the great ships that had been built for transportation turned to offering passengers the pleasures of cruising. Today’s cruise ships are dramatically different from the liners of old. Bigger than ever, they are like small cities on the water. From the Great Britain, perhaps the first great ocean liner, launched in 1843, to today’s Freedom of the Seas, which has fifteen decks and carries 4,375 passengers, Karl Zimmermann tells the fascinating story of ocean liners—their history, development, and culture. The text is very informative and the photographs will have you planning your next vacation!

Karl Zimmermann is a frequent contributor to the travel sections of the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post, and he has written more than 20 books.

You might also like...
Ghost Liners: Exploring the World's Greatest Lost Ships (64pp) by Robert D. Ballard, Rick Archbold, and Ken Marschall (Little Brown Young Readers, September 1998- Ages 9-12)


Hop over to Anastasia Suen's picture book of the day blog for the Nonfiction Monday roundup!

Thanks Boyds Mills!

I am happy to welcome Sarah Lamstein to my blog! Sarah crafts heart- filled stories that are loved by children, parents, teachers, and librarians. Her newest picture book, LETTER ON THE WIND (Boyds Mills Press) just received a Sydney Taylor Honor Award for picture books.

Congratulations on the Sydney Taylor Book Award! How did you hear the news?

I received a very tantalizing email from Rachel Kamin, the chair of the Sydney Taylor Award committee asking me to call her. I did and was thrilled to hear that Letter on the Wind was selected as an Honor book. I was glad I could directly hear her enthusiasm for the work of her committee and that I could convey my excitement to her. It was great!!

Tell me a little about the book.

Letter on the Wind, a Chanukah tale, is a story of faith and generosity, skepticism and innocence. When a Middle Eastern village suffers a drought and the olives hang withered on the trees, the villagers cannot make olive oil to light their menorahs. They are resigned to a year without Chanukah, but one man, the poorest in the village, won’t accept that possibility. He writes a letter to the Almighty, asking for help with the dilemma. Help arrives, but with it come complications.

This tale reminds readers of the first Chanukah and of Mattathias’ bravery in protecting his faith.

Why were you drawn to a Jewish theme?

My first Jewish-themed book, Annie’s Shabbat, was a paean to the Shabos of my childhood. My editor asked if I could write a story like Annie’s Shabbat, but about Chanukah. Chanukah wasn’t as rich for me as our weekly observance of the Sabbath, with is preparation, its feast, its shul, its Havdalah, its time of peace and family. I could have written a Chanukah story about going to Joel Feldman’s each year, where his mother served a delicious meal, his grandfather being a butcher and always supplying his family with the fattest and juiciest hotdogs to go with our latkes.

My editor suggested that instead I research Jewish folktales to find one for Chanukah. Dov Noy’s Folktales of Israel proved a valuable source. One of the stories, a Passover tale entitled “Letter to the Almighty” captivated me with its image of a poor, innocent man sending a letter to the Almighty on the wind. It was the poetry of that image that set me to writing Letter on the Wind.

How much research was required to write the book?

I wanted to set the tale in the Middle East – a place of olive groves – in, say, the sixteenth century. I researched Jewish communal living in that time and place, found little, and broadened my scope to just plain communal living. I also looked a bit into the horticulture of olive trees and the process of making olive oil. I believe the illustrator, Neil Waldman, researched, among other things, menorahs. But rather than from research, the setting of the tale came more from my intuition and imagination.

How did you become a children’s writer?

After my first child was born, I began to explore writing for children but spent most of my early mothering years writing poetry. When our family spent two summers in Nepal for my husband’s work, I was drawn to the folk literature of the country and worked with a Nepali writer to produce a collection of tales for American readers. That project, From the Mango Tree and Other Folktales from Nepal, set me on the path to writing for children.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on old manuscript – something I’ve been clinging to for twenty years – a work of nonfiction for older readers. And in the back of my mind is a middle grade novel with a Jewish theme.

What are some fun facts about you?

I’m a puppeteer.
I love Motown.
I can play the Third Man Theme on my nose.

What is your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Pesach because it involves a full table – filled with food and people gathered around it. I love the opportunity for discussion. I love the singing. But most of all, I love the long preparation – the quiet time in my kitchen preparing the ancient symbols – the roasted egg, the roasted shank bone, the horseradish, the charoseth. I feel like my mother, performing the same tasks as she. I feel like a part of a rich continuum.

To learn more about Sarah, please visit her web site at www.SarahLamstein.com

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts about writing books for children. Congratulations on your well deserved Sydney Taylor Honor Award!

If you haven't heard about it, BIGWIG is ALA's blog / wiki / social networking interest group and they're doing a pretty cool program at the conference this year - bringing content and presentations to the web like never before. Yay! I just blogged about it over here and so I won't go on and on, but OCLC's very own Michael Porter (aka libraryman) just did one of the presentations (about the facebook developers platform) which you'll find hosted on WebJunction, here.

Thanks to Michelle (wanderingeyre) and others for putting this together. I'm excited to participate in the conversation on Saturday (1.30-2.30, Renaissance, Mayflower Rm), but also very, very happy to see this type of content reaching beyond the conference and onto the web in a dynamic, participatory way. Nice work!