El gran ferrocarril. (Railroad!)

By staff -- Críticas, 12/15/2007

REVIEWED WITH:
Huir hacia la libertad.
(Emma’s Escape)
Shavers Gayle, Sharon.
illus. by Eric Velasquez. US: Alfaguara (Excursiones fantásticas): Santillana. 2007. 48p. ISBN 978-1-59820-601-2. $6.95.0

La primera caminata lunar.
(Moonwalk)
Meachen Rau, Dana.
illus. by Thomas Buchs. U.S.: Alfaguara (Excursiones fantásticas): Santillana. 2007. 48p. ISBN 978-1-59820-600-5. $6.95.

Gr 3-5–In this series, a group of young students visits the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and each one has an imaginary adventure while viewing certain exhibit. When Tomás visits the National Air and Space Museum, he daydreams that he is actually Neil Armstrong during his famous moonwalk mission in 1969. Emma has a similar experience when she visits the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture. She becomes a slave girl making the long trek to Canada through the Underground Railroad, experiencing the hardships and perils that slaves encountered in their travels towards freedom. While at the National Museum of American History, Lucy imagines that she is Andrew Russell ready to take the famous photograph that commemorates the joining of the two transcontinental railroads. She speaks to the laborers and hears of their plight and the dangers they have encountered. In each story, students are not sure if they were daydreaming or if they have actually traveled back in time. The realistic one-page illustrations enhance the well-translated texts and help guide the stories. These titles are recommended for public and elementary school libraries.—Veronica Covington, Univ. of Texas, Austin