Amazing Impossible Erie Canal

by Cheryl Harness, Cheryl Harness (Illustrator)

Overview

Follow the amazing construction and workings of the Erie Canal, America’s first superhighway, in this triumphant nonfiction picture book.

When De Witt Clinton, a young politician, first dreamed of building a canal to connect the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, folks didn’t believe such a thing could be done. Clinton wanted to link east coast ports to the frontier, and from the groundbreaking ceremony on the Fourth of July in 1817, Clinton never gave up—even as people called his project “Clinton’s Ditch.”

Eight long years later, he’d realized his vision at last and constructed the longest uninterrupted canal in history—allowing water travel from the American prairie all the way to Europe!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689825842
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	06/01/1999
Series:	Aladdin Picture Books
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	371,766
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD1050L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Cheryl Harness lives in Independence, Missouri. As an author and illustrator, she is known for her engaging approach to history, seen in such books as Our Colonial Year; Mary Walker Wears the Pants; Young Abe Lincoln; George Washington; Spymaster; Three Young Pilgrims, Ghosts of the White House; and Remember the Ladies.

Cheryl Harness lives in Independence, Missouri. As an author and illustrator, she is known for her engaging approach to history, seen in such books as Our Colonial Year; Mary Walker Wears the Pants; Young Abe Lincoln; George Washington; Spymaster; Three Young Pilgrims, Ghosts of the White House; and Remember the Ladies.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2-6-Harness has done a wonderful job of making the history and construction of the Erie Canal come alive. Facts and descriptions are related in lively, accessible language, e.g.,``...then came the stake-setters, the soil-borers, the underbrush-grubbers, the tree-chopper-downers...'' The narrative is matched with illustrations that cover each page. On one double-page spread, there are miniatures of the engineers who worked on the canal; a picture of how the locks work; a map of progress; a drawing of a swamp in which workers died of malaria; a stump-removal machine; the tow path; the low bridges; and a cross-section diagram showing the depth and width of the canal. All of the colorful illustrations are peppered with active people. Children will pore over these fascinating details.-Kate Hegarty Bouman, Susquehanna Valley Junior High School, Conklin, NY

School Library Journal