Vanished: True Tales of Mysterious Disappearances

by Eliazabeth MacLeod

Overview

Gone—without a trace.

No one loves a mystery more than Elizabeth MacLeod, author of the award-winning Bones Never Lie and Royal Murder. In her newest book, she presents six compelling stories about some of the world’s most bewildering disappearances.

Readers will be captivated by such true tales as the Alcatraz prison break, where three dangerous convicts engineered a daring escape. Did they live to see freedom, or did they perish in the icy waters surrounding the prison? And will anyone ever know what happened to the captain and crew of the SS Mary Celeste? In 1872, it set out from New York for Genoa, Italy, but everyone on board disappeared for no apparent reason.

This irresistible combination of suspense and history also serves as an introduction to the advances in technology that may help discover what really happened in each unsolved mystery.

Filled with color photographs, sidebars, and maps, Vanished is the perfect book for kids who love mind-boggling mysteries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554518180
Publisher:	Annick Press, Limited
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Pages:	188
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	1120L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth MacLeod is a prolific author whose non-fiction books have been published by Kids Can Press and Scholastic; Vanished is her fifth book with Annick Press. She lives in Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2016
Gr 5–8—If readers can get past the unassuming cover, they will be rewarded with an engaging, well-paced exploration of six mysterious disappearances or acts of escape in history. Veteran author MacLeod expertly crafts these true stories into tales of intrigue, smartly including initiatives in modern science aimed at solving each one of these strange occurrences—an addition sure to be satisfying to the more skeptical readers. Beginning with the lost colony of Roanoke Island and ending with the art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the book covers a fair amount of time. Readers will be spooked by the ghost ship Mary Celeste and amazed by the disappearance (and later re-creation) of the Amber Room. Each featured mystery is compared and contrasted to other events with similar circumstances (the lost colony of Roanoke Island is compared to the lost army of Cambyses). When it comes to new technologies (drones, GPS, underwater robots like the autonomous underwater vehicle), MacLeod presents an overview of what the technology is and how it is used generally and for the subject at hand. She also dedicates time to explore the possible pitfalls of these innovations, for instance, discussing how cell phones and computers can provide law enforcement with a digital trail to catch criminals but also stating that this same technology can help criminals escape and evade capture in the first place. The combination of highly readable text and a bright, visually appealing layout will attract reluctant readers. VERDICT A compelling read that makes for a solid purchase, especially where true tales and mysteries are in demand.—Sarah Wilsman, Bainbridge Library, Chagrin Falls, OH

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