The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History

Alcohol Fumes? Mutiny? Illness? Pirates? What caused the captain, his wife and child as well as the seven crew members to suddenly abandon the "Mary Celeste"? And where did these ten people who were never seen or heard from again end their lives? This picture book does a good quick job of explaining the mystery of the ship that started from New York in 1872 and was found as a "ghost ship" less than three weeks later about 600 miles from Portugal. The authors encourage young readers to come to their own conclusion about what happened though they include and explain a bit about the six most popular theories. Great book for young detectives who love history.

Children's detective stories seem to be perpetually "in," The Mary Celeste: An Untold Mystery from History plays on that theme successfully. Without giving us a name, the author introduces us to the narrator, a young girl who is curious...a trait that every detective needs! This young lady isn't curious about just anything, she's particularly curious about her fathers file of mysteries that have never been solved..."histories mysteries." The narrator then goes on to detail her "process" for trying to figure out the given mystery...first she reads as much as she can about the incident, learning everything she can, and she keeps a notebook of the most important clues and information. Sometimes she even includes maps and timelines!! This particular "case" focuses on the Mary Celeste a ship whose crew disappeared on the high seas more than 120 years ago. With that bit out of the way, the book transforms into a fact filled narrative of the events, starting with the discovery of the Mary Celeste abandoned on open water by the captain and crew of the Del Gratia. We follow the crew through searching the ship (quite a detailed account, including showing that there was food for 6 months stored carefully and that all their belongings were left on board), reporting back to the Del Gratia's captain with their findings; the decision to tow the Mary Celeste back to port for salvage; and a summary of six of the most popular theories about what became of the crew of the Mary Celeste. This final section is done in the notebook style, and the narrator has included questions for the reader to answer, which if answered, will help the reader figure out which of the theories is most likely...at the very least, it's an excellent opportunity for a class project (dividing students up into groups and each exploring a given theory and presenting to the class, with discussion at the end on which of the theories are most likely...and maybe even encouraging students to come up with their own theories!). The story ends with the narrator saying she's really not sure WHICH theory is right...but she's got her own and now she hopes you (the reader) do too. Each two page spread is given a narrative box and most include "post-it" style pink and yellow boxes which define terms used in the narrative box and most include a cut out of a spiral notebook which is meant to be the narrator taking her notes...which provides additional information and/or perspective on the information given in the narrative box. I love the section on the theories...the way they are presented with questions that the reader should be able to answer directly out of the text and/or with minimal additional research. I really do think this would make an excellent group project for a classroom, or the jumping off point for a written report by a single student...or just interesting reading!! I'd say this book is idea for kids ages 4-10, as a real aloud to about age 6, older kids will enjoy reading this

The "Mary Celeste" was a trading vessel found adrift in the 19th century. The crew was missing and there was no apparent reason found or note made in the log to explain what had occurred. To this day there is still no answer to this mystery. This book by Jane Yolen is a terrific introduction to the mystery that is a fun read for children and adults. It is designed to be thought provoking and to encourage kids to use critical thinking. All of the different theories about the ship are presented and the reader can draw his or her own conclusions. It is highly recommended.

What a fascinating and thought provoking story! The Mary Celeste was found abandoned over 100 years ago leaving a multitude of still unanswered questions. The story engages students and leads them to propose theories of their own. Hopefully Jane Yolen and her daughter will write many more "unsolved mysteries from history"!

As a decendant of Captian Briggs' family, I am very familiar with the details surrounding this mysterious event! Jane Yolen does a wonderful job of organizing and distilling all the information that is available and making it accessable to children (my own children thank the author, this story makes more sense to them now!). In addition, I am going to buy it for several adult members of our family. A wonderful job, terrific format, very readable... Thank you!