Visually striking, contextually grounded (other artists and life scientists interested in protective coloring, optical illusions and trompe l'oeil) story of the attempts to torpedo-proof WWI British ships.

During World War I, Great Britain wanted to find a way to protect their supply ships from German U-Boats. Norman Wilkinson decided to camouflage ships by painting confusing, or dazzling, designs on them. I especially love Chris Barton's author's note in which he describe how curiosity drives his research process.Recommended for grades 4 - 6.

It's funny, because only a month ago did I get my first hint about WWI ship camouflage from reading "Dead Wake." Here is a nonfiction picture book with much more detail, with unique illustrations by Victo Ngai. Who could have guessed that a successful method of making ships harder to torpedo would be not painting them to blend in, but dazzling the eye with wild designs that made their speed and direction hard to determine? A cool mix of art and technology. Don't miss the author's note and resour...

This book is stunning. The gorgeous cover caught my attention while I was cataloging it, and I had to pause to read through. I can't decide which element of it is the best (that's a lie, it's obviously the spectacular illustrations)—but the subject itself is fascinating, and even the author's and illustrator's notes were more than usually interesting. Chris Barton talks about the process of research, the way it always leads to more questions, the way photographs can omit or obscure facts, and ex...

Intermediate:Barton, Chris. (2017). Dazzle ships: World War I and the art of confusion. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press.Possible subject crossover: HistoryRemembering Question: Recall the different colors used to paint the ships.Understanding Question: What was the purpose of painting ships this way?Applying Question: Could this type of ship camouflage work today? Why or why not?Analyzing Question: Explain how the “dazzling” made it difficult to tell what directions the ships were heading.Evalua...

A fascinating look at the ships that were painted during World War I in order to confuse German U-boats that we’re sinking all vessels headed toward the UK. I wasn’t aware of this practice and found the story to be quite intriguing. They do not have proof that it made a difference, but what an interesting true story of “desperate times calling for desperate measures!”

I heard the same 99% Invisible podcast as Chris Barton, and I'm so glad he ran with the information. Recommended to the RICBA committee.

The book I chose for my intermediate non-fictional pick was titled “Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion,” written by Chis Barton and illustrated by Victo Ngai. Social studies and art would be the content-area crossover for this particular non-fiction book. The social studies aspect of the lesson plan could be broken up into history and world geography. Using the history from the book, the teacher can educate the students with questions like: what year did the “Great War” start and...

One of Barton's best. And the illustrations are gorgeous.

Maybe I would have liked history classes more if the teachers had included interesting tidbits like these dazzle ships, and the story of the bear that became Winnie-the-Pooh. Instead they trotted out boring details like dates, countries involved, battles fought, etc., making history for me, at least, a dry and dusty subject.

A quick and informative book about a little known fact of WWI.

Very interesting, beautiful illustrations, a lot of text, but it's needed. I can see kids interested in history, war, transportation, art, camouflage being fascinated by this story. A great addition to picture books. Excellent for ALL ages.

What you'll notice first about this book is THIS ILLUSTRATOR. Sophisticated wavy lines weave and undulate like ribbons across the page, mimicking light on water, cloud shadows, and the dazzle patterns that camouflaged British and U.S. ships.Then the story kicks in, and you may be blown away by the audacity of the idea of dazzle. Instead of painting these ships with camouflage that duplicates natural colors and patterns, dazzle ships were high-contrast and largely geometric. Like giant metal caro...

Great message and proof that the whole makerspace movement is nothing new: "Times change. Technology changes....But a willingness to tackle problems by trying the unlikely, the improbable, the seemingly bonkers will always be needed." Fascinating topic by Chris Barton and a RI School of Design illustrator make this a winning combination.

I can't wait to have more time with this amazing book later this summer. Do not miss this book!Yet another picture book that should be used in middle grade classrooms as they learn about this time period. What a fascinating piece of history that would go along with the lecture on the German U-boats.

Art deco style, optical illusions, maritime/war history that is engaging and approachable -- this book was dazzling! The art is stunning and it presents just the right amount of information about WWI to be accessible to students who are less familiar with the topic and still interesting to those that have some background knowledge. And, it was brand new information for me, which I love reading.

During WWI, the Germans had a real advantage over their enemies, Britain and the United States. They had perfected the use of submarines from which they could launch torpedoes, making their enemies ships literal sitting ducks. Britain was especially desperate to find a solution to the sinking of ships, both military and non-military, since, as an island, they relied on boats to bring them much of what they needed, especially food, and so far, nothing has worked.That is, until Norman Wilkinson, a...

I had no idea. The things one earns from children's books.

I had absolutely no clue that these ships existed. This is a great story about British and American ships that were painted with dazzling designs in order to confuse U-boat commanders in WWI. Wonderful!

Excellent book! Written for young readers, but everyone could learn a tremendous amount from this book. Besides the wonderful text, the design & illustrations are excellent as well. The author's note is top-rate as well. Must use this with 5th grade. But this would be great for high school history class discussions. (Library)