Titanic: The Ship of Dreams (Torchbearers) Paperback – March 20, 2012

Enjoyed the book very much and would encourage for middle school and high school reading.

This is written in novel form and based on certain facts. It is more for a child, though, and I didn't care for some of the liberties taken such as the Harpers meeting Capt. Smith and the Astors. I highly doubt that happened but the author was trying to give out facts about the people and the ship without just stating a bunch of facts.

The book is based on an actual passenger of the Titanic, John Harper. I had not heard of Rev. Harper prior to reading this book so I did a little research on him and it made me all the more eager to see what was in store with the fictionalization of his story. Rev. Harper was a widower from England and traveling with his daughter, Nana to the USA to the Moody Institute in Chicago via the Titanic. The author portrays Rev. Harper just as I would imagine him myself, a person eager to share Jesus with everyone he met. For example, his home church grew from a mere 25 to over 500 under his time as it's pastor, a sure sign of a thriving church. While Rev. Harper is the primary character, most of the plot is seen through the eyes of Nana, and it's through her that we get to meet famous people such as the Astors who give her a tour of the ill-fated ship. I loved this story for bringing attention to a person who is such a light to the Titanic story. Even as the ship was going down, Harper was fighting for souls. With his last breath he was leading people to the Lord (that part of the story is very true & his last convert lived to tell the tale!). The author did a fantastic job not just showing how Harper tried to win souls, but laid out the plan of salvation so plainly that even someone reading the book who is not a Christian could tell what it's all about. The book included historical notes on Rev. Harper as well as a timeline of his life & study questions. I absolutely loved this book! We will definitely be reading it again, hopefully as a read-aloud (if I can keep from tearing up!).

Written on a Junior High level.....Good story of course!

I've enjoyed the mystique that is the Titanic since I was a young girl, I've always thought it'd be neat to be able to go down to the bottom of the ocean and see this graveyard. Since I can't go deep sea exploring the next best thing is to read stories, especially those that are based on fact, that instill faith and hope as well as stories from the Titanic. I've never read any in the series from which this book comes so I'm glad I started with this one, as it deals with a man of great faith, Rev. John Harper, his daughter and their time on the Titanic. I was caught up in the story from the first page and kept flipping my e-pages until the end, which was summed up with a nice mini-Bible study.I could tell this was written for a young audience, but even I did not tire of it and hope to read it aloud to all my children in the next several days. I enjoyed the story and would love to find more out about John Harper and his daughter. I also aim to work through the Bible study with each of my children so that we can more understand our faith in the Lord - it really seemed to bring home the idea of Mr. Harper's belief in the Lord and him wanting those who didn't believe before the Titanic reached it's watery grave to find that Salvation. If you are looking for a way to teach the Titanic and instill values that have been shared with others from across time then this is a great book and will pique your child's interest and maybe even yours.**Disclaimer: I was provided an e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

In April 1912, evangelist John Harper and his daughter Nana set sail on the Titanic. A man with a true passion for the lost, Harper took every opportunity to share the gospel with those he encountered on board, even as it became apparent he would go down with the Titanic.My take: At first, I struggled with this book. I felt like it was taking way to long to get to the main event--the sinking of the Titanic--and I didn't find the dialog to be particularly engaging.Then I realized my problem--I was reading this book as I read all the other books I review, with my critical adult hat firmly in place. So I stopped about halfway through the book and asked myself if I would have enjoyed this book as a child, and the answer was an unequivocal "yes." I would have loved Nana's adventures exploring the ship with her friends Eva and Charlie. I would have worried about everyone's safety. And I would have cried as John breathed his last, still proclaiming the truth of the gospel. (OK, I cried at that part as an adult!)While "Titanic: The Ship of Dreams" is not a book that will interest many older children or adults, I think six- to ten-year-olds will enjoy it quite a bit. At the end of the book, five "Take Five Minutes" discussions and Bible studies are included, which parents should find helpful in discussing the story with their children. 3-1/2 stars.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review from Christian Focus Publications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

A beautiful true story about John Harper and his 6 years old daughter Nana, traveling on Titanic to America. With John being a minister of the Word of God and Nana's only remaining parent, this has been a truly touching story. Written in an easy to read language and very engaging. It is recommended to be read to children 7-9 and for independent reading from ages 9-11, but I have decided to read it at bed times to my two children aged 5 and 7, and they very much enjoyed the book. From the point where Titanic hits an iceberg, they were begging to read two chapters at a go, to find out what happened next. Although this has been a tragic event, it is written in a very careful way, such that it was very much manageable by my children. At the end, there is a timeline of John Harper's life as well as a lovely useful sections with 5-minutes readings for thinking about the story and learning from it, as well as great character-building short bible studies. Great book, for children, and their parents likewise. Good to be able to discuss about it with your kids afterwards, to make the most of it.I cannot recommend this book enough. In the time of books being filled with magic, monsters, death and all creep evil sorts, this, despite being a tragic story, has been extremely positive, and a great tool in helping the children think and talk about life and priorities and what really matters. We can't wait to start reading the next title in the this series of 7 Torchbearers books.ps. If you are interested in this book, you might want to also have a look at the '10 boys who...' and '10 girls who...' box sets from the same publisher. They contain a set of similar thickness books, but rather than telling one biography per book, they describe several different great Christian characters, one per chapter, so being shorter and less detailed, perhaps might be a good start before these loner stories, focusing on one missionary/saint at a time. All of them - real treasures on our bookshelf.

I really enjoyed this account of Harper's last days aboard the Titanic...what a brave man and an inspiration. Plant conveys the story with integrity and truly does justice by instilling the feelings of the people alive at the time who were part of and witnessed this tragedy.

This was a gift for a nephew. He really enjoyed it