David Bushnell & His Turtle
Grade 3-6-- Who built the first submarine--and when, where, and why? Swanson and Eagle have combined efforts to give readers a most informative sketch of the first working underwater craft and its inventor. The son of a Connecticut farmer, David Bushnell attended Yale just prior to the American Revolution, where he proved that explosives could be detonated underwater. After graduation, he built a craft that could be used to attach mines to British ships in Boston Harbor. The missions were never totally successful, but the Turtle did prove itself as a "submarine." The book has an appropriate vocabulary for its intended audience and well-paced text. The illustrations alternate spreads of black-and-white pencil drawings with those washed in watercolor. The intriguing cover will attract readers. --Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KSCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.