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    Brooklyn Bridge
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    Brooklyn Bridge
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    Brooklyn Bridge
    Ebook205 pages2 hours

    Brooklyn Bridge

    By Karen Hesse and Chris Sheban

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Karen Hesse has achieved many honors for her more than twenty books over the course of her award-winning career: the Newbery Medal, the Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award, the MacArthur Fellowship "Genius" Award, and the Christopher Medal. Her novels burn with intensity, and keenly felt, deeply researched, and are memorable for their imagination and intelligence.

    So it is with great pride and excitement that we present Karen Hesse's first novel in over five years: Brooklyn Bridge.

    It's the summer of 1903 in Brooklyn and all fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom wants is to experience the thrill, the grandeur, and the electricity of the new amusement park at Coney Island. But that doesn't seem likely. Ever since his parents--Russian immigrants--invented the stuffed Teddy Bear five months ago, Joseph's life has turned upside down. No longer do the Michtom's gather family and friends around the kitchen table to talk. No longer is Joseph at leisure to play stickball with the guys. Now, Joseph works. And complains. And falls in love. And argues with Mama and Papa. And falls out of love. And hopes. Joseph hopes he'll see Coney Island soon. He hopes that everything will turn right-side up again. He hopes his luck hasn't run out--because you never know.

    Through all the warmth, the sadness, the frustration, and the laughter of one big, colorful family, Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse builds a stunning story of the lucky, the unlucky, and those in between, and reminds us that our lives--all our lives--are fragile, precious, and connected.
    Brooklyn Bridge is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 2, 2008
    ISBN9781429918015
    Author

    Karen Hesse

    Karen Hesse is the author of many books for young people, including Out of the Dust, winner of the Newbery Medal, Letters from Rifka, Brooklyn Bridge, Phoenix Rising, Sable and Lavender. In addition to the Newbery, she has received honors including the Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award, the MacArthur Fellowship “Genius” Award and the Christopher Award, and was nominated for a National Jewish Book Award. Born in Baltimore, Hesse graduated from the University of Maryland. She and her husband Randy live in Vermont.

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    Reviews for Brooklyn Bridge

    4/5

    53 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Narrated by Fred Berman. A delightful story about the day-to-day life of a Jewish Russian immigrant family living in Brooklyn. Joseph, the older son, knows his family is extremely lucky to have succeeded in the teddy bear business but with so much work put into it, all he dreams of is taking a break and enjoying a day at Coney Island. Until then, the family experiences the ups and downs of life: sister Emily gets to establish a home lending library; the baby develops pneumonia; a matriarch aunt dies. Interludes between chapters describe a society of rejected and homeless kids living under the Brooklyn Bridge. Narrator Berman reads in a Jewish New York City accent that brings out the spirit of this historical novel.
    • 3/5
      Strange story. The teddy bear angle makes it different. Good family feelings but then the children under the bridge...
    • 5/5
      another awesome book by Hesse, great voice I was transported back in time
    • 2/5
      Joseph wish is to go to Coney Island. At first it was a case of money but then as the family business grows with the popular Teddy Bears mama designed and she and papa are producing there is never time for anything fun like that. The only time the family take a time off is for a funeral. Life and frustrations of city life in the early 1900's is revealed as 14 year-old Joseph narrates, family incidences and his own emotional turmoil. An underlying paralle story told between chapters related to the Brooklyn Bridge and who is living under it adds mystery and intrigue. Good character development. Each character seems to have have his her own story line. Sister Emily an avid reader, opens a home library.
    • 3/5
      A winner of the 2009 Sydney Taylor book award, this historical fiction YA book is a compelling read. Using as a springboard the true story of the Russian immigrant Mitchon family who made and manufactured the first US Teddy bears, the author weaves a dramatic tale of life in Brooklyn, New York at the turn of the century.There are strong characters and a wonderful portrayal of Jewish life and hope in the new world. Hesse compares and contrasts the life of strugglng and accomplishing the American dream with a parrallel tale of abandoned children living under the Brooklyn Bridge.Interspersed with poignant moments of family love and bonding of the Mitchon extended family is also the reality that not all achieved economic success.At times it is confusing when the author shifts back and forth from the two dichotomous life styles, but still, it is worth the time spent in reading.
    • 4/5
      Great insight into early life in Brooklyn in the early 1900's based on true characters the Mitchom Family that started the Teddy Bear business from the cartoon of Teddy Roosevelt who would not kill the baby bear.
    • 5/5
      I really just gobbled up this book. It was a great story set in New York in the early 1900's. After most of the chapters is a story about one of the kids that lives underneath the brooklyn bridge. At first it was confusing, because there was no real connection to the story of the kid whose parents created the teddy bear and made a store that sold them. At the end of the book, you finally pull everything together. Overall, it was an enjoyable read - one both well-written and attention-grabbing.
    • 4/5
      Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse does not disappoint. It tells a fictional account of the Russian Michtom family who invented the modern day teddy bears. At the center of it all is Joseph Michtom, 14 year old young man who is starting to see the world through adult eyes. He resents all the work he has to do for his parents, and dreams of going to Coney Island. Seen though his eyes, the characters and plots of Brooklyn Bridge come to life in an exciting and interesting way.Interspersed throughout the book are accounts of the Bridge children who live underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. This is a unique and interesting tactic to utilize in bringing the true nature of New York at the turn of the 20th century alive.Reccomended for those that enjoy nostalgic and truly American fare. :)