Written and Illustrated By: Brian Floca Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books September 2013
Synopsis (From Publisher):
It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to ocean.
Come hear the hiss of the steam, feel the heat of the engine, watch the landscape race by. Come ride the rails, come cross the young country!
CWR Review:
This poetically written, beautifully illustrated book takes you into the world of the construction and function of the transcontinental railroad. The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 provided funds for the building of the railroad from Nebraska to California. The Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, hired workers of all kinds, confiscated land, and had until 1874 to complete the project. Brian Floca uses poetic language and beautiful watercolor, ink, acrylic and gouache illustrations to take the reader for a ride. Throughout the story, Floca uses excellent vocabulary to describe the work that goes into one trip, the labor that went into the construction, and the role of all the railway workers from the conductors to engineers. Readers are given a sound introduction to this magnificent part of American History.
Illustrations: Mr. Floca’s illustrations are lighthearted yet real, show the diversity of the laborers, the reality of first and second class passengers, and even who was able to ride the train versus who served the passengers (all of these things, whether intentional or not, are clearly observed in the illustrations). A variety of fonts are used, onomatopoeia is prevalent throughout, and the author gives readers glimpses into the many sites along the railroad: the Dale Creek bridge, Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada, The Forty Mile desert. The text is long, and the vocabulary is high, and is sure to keep the interest of a young voracious reader all the way up to the most curious adult.
Stunning, thrilling, riveting, get yours here or here.
Themes- American History ,Transcontinental Railroad
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