Mackinac Bridge: The Story of the Five Mile Poem

Tales of Young Americans

by Gloria Whelan

Set in the late 1950s, this is the moving story of a young boy whose father operates a ferryboat between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. As young Mark witnesses the building of the new Mackinac Bridge, he is torn between family loyalty and eager anticipation. He can't help being awestruck by the majesty of the five-mile-long bridge that will connect the two peninsulas and change the lives of so many. But the Mighty Mac will also put Mark's father out of business. As his father struggles with the flow of progress, Mark dreams of future bridges he will build. Details of the complex construction of the bridge will fascinate children as they learn an important part of America's history and come to understand the meaning of change. The Mackinac Bridge Authority provides history notes at the back of the book.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, History, American History

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Gloria Whelan is the best-selling author of many novels for young readers, including Homeless Bird, winner of the National Book Award; Fruitlands: Louisa May Alcott Made Perfect; Angel on the Square and its companion, The Impossible Journey; Once on This Island, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award; Farewell to the Island; and Return to the Island. She lives with her husband, Joseph, in the woods of northern Michigan.

Reviews

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll see from my reading list that I'm continuously impressed by Gloria Whelan and progressively making my way through her books. The same can be said for Sleeping Bear Press: I can't say enough about their choices in the voices and histories they choose to bring forth and the quality and accessibility of their storytelling.

"Mackinac Bridge" is surprisingly nuanced with many levels to teach from in a classroom environment, including:
- Michigan state history
- Labor relations and how they affect families: the father in this story operates a ferry boat to cross the waters while the young adult son works on bridge construction, which will make the ferries obsolete, which causes internal tension: shared at the dinner table - with the mother as a "bridge" between the two oldest male members of the family. Meanwhile, the youngest son dreams of becoming a civil engineer
- Engineering and STEAM for children: this story provides many takeaway and extension lessons on building and construction.
- Critical thinking and problem-solving: until it was built, this waterway was considered an "unsolvable geographical problem [that] choked off commerce and culture" and which "cut the state of Michigan in half"
- The idea of American expansion (minus overtones of Manifest Destiny) in creating infrastructure across geographies to connect people. Coupled with the skillful telling by the storyteller of what it feels like as a child to watch a large scale construction project change the physical landscape of your home geography. This affects how the child in the book dreams - of his own future and of what's possible in the land
- Emotional intelligence: although there's only small mentions of it (which I appreciated as an adult reading a story for children), I picked up on the tension that the mother feels as she watches her child working on a dangerous construction project - the longest suspension bridge in the world (1957-1998)- with concern for his safety
- A look into the life of an essential worker (white, male, likely middle or lower middle class) - I'm prizing these stories above others because we as a mainstream society need to do everything we can to uplift these stories from personal and familial perspectives
- I would even include in this list things like weather patterns and project management

Overall, so much to learn from here. Highly recommended for a multidisciplinary elementary school curriculum.

[Lydia Babcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Fiction
One unique feature of this book is that it shows the feelings of three different perspectives, Mark (a young boy), Luke (his older brother working on the bridge), and their father (a captain of a ferry that used to take cars across the straights of Mackinac)
I would use this book for 3rd grade readers because that is the year where the students would be studying Michigan history.

[Casey Cahoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: historical fiction
Grade: 1-4
Unique Feature: A unique feature of this book was that it was about Michigan! I think this would be a fun book to teach with if you live in Michigan but also when teaching a historical fiction unit. The illustrations were also wonderful!

[Georgi Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The Mackinac Bridge has always fascinated me, and never fails to give me the same sense of excitement each time I see it. This book is a lovely poem detailing the history of the Mighty Mac. It reminded me of the stories my father told of watching it being built.

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my elementary aged kids as a supplement to Paddle To The Sea, Holling. This book is wonderful and full of excellent vocabulary and illustrations. My teens stopped their studies to listen along. <3

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful poem and story with wonderful pictures.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story with beautiful illustrations.

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing this book lacks is a MAP.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book about the building of my favorite bridge.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questions I asked as I read the book and the answers if they were found with further reading…
Why was Mark’s dad sad? He was about to lose his job.
Why did the bridge make mark so happy?
What had Mark’s brother Luke done that made his dad so angry? He became a bridge worker.
How do you pour concrete underwater?
Will Dad ever like the bridge?
What did Luke do on the tower?
Dad is watching the boys and listening… I wonder if he is interested in how the bridge would be built.
Why did Mark dream about Brazil and the Amazon River?
What is Captain Hansen’s new job going to be? Mackinac Island ferry operator.
Why did the workers work through the night on the bridge? They had to be done by November 1.
Why would Captain Hansen rather sink his ship than let it be used for the bridge?
Why did the Captain want to cross the bridge if he was so against the building of it?
I loved this book! The story makes you feel like you were a part of the making of the bridge. There are great fact about the bridge and ferryboats at the end of the book!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Children's Historical Nonfiction Picture book
Unique Feature: Beautiful pictures and lively colors.
Grade level: K-3

[Jennifer Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

My bridge-obsessed son really likes this book. It's set in Mackinac as the bridge is being build and is told by the son of a ferry operator. It's interesting to learn how the bridge was built. I hate reading the poem about the bridge in the beginning, though. It's a bad poem.

[Rose]

JF Whe

[Emily Scheinman]

I like the way the book explores progress, invention, family and the tensions between generations as opportunities are both lost and found.

[Janie R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting story with very good historical information on the building of the Mackinac Bridge.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great drawings, great story, and great history of the building of the bridge and its impact on the car ferry families.

[Steven Andersson]

A story set when the bridge was built, when my parents lived in St. Ignace. I bought this for my girls to tell them the history of those exciting times and of family history.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

would be a 5 star rating if those pics would have been bigger ... they were so so small .. i read it through a kindle? not sure if a real book would be different or not?