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    Brooklyn Bridge
    Brooklyn Bridge
    Brooklyn Bridge
    Audiobook4 hours

    Brooklyn Bridge

    Written by Karen Hesse

    Narrated by Fred Berman

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 2, 2008
    ISBN9781427205476
    Brooklyn Bridge
    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

    51 ratings7 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.
    • 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. :)