Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude

by Louise Borden, Erik Blegvad (Illustrator)

"For hundreds of years ships had been sailing to places far and near without really knowing where they were!"
Sailors knew how to measure latitude, their location north or south of the equator, but they could not measure longitude, their location east or west of their home port. Because of this, many lives were lost worldwide. The key to solving this problem lay in devising a clock that could keep absolutely accurate time while at sea, unaltered by rough water or weather conditions. With such a timekeeper sailors would be able to know the time back at their home port and calculate the longitude. But no one knew how to design such a clock.
John Harrison (1693-1776), an Englishman without any scientific training, worked tirelessly for more than forty years to create a perfect clock. The solution to this problem was so important that an award of 20,000 pounds sterling (equal to several million dollars today) was established by the English Parliament in 1714. Harrison won recognition for his work in 1773.
Together with beautifully detailed pictures by Erik Blegvad, Louise Borden's text takes the reader through the drama, disappointments, and successes that filled Harrison's quest to invent the perfect sea clock.

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction, Geography, Picture Books, Biography, Mathematics

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

There were already two Louises in my family when I was born: my mother and my grandmother, Nana, who lived with us when I was growing up. So early on, I was given the name Leezie. This is a name that my family still calls me. Years later, my niece was born and also named Louise. Then there were four of us with the same name! Louise is a fine name to have except that people often spell it incorrectly. Sometimes my mail is addressed to Louisa, or Louisie, or Lewis, or Lois. Leezie is also tough for people to spell. Names and their pronunciations have always interested me, so writing about a teacher named Mrs. Kempczinski was a natural thing for me to do.

I grew up in a house at the top of a steep street in Cincinnati, Ohio, the kind of street that is a big challenge when you are pedaling uphill on your bicycle. My two sisters and I used to ride our bikes down, down our street, and then to the local dimestore to buy candy bars or meet up with our friends. But coming home, we had to pedal up our long hill. (This was before mountain bikes!) Pedaling slowly up my street may be where I learned perseverance, something all writers need when they are working alone at their desks.

Writing picture books came much later—after studying history in college, getting married, and raising three children. Even though I didn't grow up to be a composer, I like to think that my picture books are almost songs because the sound of words and the poetry of my style are so important in the texts that I write. I work very hard at my desk, revising and revising and revising, trying to find just the right words that will be beautiful or fun to read.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was picked up at a whim from the library while gathering books for our night sky nature study. What a treat! I learned and had a lot of fun reading about it. What is not to love about it? Turns out our AO curriculum has a much longer biography about this same man in later years. This is a fantastic introduction to the man and an excellent story of persistence.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent narrative about James Harrison, who invented the device that allowed sailors to determine their longitude at sea. The illustrations are beautiful. I was looking for Longitude, by Dava Sobel, but my library didn't have it - glad I could get this shorter book about the topic, for young readers.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this missed the mark. While Borden covers all the major points, I don't feel she got across to the young reader just how this clock maker solved the longitude problem. The emphasis was on the battle the Harrisons had to fight before finally being awarded the prize for solving the longitude puzzle. While interesting, a great human interest story and a cautionary tale...fighting "city hall" is not for the faint hearted...it is not truly the important part of the story. The important part is the science behind the clocks and watches John Harrison built. There I think the author fell down some. More explanation of why this timekeeper was so hard to design correctly would have been helpful. For example, I'm not too sure many kids would know what a pendulum is these days. Also, a reminder to youngsters that GPS is a new invention would have been helpful. I can see a kid being confused having just listened to his parents GPS system give directions to get from place a to place b and not understand how things are different on water and that this was not a possibility several hundred years ago. Another thing I'd have liked to see, is how this clock's invention affected life down the line. Those clocks did directly affect us in understanding many things, not the least, being able to accurately measure time in science experiments. An explanation of just what took so many years to build would have helped as well. There were only hand tools, no power tools. Nonetheless, in many ways this fills a need for simple science books now that the Common Core is standard. I notice Dava Sobel is mentioned in the dedication of the book. I sure wish Sobel would have a crack at writing a book on the subject for youth!

[Grace Sheldon]

This is a story about John Harrison. Harrison grew up a carpenter's boy with a love for learning. He built clocks and eventually wanted to make a clock safe for sea. This was so sailors could tell longitude while at sea. He spent years making better and better models. He was also wronged many times. But this never stopped Harrison and his love for learning. He eventually made the silver pocket watch and was rewarded for his hard work.
This was a cool book, but is definitely a bit dense for children. I wish they had simplified the story a little bit. I loved all the cool diagram pictures in the book, but I'm not sure how well it could keep the attention for young kids.
If I were to use this in a school lesson, I could use this to demonstrate the scientific process and how perseverance is essential in it. This could be a fun lesson as it ties together science, math, history, and English. For a project, I could have the kids write out the scientific method steps Harrison took to make his silver pocket watch.

[Elizabeth Boggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years sailors knew how to measure latitude for their location of north or south of the equator. But they could not measure longitude of their location east or west of their home. This caused many people to die because getting to a certain location was hard. To solve this problem a certain clock was made so that this wouldn't happen anymore. John Harrison worked for more than forty years to create the perfect clock.

This picture book is great for introducing longitude and latitude to an elementary class. Something that I would read before learning that lesson. The pictures are also fun to look at.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography is interesting and about someone and something I didn't know about. I take for granted I can tell time wherever I am in the world. It's interesting how John Harrison works at improving his own work, sometimes as soon as it's "complete." He was very driven to solve this problem and I find myself wondering about his wife's perspective. John's brother, son, and daughter are mentioned more than John's wife. That could be because more is known of them and since it's a biography I do prefer supposition not happen. My biggest dislike is the two topless mermaids on the cover holding up the illustrator's banner.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by IEW: Wonders of Science curriculum.

Very nice illustrations showing the time period. John Harrison's his entire life was focused on hard work and innovation, creating his invention. Many didn't have the foresight to accept and respect it. But in response to this resistance, he kept improving his work time and time again! I love that his clock not only functioned well, but effort was taken to also make it beautiful. A lesson that should be taken to heart in our current culture. The book is a tribute to John Harrison's workmanship, patience in adversity, and diligence to see it through.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and mildly heart-breaking, non-fiction story. I would have added why clocks needed to be oiled and something about greasy wood, but the questions that arise give opportunity for further exploration of ideas.

I love how the skills John Harrison learned as a youth were important for his later aspirations. It feels predestined.

Erik Blegvad illustrated "Bed-Knob and. Broomstick." How about that!

[Mickayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Informational
Grade range: 4-6
This book was interesting. It was set up more like a fiction, story like read rather than a fact read, which is cool for an informational book. But it goes on the adventure of creating the first sea clock. This wasn't something I found super interesting. But the way the book is written is very cool!

[Shinae Wyckoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7& 9 year olds thoroughly enjoyed it with me.

Would have loved to see the inside of the clocks, and learned more about the impact on the modern world. But I appreciated them highlighting John Williams’ patience.

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[Melissa King · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t figure out how to read this type of poetry out loud, but it was interesting and the illustrations are beautiful! I hope to soon tackle the book it was based on, Longitude by Dava Sobel.

[Jailen Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book a bit boring and long for a children's book though I believe this would work well in a history or social studies classroom and depending on the student they might find this interesting. I would not use this for any grade.

[Abbie Shawano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was a great informational book in relation to social studies; the more geographical and historical aspect of it. I also thought that it would be very appealing to young readers because of the illustrations and depiction of the world on the cover of it. Growing up, the bigger the concepts, the more interested I would become. This book tells the process of creating a longitude clock for sailors in the 17th century. It tells the good, the bad, and the outcome of each making it more appropriate for a older group of children.
The genre of this book is historical fiction and information because it tells the story of how the longitudinal clock was discovered and made. This book could be read independently and be assessed by using a very simple timeline of the information given. For example, the book starts in 1700 and ends around 1780 and depicts how it is used today. Students could do a brief description of the event and time period that each even happened in the book.
The reading level for this book would be more difficult because of its inclusion of people, dates, and new vocabulary. I think that both qualitative and quantitative could be related to the book. The quality of the book is high in regards to the facts and story it tells its readers. The quantity is also present due to the amount of information in the book. Overall, I think this book would be a great way for students to incorporate history and geography when learning about social studies.

[Kory Bootsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sea Clocks is "the story about longitude"; the story about how to solve the problem of understanding where a ship's location was when placed at sea. It follows the historical life of John Harrison, the clockmaker who tried to solve the problem of this longitudinal enigma. Although the story gives an accurate and historical account of the thought processes and clock-making trials of Harrison, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive as clock after clock is described how and why it was created and why it did not gain official recognition by sailors nor the government.

This book was lengthy in script with black and white illustrations on each page which deters very young readers to become disengaged as they are visual learners and their critical thinking skills cannot usually follow such a large script. Therefore this book is recommended for ages 8 and above.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fittingly enough, Sea Clocks’ plot line follows the chronological timeline as sea clocks were invented and subsequently implemented. This story breaks up its sentences so that they are short yet still reminiscent of natural speech rhythms, which may help reluctant and slow readers. It is a bit heavy on what seems to be unimportant details at the beginning, though the text picks up pace and shares the story of how John Harrison created the sea clock (to solve the “longtitude problem”). It does not follow a standard plot line but insteads provides chronology interspersed with historic tidbits. Exerpts of this might be read for science classes; however, due to the amount of detail, this book is recommended for advanced and older readers (i.e., fourth and fifth grades).

[Tim Vandenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great informational text read-aloud on the amazing perseverance, stick-to-it-iveness, and ingenuity of John Harrison, the humble and now-famous inventor of Sea Clocks. Great art accompanies this fascinating text! Very accessible for grades 5+.

Strongly recommended! :)

(Originally read in 2007, read again today: Oct. 6th, 2014.)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

well worth reading.

It was a Yorkshire carpenter who made the first clocks accurate enough to determine Longitude at sea.

Determining Latitude is easy.

Determining Longitude is far from easy.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how one clock maker found the answer to telling a ships longitude at sea. This helped everyone navigate the waters better.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reminded of this book because I read an essay about the longitude prize and all the scientists who worked on it. I loved that I could find a children's book about this.

[Colby Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! The life of John Harrison is so interesting.

[Tony Keefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 4.5
The fascinating story of John Harrison. Would be a great book to share in many class rooms.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, but felt that it might lose a kid's interesting with the style of writing. It barely held my attention.

[Hannah Meyer-Hartle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clocks, Longitude, Non-Fiction, Inventions, Historical, Geography

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

[Kelley]

Borden, Louise Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude New York: McElderry Books 2004 Print.
Plot: Presents an illustrated account of eighteenth-century Englishman John Harrison's forty-year quest to create a perfectly accurate sea clock that would allow sailors to measure longitude.
Illustrator: Some of the illustrations looked like sketches, and some were more vibrant and colorful than others.
Personal Reaction: The book was very informative on a subject that is not really taught about in today’s world, but it was a little dull and boring. Maybe if there information was displayed differently or the illustrations were different.
Curricular Connections: I would read this book with the class or maybe just specific sections and we would talk about longitude and latitude. The class would then write about what they think was the most important part of the story and how sea clocks can still be resourceful and used in modern times.
§113.14. Social Studies, Grade 3, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(16) Science, technology, and society. The student understands how individuals have created or invented new technology and affected life in various communities, past and present. The student is expected to:
(A) identify scientists and inventors, including Jonas Salk, Maria Mitchell, and others who have discovered scientific breakthroughs or created or invented new technology such as Cyrus McCormick, Bill Gates, and Louis Pasteur; and
(B) identify the impact of scientific breakthroughs and new technology in computers, pasteurization, and medical vaccines on various communities.

[Nicholas & Megan Clinch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good fit for putting navigation science in the context of colonial history. After reading Magnets Push & Pull, listening to the Knights of Joyous Venture (from Puck of Pook's Hill where the Chinaman has a wise iron that always points south,) & learning Roman numeral positions on the analog clock, our boys (6 & 7) were fascinated to hear Sea Clocks read aloud in one sitting. They said Harrison reminded them of Hugo & his father, that sea clocks were hard to make with tiny tools. They gasped with horror that any of his creations would be handled roughly, neglected or damaged. I do wish more scientific explanation had been given about the time zones being related to the earth's turning. So 4/5 stars for that reason. Really enjoyed the bit about King George, since it puts him in perspective ("red coats aren't always bad guys?" one asked.)