About this item
On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland, filled to capacity with 2,500 passengers and crew, capsized in the Chicago River while still moored to the pier. Happy picnic-goers headed for an employee outing across Lake Michigan suddenly found themselves in a struggle for their lives. Trapped belowdecks, crushed by the crowds attempting to escape the rising waters, or hurled into the river from the upper deck of the ship, roughly one-third of the passengers, mostly women and children, perished that day. The Eastland disaster took more passenger lives than the Titanic and stands today as the greatest loss of life on the Great Lakes. Capsized! details the events leading up to the fateful day and provides a nail-biting, minute-by-minute account of the ship's capsizing. From the courage of the survivors to the despair of families who lost loved ones, author Patricia Sutton brings to light the stories of ordinary working people enduring the unthinkable. Capsized! also raises critical-thinking questions for young readers: Why do we know so much about the Titanic's sinking yet so little about the Eastland disaster? What causes a tragedy to be forgotten and left out of society's collective memory? And what lessons from this disaster might we be able to apply today?
About the Author
Madison author Patricia Sutton writes nonfiction and fiction for middle grade readers. This former elementary/middle school teacher turned her passion for researching curriculum into writing for children. Her first book, Capsized! is narrative nonfiction and tells the forgotten story of Chicago's SS Eastland Disaster of 1915. This tragedy still ranks as the greatest loss of life on the Great Lakes. Capsized! recently earned the Kirkus Star. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. When she's not writing or searching the archives for stories, she can be found enjoying life on Lake Mendota with her family and being "Nana" to her grandsons Owen and Ben. Visit Patricia online at www.patriciasutton.com.
