Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse

Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Heese is the story of a boy whose parents invent the teddy
bear. Joseph is a boy who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He knows he’s lucky and fortunate but he feels his parents spend too much time with the teddy bear. No longer does Joseph get to play stickball with his friends instead he is busy making bears. Joseph is respectful to his favorite aunt called “The Queen’’. The two relatives have a secret code used to open the door. But when “The Queen’’ dies Joseph is really sad. He discovers she saved and helped lots of people, by bringing them from Russia to America. Joseph is also adventurous because one day he experiences his dream alone. In the end of Brooklyn Bridge Joseph discovers secrets about some of his family. I liked the book Brooklyn Bridge because it tells the story of Joseph a lucky boy but also tells the story of sad children living in squalid conditions under the Brooklyn bridge. In Joseph’s family there’s Mama, Papa, Emily, Ben and him. Mama is the one who first thought of creating bears. This family’s life changes because they go from regular people to rich people. You might think people look up to them but some people are angry that they have more money, like Joseph’s friends. The story of Brooklyn Bridge is fiction and if you like reading about people in the 1900’s you might enjoy Brooklyn Bridge.
Reviewed by: Carolyn