A goldmine of information in this lucid and elegant recounting of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, with equally resplendent paintings. The story itself is deeply dramatic and set in relief by the author’s straightforward account. John A. Roebling, a German immigrant, studied and practiced building suspension bridges his whole life and convinced the government that this was the way to connect Brooklyn to New York. But while he was surveying the river site, a ferry smashed his foot, and he died of lockjaw, leaving his 32-year-old son Washington to run the massive project. Curlee does an excellent job not only of describing how the bridge was engineered and built, but of reminding his audience how different things were in 1870. In fascinating detail he describes how foundations had to be dug out by hand; that no one knew how to prevent “the bends” by moving slowly rather than directly out of a compressed air environment; and that much of what Roebling planned had first to be invented. Himself a victim of the bends, for the last 11 years of the project Roebling was a housebound invalid, and his wife, Emily, acted as his voice and assistant. On May 24, 1883, US President Chester A. Arthur led a huge celebration to open the bridge, whose beauty and majesty, no less than its perfect strength, has seen it through more than a century of traffic from carriages to cars. Heavily based on David McCullough’s The Great Bridge, one of four items in the bibliography, this awe-inspiring study provides an excellent resource for young people. (specifications, timeline, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83183-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.
Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.
Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
This standout novella lustrously portrays Ana Rosa and the rich simplicity of her family’s daily life in the Dominican Republic. The linked vignettes and elegant prose vitalize the merengue music, colorful houses, as well as the people’s poverty and the tyranny of the government. Each chapter begins with one of Ana Rosa’s lovely rhythmic verses. A poet and writer at age 12, she steals bits of paper to record everything she sees, hears, and imagines. Ana Rosa’s family is very close by necessity, but it is her beloved brother Guario who has the job that supports them. As the novella proceeds, dark shadows begin to slink through the gentle days. We learn that Ana Rosa’s father drinks too much rum and Coke, especially on Sundays, when he becomes a lurching spectacle. Then an official informs the villagers that to build a hotel, the government has sold the land on which their families have lived for generations. The villagers band together, Ana Rosa writes an article, and her brother Guario becomes their passionate leader. But when the day of the standoff arrives, the villager’s words and rocks are nothing against the guardia’s guns and bulldozers. The heartbreaking result is Guario’s death. Without diluting the sorrow, Joseph (Fly, Bessie, Fly, 1998, etc.) illustrates the good arising from the tragedy as the government cancels the hotel project and Ana Rosa begins writing the life of her brother. This is an achingly beautiful story that will awaken profound emotions in the reader. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-028232-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2000
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