Titanic Obsession: Books

Let's embark on this exciting Titanic series by focusing first on the written word. Interestingly, much of the literature revolving around the disaster is aimed at children. Indeed, I was in third grade when Titanic mania struck, so perhaps it is a ripe age for such topics.
If you're like me, then you'll already be familiar with a host of juvenile literature written about the Titanic (and will have read each of them twice). These include fact books, biographies, and exquisitely bad historical fiction.

First, a young cabin boy is a proud caretaker of the ship's lucky cat in:
In the end, he actually misses the boat, narrowly avoiding disaster, so the cat IS lucky--for him. (Apparently this is charmingly-illustrated tale is based on the less-than-charming story of a real cabin boy.)

This next gem is a little more mature, intended for twelve-year-olds:
I'm not sure if I can do this synopsis justice, so I'll let Publisher's Weekly do the talking:

"In 1898, four-year-old Jane (the second of five sisters) sees her mother (a medium) contact the spirit world. That same day, on their way to a spiritualist community outside Buffalo, N.Y., the newly-fatherless family is caught in an artificial earthquake caused by real-life scientist Nikola Tesla. As the years pass, Jane falls in love with Tesla's assistant, Thad. After a trip to England, the sisters find themselves on the Titanic, with one of Tesla's machines that could either save everyone or destroy the ship. The novel uses a touch of the fantastic to provide a (mostly) happy conclusion. The interplay of science, spirituality, history and romance will satisfy."

Much of the adolescent genres include contemporary time traveler tales (chapter books, of course, for maximum suspense), in which modern day youngsters:
a. use a time machine in order to save the entire ship (fail)
b. get sent back as punishment for picking on foster siblings


With this increased demand for first-hand experiences aboard the Titanic, we start to question the ideals of today's youth. The literature points to a growing trend in reckless decision-making and blatant disregard for mortality. So one brave author decided to put an end to these desires and set the record straight in: