Fourteen year old Joseph Michtom’s life changed incredibly when his parents, Russian immigrants created the first teddy bear. The Michtom’s gather family and friends around the kitchen table to talk. No longer was Joseph at leisure to play stickball with the guys. No longer were Joseph and his book loving sister free from watching their pesky two year old brother. Now when it was summer vacation and more than anything Joseph wanted to experience the thrill, the grandeur, the electricity of Coney Island Joseph worked. And complained. And fell in and out of love. And argued. And hoped that everything would go back to how it used to be. All the while no one let him forget that he was lucky. Reading this book made me think more about what people really want and what they go through untill they get what they want wile other people are caring more about other stuff that they say is more important that what you want. This book also made me think of how the teddybear was created because I have never thought of the teddybear that much before. I thought it was cool how someone wrote a book about this. I would not recommend this to a class mate because it is complicated. I feel that they might not enjoy the book. This is a good book for someone older Another skillfully crafted novel by Karen Hesse. This woman has a true gift for taking historical facts and plumping them into characters and lives for us to enjoy, and I am so glad I found this on the shelf. One of the classes with whom I work is in the middle of their big immigration study, so I'm paying particular attention to stories about immigrant families in New York. Also, since I'm a resident of Brooklyn and have worked with traditional Jewish families, this book really piqued my interest. The protagonist is the adolescent eldest brother in the family which first created the stuffed Teddy bear, and it covers a stress-filled summer as the family goes through myriad changes. There's a little bit of a love story, some ghost story, some social justice and injustice, and a lot of family drama--exactly what made me want to keep reading! It's a great story to share with third- and fourth-graders, and a good independent read for kids who like historical fiction. The interview with Hesse at the end of the book is good, too, as she described how she built BROOKLYN BRIDGE out of a little blurb she read in another book about how things were invented. I highly recommend it, especially for young female readers.
What do You think about Brooklyn Bridge (2008)?
Russian immigrants in NYC, 1903, vivid setting, a sense of community, likable characters.
—Yessir
Beautifully written, but a bit slow. I'm not sure who I could give it to.
—bjoe0237
this book is good so far and there are some creepy parts but i luv it :)
—ton
