Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-3. Based on a true incident, this story recounts the heroic action of 15-year-old Kate Shelley, a nineteenth-century midwestern girl who saved an express train from disaster. On a stormy night, Kate hears the nearby railroad bridge give way as a locomotive is crossing. She rushes out to find two survivors clinging to tree branches, and then fights her way to the rail station up the line to get help and to warn the coming Midnight Express of the danger in its path. Her effort pays off, for the stationmaster's telegraphed message to the express is the last that goes out on that foul, flooded night. The story's factual basis makes it all the more appealing, and Ritz's charcoal-and-wash drawings evoke the setting and imbue personalities with lots of character. A substantive adventure for newly independent readers. ~--Denise Wilms
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-- A vivid recounting of a true story of a young girl in 1881 Iowa, told in the format and style of an easy reader. Through her courageous actions, Kate Shelley was able to save the lives of two men when a railroad bridge was washed out, plus the lives of 200 others speeding toward the broken bridge on an express train. The language is simple, yet its terseness conveys the danger and excitement of the incident. Ritz's dark, soft-edged paintings convey the emotional drama as Kate struggles through the storm to the bridge. This is a wonderful bit of history brought to life to share with young readers. No dullness here--it's a page-turner. --Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In 1881 Iowa, fifteen-year-old Kate risks her life in a terrible storm to stop an express passenger train from crossing a broken bridge, saving two hundred people. The story is dramatic and compelling; the book is welcome for its appeal to beginning readers of all ages. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
