George Ferris met with obstacles from the judges first rejection of his idea, to his difficulties getting his dream wheel funded, and when ground was finally broken, the workmen ran into problems with broken tools, quicksand (yes, quicksand, the stuff of grade B movies), Chicago's strong winds, and, of course, skepticism. Kathryn Gibbs Davis has written this wonderfully detailed, absolutely accessible picture book about the first Ferris wheel for older readers who have most likely seen and maybe ever ridden a Ferris wheel, but who probably have never thought about how it was done, or by whom, for that matter. With the help of private investors, and a lot of hard work, the 1893 World's Fair opened with a most successful star attraction: The Ferris Wheel.
At first, his proposal was rejected by the contest judges as too big, too complicated, but as the time for the fair drew closer, the judges changed their minds, but refused to fund George's project. Instead of going straight up and being stationary, George's dream was round and moving. A contest was held, but all the entries looked like Eiffel Tower imitations.Įnter George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., an engineer who had a dream.
The French had really outdone themselves at the previous World's Fair by showcasing the Eiffel Tower in 1889, and now something even more spectacular was wanted. * "Davis' picture-book bio soars, inspires, and keeps (the pages) ever turning" - Booklist, starred review "The modernist look, inherently interesting topic, and strong documentation.make this title a positive addition." -School Library Journal "Kids who take ferris wheels for granted should find this history eye-opening." -Kirkus "Davis’s picture-book account of the Ferris Wheel construction does a first-rate job of capturing the many risks-to civic pride, financial success, and public safety-that attached to the first iteration of what most readers have already enjoyed as a local carnival attraction." -Bulletin "Davis delivers a tense and satisfying underdog story, while Ford creates a stylized 19th-century landscape." -Publishers Weekly " informative and entertaining account.A mere ten months before the start of the 1893 World's Fair, the planners were still looking for a star attraction.
0 kommentar(er)
