Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing

by April Jones Prince

Book Overview

After fourteen years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed, much to the delight of the sister cities it connected: Brooklyn and New York City. Fireworks and top hats filled the air in celebration when the magnificent bridge opened in 1883. But some wondered just how much weight the new bridge could hold. Was it truly safe? One man seized the opportunity to show people in Brooklyn, New York and the world that the Brooklyn Bridge was in...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 061844887X
• ISBN13: 9780618448876
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.3" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Interesting topic...rich vocabulary

This is one of the best picture books I have read in a long time! The Brooklyn Bridge is completed and skeptics wonder just how long it will stand. P. T. Barnum decides to capitalize on their skepticism and arranges a parade of his elephants across the bridge as they head to Manhattan for their latest migration of the "Greatest Show on Earth." I teach a class of 25 1st grade students in a 'gifted' classroom and they were riveted throughout the entire story...and so were the two parent volunteers at the back of the room. The vocabulary is extremely rich and advanced and this book provided wonderful enrichment to our study of bridges in a community. One of the best parts of the book was the final 'Author's Note' which described the extensive research that an author must complete to create an effective story.

It reads with the drama of fiction but is based on fact, which is even more intriguing

It took fourteen years of construction to build the Brooklyn Bridge, connecting Brooklyn and New York - but some wondered how much weight the new bridge could safely handle. One man decided to show them it was strong enough to hold even the heaviest passenger -- and demonstrated this with elephants. The man's name? P.T. Barnum. It reads with the drama of fiction but Twenty-one Elephants And Still Standing is based on fact, which is even more intriguing.