Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building - Hardcover

Hopkinson, Deborah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375836101 ISBN 13: 9780375836107

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade, 2006

Synopsis

This Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book and ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book provides a riveting brick-by-brick account of how one of the most amazing accomplishments in American architecture came to be. It’s 1930 and times are tough for Pop and his son. But look! On the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue, a building straight and simple as a pencil is being built in record time. Hundreds of men are leveling, shoveling, hauling. They’re hoisting 60,000 tons of steal, stacking 10 million bricks, eating lunch in the clouds. And when they cut ribbon and the crowds rush in, the boy and his father will be among the first to zoom up to the top of the tallest building in the world and see all of Manhattan spread at their feet.

About this title

About the Author:

Deborah Hopkinson is the author of A Boy Called Dickens and the ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek. Her other titles include Apples to Oregon, Under the Quilt of Night (also illustrated by James E. Ransome), and Fannie in the Kitchen. She lives in Oregon.

James E. Ransome is the illustrator of many highly acclaimed titles for children, including The Creation by James Weldon Johnson, which won a Coretta Scott King Award for illustration, and Let My People Go by Patricia McKissack, winner of an NAACP Image Award. His other titles include Major Taylor, Young Pele and Before There Was Mozart, all three written by Lesa Cline-Ransome. He lives in New York.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4–Hopkinson and Ransome chronicle the construction of this famous building through the eyes of a young boy. The present-tense text gives the book a true You are there feel as the author describes both the actual building process and its significance as a symbol of hope during the Depression era. The pacing is never rushed, but at the same time it moves along at an energetic clip that matches the speed that characterized the construction of this National Historic Landmark. Ransomes stunning oil paintings vary in perspective as readers look up at what was once the tallest building in the world, and then down from dizzying heights as workers perch on girders on the 47th floor, feeding pigeons while taking a break for beef stew and coffee. An authors note reflects the painstaking and careful research done by both author and illustrator to ensure as authentic a presentation as possible. This is a fascinating look at a slice of American history and a worthwhile addition to any collection.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
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About this edition

• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0375836101
• ISBN 13: 9780375836107
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Ransome James E.