Pig on the Titanic
by Gary Crew; illustrated by Bruce Whatley
I braced for an idiotic fictional story, much like the movie, only with a talking pig. I’m happy to report I was wrong. This is the true story of a wind-up toy that cheered up kids on the lifeboats after the Titanic’s sinking.
Maxixe (pronounces mah-SHEESH) plays a French dance tune by the same name and belongs to a wealthy fashion buyer, Edith Rosenbaum. When she refuses a spot on a lifeboat, a crew member mistakes the bundle in her arms for a baby and tosses it in. It’s the toy, of course, and a startled Rosenbaum clambers in.
The story’s told from the pig’s point of view, which sets itself up as a story for children, but without being cutesy or overdone. The worst enemy here would be a maudlin or melodramatic treatment, which Crew artfully avoids with spare prose and a brisk telling.
The artwork is stunningly lifelike, with Whatley dwelling lovingly – if darkly – on the Titanic’s details, no less a feat even if we did all see the movie and its almost-life-size replica of the fated ship.
Rating: *\*\
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