Customer Reviews

Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing

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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.

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.

I posted this comment for my son. He is seven years old. He loves the book. Below was exactly what he said about the book "Twenty-one Elephants AND STILL STANDING".

"This book is super. I recommend it for every kid. I love the part when Phineas T. Barnum proved, with elephants, that Brooklyn Bridge was safe for people and trains. I have never seen Barnum and his elephants perform in such a fictional story before. I am greatly amazed! April even uses a little rhyming throughout the book! I especially loved the paintings in the book."

Excellent work! You have done a lot to create this book!

I didn't know that PT Barnum marched 21 elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge to convince the world of its strength and soundness (and to drum up a little business for himself).

The easy text is fun for kids, and the illustrations show off the bridge. Great book.