MASL Book Trailer Winner
Lifeboat 12: Allison M. from Marshfield Jr. High
About the Author
Susan Hood was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Connecticut when she was four where she continues to reside with her husband and two daughters. Susan attended college at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her first job was at Scholastic in New York City.Â
She is an award-winning author of several children's books, including Titan and the Wild Boars, Shaking Things Up, and Ada's Violin. Lifeboat 12 is her debut middle grade novel.
For more information about Susan Hood, including a great list of interesting facts about her, please visit her website!
About the Book
As Nazis continue to bomb London each night, Ken Sparks is selected as part of a program to send British children to safety in Canada. Ken is one of the lucky ones. He is aboard the SS City of Benares, a luxury ship where he is given three square meals daily, makes new friends, but most importantly is out of danger. Wrong! Five days from the air-raids, Ken is tossed from his bunk in the middle of the night as the Benares has been torpedoed by a German U-boat and is sinking fast. Ken misses his assigned lifeboat and scrambles aboard Lifeboat 12, which ultimately saves his life. Forty adults and six children pack the boat with barely enough food and water. Lifeboat 12 drifts on the frigid open ocean for eight days before being rescued. This verse novel is on the actual experiences of Ken Sparks, whom she interviewed, along with other survivors.
Reviews:
“This stirring novel-in-verse based on a true story is an edge-of-your-seat survival tale, an extensively researched work of historical fiction, and an exemplar of the form.” — School Library Journal
“Middle-grade Titanic fans, here’s your next read.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A richly detailed account of a little-known event in World War II." — Kirkus Reviews
Awards/Nominations:
Lexile: 610LÂ
Resources / Teaching Ideas
Social Media