Brooklyn Bridge

by Karen Hesse Narrated by Fred Berman

Overview

On that day in 1903, fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom's life changed irrevocably when his parents-Russian immigrants-created the first teddy bear. No longer did 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.

Because-"There are other children. The unwanted, the forgotten, the lost ones. They gather under the bridge each night to sit, to talk, to sleep. They know, they know, they know that to everyone beyond the bridge they are invisible. . . ." These are the children who live under the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge.

Newbery medalist Karen Hesse masterfully entwines Joseph's coming-of-age tale (and that of his big, colorful family) with the heartbreaking stories of the children under the bridge. Riveting historical fiction that is by turns accessible and ornate, very real but with a touch of magical realism. Hesse's extraordinary new novel is an insightful reminder that a life-fragile and precious-can change in a moment.

Brooklyn Bridge is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Inspired by facts surrounding the inventors of the teddy bear, Newbery Medalist Hesse (Out of the Dust) applies her gift for narrative voice to this memorable story set in 1903 Brooklyn. Fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom's parents, Jewish immigrants from Russia, are the envy of the neighborhood when their toy bears make them prosperous. The principal narrator, Joe, copes with the ironies of their fortune: "Now it's like I got some special kind of power. Only I'm not doing anything good with it." Resented by his former friends, Joe works in the bear business, gets crushes and longs to go to brand-new Coney Island. Interspersed throughout are brief profiles of street children who make their home under the Brooklyn Bridge, haunted by a ghost they refer to as the Radiant Boy. Deftly paced story lines about Joe's extended family indirectly raise questions about different types of bridges: those from the old country to America, those that cross generations, those that link the unlikeliest individuals. Not until the final chapters does Hesse produce the connection between Joseph and the street children with their ghost, and then the novel explodes with dark drama before its eerie but moving resolution. Ages 10-14. (Sept.)

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School Library Journal

Gr 6-9

Karen Hesse weaves a tale (Feiwel & Friends, 2008) about early 1900s Brooklyn and the Michtom family, Russian immigrants, who invented the first stuffed teddy bear. The story is told by 14-year-old Joseph Michtom who doesn't feel like the "lucky" Joe everyone calls him. The only thing the boy really wants is to visit the new Coney Island amusement park, but now he must help out at his parents' business. Joe doesn't have time to spend with his friends and the family has little time together. Interspersed with Joe's story are newspaper headlines as well as a parallel story of lost, runaway, and cast-out children living under the Brooklyn Bridge. Fred Berman's narration is as authentic as the story. Listeners are transported to Brooklyn, into the homes, streets, and trolley cars, with fully voiced and accented characters brought totally alive. The Michtom family's emotions are clearly expressed and poignantly felt. The two layers of the story are vocally distinct in their telling, allowing listeners to shift seamlessly between the experiences. The only flaw is the mispronunciation of the author's last name in the introduction (it is correct in the closing credits). A compelling listen for school and public libraries.-Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY

Kirkus Reviews

An immigrant family's tale, Impressionistic glimpses of street children living under the Brooklyn Bridge and vintage newspaper excerpts braid themselves together to form this spellbinding novel. The newly arrived Michtoms (based on fact) are the lucky ones, rising from shopkeepers to successful teddy-bear manufacturers. The travails of their neighbors and extended family, the city's human flotsam under the bridge and a "Radiant Boy" who is a "death omen ghost" represent the brutal side of the "golden land." Fourteen-year-old Joe Michtom tells his own story, establishing the story's central theme of letting go: of old possessions, secrets, mistakes that limit freedom. He is also central to the mystery behind the "Radiant Boy" buried under the bridge, whose "ghost" terrorizes the street children who live there. In this tale of Dickensian contrasts in kindness and cruelty, Brooklyn comes alive with the details of time and place, but it is the shadow of pain and transcendence cast symbolically by the bridge that haunts and compels. Another work of enduring excellence from Hesse. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

From the Publisher

This well-told tale—about a Jewish immigrant family in New York in the early 1900s—is fascinating and full of suspense.” —The Washington Post

“Alternating with this story line is a parallel narrative devoted to abandoned children who forge a life for themselves under the shelter of the Brooklyn Bridge. Readers will have a hard time putting down this compelling story.” —School Library Journal

“The narrative includes tightly interwoven elements of multiple genres—adventure, romance, comedy, ghost story, and family drama—without ever compromising the authenticity of the plot or the characters.” —The Horn Book

“Rooted in the Jewish immigrant experience in early-twentieth-century New York City, this story weaves together one boy's immediate personal narrative with a community's historical struggles. . . . . the plot reveals intricate connections, up to the very last chapter, that will make readers return to the beginning of this gripping story and see everything in a new way.” —Booklist

“It's such a relief to be able to count on an author time and time again.” —School Library Journal

“In this tale of Dickensian contrasts in kindness and cruelty, Brooklyn comes alive with the details of time and place, but it is the shadow of pain and transcendence cast symbolically by the bridge that haunts and compels. Another work of enduring excellence from Hesse.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“This intimate novel, written in stanza form, poetically conveys the heat, dust and wind of Oklahoma. With each meticulously arranged entry Hesse paints a vivid picture of her heroine's emotions.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review for Out of the Dust

“What Copeland created with music, and Hopper created with paint, Hesse deftly and unerringly creates with words: the iconography of Americana, carefully researched, beautifully written, and profoundly honest.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review for Witness

“Deep, literary, and soulful, Ms. Hesse once again holds us in her spell as she reconstructs the past at an intense time in United States history. . . . The tapestry of plot and subplot is woven with brilliant craftsmanship.” —Children's Literature for A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin

“Sparkling with humor, poignancy and adventure . . . Hesse's impeccable research buttresses the narrative with a wealth of detail. . . . an author's note and extensive glossary round out this compelling volume.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review for Stowaway

SEPTEMBER 2008 - AudioFile

Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse has done it again with this deeply moving story of Russian immigrants in 1903 Brooklyn. The production is greatly enhanced by the expert narration of Fred Berman, whose strong Brooklyn accent and use of Yiddish inflection take listeners directly to the time and place. Berman beautifully captures 14-year-old Joseph's electric excitement to participate in the life of the city around him—especially the temptations of baseball games, playing stickball with his friends, and going to Coney Island—while at the same time being conflicted about his own "good luck" at being part of the family that invented the teddy bear, which means a good living but seemingly endless work. A great choice for family listening. D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169051551
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	09/02/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Read an Excerpt

The guys say I’m lucky. That I got everything.
They’re right. I am lucky.
I’m the luckiest kid in the world.
Not everyone’s so lucky. I know this. . . .
Five months ago we were just another family in Brooklyn. Papa sold cigars, candy, writing paper, occasionally a stuffed toy made by Mama. We weren’t rich, but we managed. And then they saw the cartoon in the paper. . . .

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