How Emily Saved the Bridge
The Story of Emily Warren Roebling and the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
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The amazing story of Emily Warren Roebling, the woman who stepped in to oversee the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which was completed in 1883.
Emily was not an engineer, but she was educated in math and science. She married Washington Roebling, the chief engineer of the famous bridge. When Washington became ill from decompression sickness, Emily stepped in, doing everything from keeping the books, to carrying messages for her husband, to monitoring the construction of the bridge. She was the first person to cross the Brooklyn Bridge when it opened.
Emily, who went on to study law among many other accomplishments, is an inspiration to all, as demonstrated through Frieda Wishinsky's informative and engaging text and Natalie Nelson's distinctive collage illustrations. Speech bubbles revealing imagined dialogue add a playful note to this historical account, which includes fascinating facts about the Brooklyn Bridge and a further reading list.
Key Text Features
further reading
speech bubbles
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
About this Author
Frieda Wishinsky is the award-winning author of more than sixty books, including picture books, novels and non-fiction, which have been translated into many languages. Each One Special, illustrated by Werner Zimmerman, was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award, and Please, Louise! illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. More recently, Frieda has written the novel Avis Dolphin, illustrated by Willow Dawson, and A History of Just about Everything with Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Qin Leng. Frieda grew up in Manhattan and has always loved crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. She now lives in Toronto.
Natalie Nelson's illustrations have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. She is the illustrator of The King of the Birds by Acree Graham Macam, which Booklist proclaimed "nothing short of charming." She has also illustrated A Storytelling of Ravens by Kyle Lukoff, which received starred reviews from Kirkus and Foreword, and Uncle Holland by JonArno Lawson, described by School Library Journal as "sophisticated yet playful." This is the first book she has written and illustrated. Natalie lives in Atlanta.
Reviews
Wishinsky's quippy dialogue and well-researched storytelling capture the passion and intelligence of the extraordinary Emily . . . Nelson's whimsical cut-paper collages, an interplay of bright blocks of color and black-and-white photography, capture a rapidly growing city in the flux of modernization. . . . Another win for the ladies of STEM.
A strong and honest homage to a remarkable woman.
The playful illustrations by Nelson help make the long-ago 1880s feel candy-colored vivid. And the use of dialog in speech balloons lightens the story, making it fun and accessible. Wishinsky hits all the right historical notes with careful accuracy while still molding the story to have direction and focus.
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