BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
In the early 1940s a new suspension bridge built between Tacoma Washington and the Kitsap Peninsula was nicknamed Galloping Gertie because it swayed and bounced in the wind. Cars driving across rose and fell, some saying it was like driving on a roller coaster track. Just a few months after opening, as autumn winds picked up, the bridge buckled and pieces of the bridge fell into the Tacoma Narrows.
The bridge disaster is told through the eyes of a young boy who watched it being built from his home and then also watched it collapse - on his birthday! He was so excited to watch the bridge twist and turn - even visiting with a neighbor where they could get a better view. Illustrations are good - reminiscent of children's books of the time period. I am concerned about audience appeal, and whether reading about a bridge collapsing might cause alarm in young children. The book shows all the people who were on the bridge getting rescued, but it talks about a dog trapped in a car there but doesn't tell what happened to him. Back matter includes information about what caused the disaster, other "bouncing bridges" and, yes, how to find film footage on Youtube of the actual collapse, and other scary bridge videos. The boy is white.
Lisa Librarian
No comments:
Post a Comment