The time-traveling twins are off on their second adventure in this sequel to Roughing It on the Oregon Trail (2000). Liz and Lenny love to visit their grandmother—and her wonderful hat. When Lenny chooses a portrait of an ancestor, Grandma digs through some clothing to find the right costumes, puts her hat on her head, and the adventure begins. Suddenly they find themselves transported to wintry Boston of 1773. As they find Ben, the boy from the portrait, they meet his family and become immersed in colonial life—eating Indian pudding, using the outhouse, and talking politics over dinner. All the while, they learn about the conflict over British taxation and ultimately they participate in throwing tea into the harbor. As they return home, Grandma reminds the twins of the date and they realize that Ben has given them much more than a memory. In a combination of formats, Stanley narrates a standard text, while comic-style bubbles show dialogue. Facts are sprinkled throughout. Although this format is by nature difficult to follow, here most of the bubbles are read top to bottom and left to right, minimizing the problem. The twins are curious and ask many of the questions children today would want answered—“Hey Grandma, what is that pot under the bed for?” Their dog provides the comic relief in the story, with dialogue bubbles all his own. Berry’s illustrations are wonderfully detailed, from the clothing and the cooking fire, to the busy street and harbor scenes. The endpapers give added information—the front is a map of the 13 colonies, the back a comparison of objects used in the 1700s and those used today for the same purposes (lighting, clothing, plumbing, etc.). This is as much about colonial days as it is about the Revolution—a great introduction, and an inspiration for further reading and research. (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-027067-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
Absolutely wonderful in every way.
A long-forgotten chapter in New York City history is brilliantly illuminated.
In mid-19th-century New York, horses and horse-drawn vehicles were the only means of transportation, and the din created by wheels as they rumbled on the cobblestones was deafening. The congestion at intersections threatened the lives of drivers and pedestrians alike. Many solutions were bandied about, but nothing was ever done. Enter Alfred Ely Beach, an admirer of “newfangled notions.” Working in secret, he created an underground train powered by an enormous fan in a pneumatic tube. He built a tunnel lined with brick and concrete and a sumptuously decorated waiting room for passenger comfort. It brought a curious public rushing to use it and became a great though short-lived success, ending when the corrupt politician Boss Tweed used his influence to kill the whole project. Here is science, history, suspense, secrecy, and skulduggery in action. Corey’s narrative is brisk, chatty, and highly descriptive, vividly presenting all the salient facts and making the events accessible and fascinating to modern readers. The incredibly inventive multimedia illustrations match the text perfectly and add detail, dimension, and pizazz. Located on the inside of the book jacket is a step-by-step guide to the creative process behind these remarkable illustrations.
Absolutely wonderful in every way. (author’s note, bibliography, Web resources) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-375-87071-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Strong rhythms and occasional full or partial rhymes give this account of P.T. Barnum’s 1884 elephant parade across the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge an incantatory tone. Catching a whiff of public concern about the new bridge’s sturdiness, Barnum seizes the moment: “’I will stage an event / that will calm every fear, erase every worry, / about that remarkable bridge. / My display will amuse, inform / and astound some. / Or else my name isn’t Barnum!’” Using a rich palette of glowing golds and browns, Roca imbues the pachyderms with a calm solidity, sending them ambling past equally solid-looking buildings and over a truly monumental bridge—which soars over a striped Big Top tent in the final scene. A stately rendition of the episode, less exuberant, but also less fictionalized, than Phil Bildner’s Twenty-One Elephants (2004), illustrated by LeUyen Pham. (author’s note, resource list) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-44887-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2005
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