Brooklyn Bridge

Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.

I love a great non-fiction picture book, chock full of factoids, and big pictures, and scale, and real people, etc. This isn't the only book I've read about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, because I'm that kind of nerd. And this one is great. Lots of detail about how the bridge is made, amazing stuff about the steel cables and the bends and so on. Great stuff.

John Roebling invents the steel cables and designs the bridge then dies in 1869 after an accident, just as construction is beginning. His son, Washington, takes over as Chief Engineer. Then in 1872 Washington is debilitated by repeated attacks of the bends that leave him “an invalid, confined show more to his room and unable to endure the company of anyone except his wife. Although he gradually was able to work as effectively as before, during the eleven years remaining for its construction, Washington Roebling never once returned to the bridge site.” The stonework is finally completed in July 1876. Washington and his wife Emily return from New Jersey where he has been recuperating. “Already his best friend, nurse, and confidante, Emily Roebling had now become her husband’s secretary and personal assistant. She wrote his letters, helped with working drawings, and served as his eyes and ears, conveying his instructions to the assistant engineers and dealing personally with the trustees and contractors at the building site.”

Then a little farther down

Eventually she knew as much as anyone about the techniques of bridge building, and later it was even rumored that she took over as Chief Engineer. While this was untrue..."

I don’t know what we could consider objective truth when talking about partners and shared tasks, it tends to be grey and muddy. But Emily wrote the letters and made working drawings and nursed her husband for four years. Then she spent seven years on site in Brooklyn dealing with contractors, trustees, assistant engineers, problems and questions while still caring for her husband who was still debilitated and reclusive. So if instead of Washington’s wife it was his assistant that had stepped up, just as John’s assistant, Washington, had actually once done, no one would have ever questioned who was the Chief Engineer.

See it’s a great book: it even shows how women are routinely belittled and dismissed in STEM fields.

Library copy show less

Another outstanding architecture book by Lynn Curlee. The best illustrations are ones that show the bridge in the context of its New York background as that changes radically. There are three really excellent view of this sort. There are also illustrations of the bridge under construction and a few useful cutaways. The text is insightful and well-chosen.

I really liked this book. It was full of great information not only about the bridge, but about the people involved in it's creation. It does not hide any of the ugliness that went along with the bridges long build, explaining that many people died or were permanently injured due to the poor conditions and many safety hazards. The illustrations are amazing and there are several crosscuts of the bridge's construction. I would highly recommend this to any classroom studying US history, architecture, or even workers rights.

A wonderful picture book that tells the history behind the bridge and its construction, complete with the engineering facts and the human-interest anecdotes as well. Using full-color illustrations and diagrams, Curlee explains why the bridge was needed, why the engineering behind it was so important and innovative, and what the bridge has meant to those living in New York. The book's most important features include careful diagrams and descriptions showing how construction was conceived and executed. A map shows the bridge's location and a cross-section drawing delineates the caissons, supply shafts, air locks, etc. The narrative opens with New York City after the Civil War, explains the financing and final decision to build the bridge, show more and describes the roles of John A. Roebling and, later, his son, Washington, as Chief Engineer. A list of the bridge's specifications and a time line are appended. show less

Good intermediate level picture book on the Brooklyn Bridge. Beautifully illustrated, but more technical and text-heavy than other picture books--some spreads are text only. Includes a great deal more of the technical aspects of the bridge-building work and the engineering. Back matter includes a timeline and specs for the bridge.

A few years ago, I watched a PBS special on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Since that time, I have been fascinated with the achievement. Completed in 1883--decades before the Industrial Revolution--it was an engineering marvel. The book gives a lot of background information, includes many drawings, and tells the story of one of the most amazing structures built by man. Every bridge has a story of its own, though, and this book would be a great lead-in to a unit on bridges or structures.

Genre: Informational

This book is a good example of an informational book because it tells the facts about how the Brooklyn Bridge was planned and constructed. It tells the history of the bridge as well. It is celebrated as one of the greatest landmarks and grandest sights of New York City. The setting for this book is extremely important, because the bridge cannot be in a different area and have the same effect or importance that it does/did in New York City.

Level: Intermediate-Middle School