Freighters: Cargo Ships and the People Who Work Them

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6 The newest offering from this award-winning author/photographer is a photo essay of cargo ships: their many types, how they function and the tasks of the crew members. Tankers carrying liquids, reefers full of perishables and ro-ros (roll on, roll off) for cars and trucks are pictured in black-and-white photographs that, for the most part, convey the vastness of these vessels. (Some photos showing the loading and unloading of cargo lack clarity and drama.) The text is straightforward, giving much specific information plus statistics regarding speed, weight, capacity, etc., for the particular freighters pictured. The final section on the daily routines of the ship's crew is interesting in its focus on one tanker. The diagram of a general cargo ship adds to readers' understanding. Bushey's The Barge Book (Carolrhoda, 1984) and Sullivan's Supertanker! (Dodd, 1978) are less inclusive in that they each describe only one type of freighter. Zim and Skelly's Cargo Ships (Morrow, 1970; o.p.) is written for a similar audience on the same subject, yet is actually very different in its emphasis on describing ships in general (kinds of bows and sterns, how fueled, etc.) and crew training and qualifications. Ancona's is newer, including current developments. Certainly these volumes are not redundant; there is room on library shelves for both. Connie Tyrrell Burns, Morrisson-Reeves Library, Richmond, Ind.