Galloping Gertie The true story of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse

On Dale Wirsing's birthday in 1940, a 4-month-old suspension bridge collapses before his eyes. Clean lines and an autumnal palette show young Dale walking with his parents across the brand-new span, whose sway caused it to be called Galloping Gertie. In one spread, its towers rise diagonally across the gutter and almost off the page, while Dale points excitedly--and the roadway bobs up and down in a hint of what's to come. Attractive, modern design and a friendly trim size (approximately 7.5 by 9.75 inches) lend a necessary accessibility to this historical tale, while lively illustrations and no-nonsense text take care of the rest. Though Dale, watching the bridge from the kitchen window, frames the story, the narrative also peeks into other human-interest stories surrounding its collapse: engineer Clark Eldridge's despair, a couple forced to abandon their truck, and multiple people trying to rescue a dog who was left in a car. (Unfortunately, the dog in fact died, but the narrator leaves that truth between the lines.) Depicting both the linearity of suspension cables and the chaos of fracturing supports, aided by well-integrated onomatopoeia, the art captures the crucial moments of swaying and breaking with remarkable accuracy and pathos. Named characters present White, with people of color depicted among the secondary illustrated cast. Six pages of endmatter neatly summarize and contextualize Gertie's saga, revealing Eldridge's time as a Japanese prisoner of war and recounting the legend of the giant Pacific octopus who apparently lives under the current Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Gripping historical engineering drama. (glossary, recommended sources) (Picture book. 7-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A New Bridge Opens: Tacoma, Washington, August 1940 Dale Wirsing stepped onto the Tacoma Narrows Bridge for the first time in his life. Three years in the making, the bridge had just opened the month before, connecting the Kitsap Peninsula to the city of Tacoma, Washington. Under Dale's feet the roadway of the suspension bridge gently rose and fell, like a boat rolling on the ocean. Far below churned the fierce waters of the Narrows. Through his living room window, Dale had watched with curiosity as workmen built the bridge towers, strung the cables, and then finally pieced the roadway together high above the water. How exciting it was to finally walk on the bridge! But was it normal for such a mammoth bridge to bob and bounce, even on a calm evening such as this? A local engineer, Clark Eldridge, had designed the bridge to be lightweight and flexible . . . perhaps a little too flexible. When the wind blew, the center span bounced up and down. The men who built the bridge nicknamed her "Galloping Gertie." People said they could see the cars ahead of them disappear and reappear as they drove across her. Others claimed it was like riding a roller coaster! Dale didn't know this would not just be his first but his only time walking across her. Nor did he have any idea of the tragedy that would soon befall Gertie in just a few months' time, on his birthday. Excerpted from Galloping Gertie: The True Story of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse by Amanda Abler All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.