Brooklyn Bridge

Title:  Brooklyn Bridge

Genre:  Informational Picture Book

Author:  Lynn Curlee

Illustrator: Lynn Curlee

Publisher:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

ISBN: 0689831838

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books, ALA Robert F. Sibert Award Honor Book 2002, CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book CBC/NSTA Outstanding Science Book for Children Children's Literature Choice List

Synopsis: The book tells the story of the remarkable building process of the Brooklyn Bridge, a feat of engineering once referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world.”

Audience: 8 and up

Uses: This book would be a good source on engineering advances of the 1800’s.  It could also be used in preparation for a sight-seeing visit to New York.  Or it could be used to illustrate the awful working conditions of immigrants.

Accuracy: The book is well researched and contains factual information along with more personal tidbits that make the book feel hospitable.

Organization: The book begins with some background information on the state of the nation and the needs of New Yorkers to help explain the construction of the bridge.  The story is told chronologically.  Readers will appreciate the consolidated information at the back of the book.

Strengths:  There are some terrific illustrations that help the text make more sense. The back of the book features a series of drawings, one comparing the bridge in 1883 to the bridge today.  There is also a list of specifications and a time line on the final pages. The book includes a bibliography for further reading.

Weaknesses: For a picture book, the text is very detailed.  It can be overwhelming.  The book jumps from the engineering aspects to the bridge’s founding family and important details are glossed over occasionally.

Read Alikes: Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing (2005) by April Jones Prince; Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building (2006) by Deborah Hopkinson; Liberty (20030 by Lynn Curlee