The Canals (Building America (Benchmark)) [Library Binding]

Raymond Bial (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 4-7--Bial displays his trademark clear, enthusiastic narrative coupled with outstanding photos and archival prints. Here, illustrations by Eric Sloane are an additional bonus. The author shows great respect for his subjects and repeatedly emphasizes and explains the backbreaking labor and ingenuity necessary for survival in the New World and on the frontier. In pursuing the dream of building a life in a new country, the settlers adapted their old ways, borrowed from others, and applied incredible creativity to achieve their goal. Their efforts and the lasting results are vividly described. The technology explained is practical and often complicated but the clear explanations are accompanied by enlightening diagrams or photos. All illustrative material is credited and Bial's photos are reminiscent of paintings by Edward Hopper in their use of light and shadow. These titles are akin to Leonard Everett Fisher's "Colonial Craftsmen" series (Benchmark) and the classic books by Edwin Tunis such as Frontier Living (HarperCollins, 1976). The quotes in each volume are not footnoted but they generally provide color rather than essential information. The titles provide narrative and visual delights and will be valuable for school use and for browsing.

Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Reviewed with Raymond Bial's The Houses.

Gr. 4-8. Books in the new Building America series are marked by strong research, clear writing, good organization, and very handsome color photographs (mostly taken by the author). Bial looks at a variety of structures found in the U.S., both private and communal. Canals discusses the importance of river transportation and how the canal system was built. Excellent diagrams and artwork help make complicated concepts such as the lock system more understandable. In Houses, Bial explains how the housing development was influenced by the materials and climates the European settlers encountered as they moved west. Because of the great variety in housing, information in this volume is brief, but it is well presented and accompanied by numerous photographs and drawings. A glossary, a bibliography, a reading list, and Web site recommendations end each volume. A highly recommended series. Susan Dove Lempke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 56 pages
• Publisher: Benchmark Books (NY) (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761413367
• ISBN-13: 978-0761413363
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,131,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Raymond Bial (pronounced Beal) is the author and photo-illustrator of more than one hundred critically-acclaimed books for children and adults, including Amish Home, Frontier Home, The Underground Railroad, Where Lincoln Walked, One-Room School, Ghost Towns of the American West, Tenement: Immigrant Life on the Lower East Side, Nauvoo: Mormon City on the Mississippi River, The Super Soybean, and many others. A skilled photographer, he works with ease in both color and in black and white. Working with both film cameras and digital equipment, he is best known for his versatility in portraiture, landscapes, and still lifes, and his sensitivity toward the people, places, and objects portrayed in his images.
The subjects of Raymond's books range from farm life to American social and cultural history. Appealing to young and old alike, his books are ideal choices for parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians to share with children. His most recent photo-essays are Ellis Island: Coming to the Land of Liberty, and Nauvoo: Mormon City on the Mississippi River, published by Houghton-Mifflin, and The Super Soybean, published by Albert Whitman. He has also written three popular collections of mystery fiction for children: The Fresh Grave and Other Ghostly Stories, The Ghost of Honeymoon Creek, and most recently Shadow Island: A Tale of Lake Superior, published by Bluehorse Books. His books have received numerous awards from the American Library Association, National Council of Teachers of English, Children's Book Council, and many other organizations. He lives with his wife, Linda, and children, Sarah and Luke, in Urbana, Illinois. His daughter Anna, who illustrated two of Raymond's books, is a fashion designer in New York City.