The DAY THE LIFTING BRIDGE STUCK [Library Binding]

RobertYagelski (Author), Jennifer Beck Harris (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Readers get a chance to explore the vehicles, drivers, passengers, boats, captains, and cargoes clustered around a drawbridge as Old Joe tries to fix it. Junior Lib Guild.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Hydraulic lifting bridges in New Hampshire are the inspiration for this fanciful story of a day when Old Joe's lifting bridge becomes stuck. Captain Pete can't get his tugboat under it, and eight vehicles driven by Farmer Jake, Dr. Paul, Mrs. Mabel, and so forth can't go over it. A ninth characer, a man who delivers apples to the grocery store, is added to the inconvenience as well, so that he can provide the final fillip--after the quirky bridge suddenly becomes unstuck, he can make his delivery and then return to the mountains to tell everyone what happened. Crisp black-pen illustrations filled in with eye-catching color busily depict the traffic snafu as a multitude of vehicles line up. Too many characters and a busy page design make this one hard for story hour crowds to enjoy; for curious lap-readers, the workings (and nonworkings) of a lifting bridge are not clearly delineated. Still, those who live near structures that seem to have minds of their own will identify with this story. --Susan Hepler, Alexandria City Public Schools, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Sooner or later, there had to be a contemporary children's book about gridlock, and here it is: brief bios of a representative sample of those caught in the jam; the bridge- keeper's struggles to get his malfunctioning bridge moving; an aerial view (the roads are decorative, but make a remarkably nonfunctional pattern; the cars are wider than the two-lane roads); then the bridge recovers (not much explanation here), and everybody gets going again. Cheery cartoon-style illustrations from a first-time illustrator, plenty of cars and boats to look at, and a modicum of insight into one modern fact of life. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: Bradbury Press (March 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0027935957
• ISBN-13: 978-0027935950
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,065,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" children's book, June 1, 2000

By 

sharon m jones (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The DAY THE LIFTING BRIDGE STUCK (Library Binding)

More popular with our 2-1/2 year-old son than "The very quiet cricket", "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Goodnight Moon." My son just loves this book. This is a children's story about cars which go over the bridge and boats which go under it. One day the bridge is stuck halfway between up and down, and so are all the cars, trucks, boats, and people in them. It has colorful pictures of cars and trucks and tells a little story about the drivers and passengers of each vehicle. E.g. "Betty sings as she drives her school bus over the bridge to take the children to school." (paraphrased) We parents appreciate that all the maps are consistent about what is on which side of the bridge. The bunny-eared car driven by a vetenarian adds a bit of whimsy.