The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal

by Cheryl Harness

IMPOSSIBLE!
When De Witt Clinton, a young politician, first dreams of building a canal to connect the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, folks don't believe such a thing can be done. But eight long years after the first shovelful of earth is dug, Clinton realizes his vision at last. The longest uninterrupted canal in history has been built, and it is now possible to travel by water from the American prairie all the way to Europe!
Join Cheryl Harness on a fascinating and fun-filled trip as she depicts the amazing construction and workings of the Erie Canal. From the groundbreaking ceremony on the Fourth of July in 1817 to a triumphant journey down America's first superhighway, it's a trip you definitely don't want to miss.

Genres: History, Picture Books, American History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Historical, School

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Author and illustrator. Worked variously as a student teacher, waitress, short-order cook, portrait artist, and needlework designer. Greeting-card artist for Hallmark Cards and Current. Presenter at schools.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

I met the author shortly after she wrote this book. She certainly found her niche with these historical books. I have a fondness for books about the Erie Canal because I live in Rome, where the canal was first begun, and because part of the original 1817 "Clinton's Ditch" is behind my house. I especially like this book because she emphasizes how important the Erie Canal was, not just to New York State, but to the opening of the West and westward expansion, which I hadn't known before. The U.S. might only have been half its size and the other half owned by the French if the Erie Canal hadn't made access to the Great Lakes area and Ohio Valley so much easier. An outstanding book, and highly recommended!

[Luisa Knight]

I knew nothing about the building of the Erie Canal and found it a good, informative read! I liked the pictures too - nicely detailed with life and maps showing the procession of the building.

Ages: 6 - 12

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[Hannah Gies]

I love this book! Having a canal lock right outside our back window, as well as enjoying the "towpath trail" regularly, has given me a deeper appreciation and love for the canal. It's origin is truly an amazing story. This book has tons of facts and details.

[Maxwell Vahila]

A lot of info about the Erie Canal

[Karen]

Ellie read for November Pizza Hut Reading challenge..krb 11/26/16

Ellie is learning to play the song Low Bridge, Everybody down on the piano so it was a perfect time to read this book again....krb 1/20/17

[Shaeley Santiago]

Fascinating book about building the Erie Canal. The illustrations include maps and diagrams about the workings of the canal. Would be a great supplement for a U.S. history class.

[Kathryn]

The illustrations are beautiful and full of detail but the overall presentation was just a bit overwhelming to me as there are many handwritten words and labels per page, in addition to the story proper. I would recommend this independent readers who enjoy poring over illustrations. It is challenging as a read-aloud. Also, I personally would have liked more about the actual building of the canal -- this is covered in just a few brief pages with the majority of the book discussing the maiden voyage on the canal and I just didn't find that as interesting, though I imagine other readers may feel differently.

[Karen]

The building of the Erie Canal was certainly an amazing feat. I have read quite a bit about it in the past and this book fell a bit short in not including more of the incredible obstacles that had to be overcome in building the canal. Most of the book focuses on the celebration trip from Buffalo to Albany at the opening of the canal.
The illustrations are very detailed. I enjoyed tracing the canal along the various pages of maps chronicling the celebration trip. For kids I think there is too much detail that isn't very well explained.
All in all I thought the book was very interesting.

[Jim]

loved this! reminds me of the maps that came w/national geographic when i was a kid. there was the map proper, but then you look real close than there was smaller writing that made the map much much bigger w/all the fun stuff the tiny writing added. This book can be read as a straight history, or when looking at the smaller sidebars it becomes a simon winchester style book for kids.
and it isn't fair to other kid lit creators that Cheryl Harness is a fantastic writer. and amazing artist. and brilliant designer.
my first 6star book of the year

[Angie]

This book was entertaining and educational for children and parents alike this evening. My one complaint is the busy design with lots of additional information beyond the text. This reader was left wondering how to navigate each page - what to read first. But it is packed with lots of great information about the building and features of the Erie Canal, along with much historical information about its construction and opening events. Google a video of how locks work, if you’ve never seen it. We were amazed!

[Debra]

This paperback book is presented in an illustrated story version focusing on the need for the canal and its building. It is well done with excellent maps maps and the hoopla that surrounded the completed building of the canal and the celebration. Page 38 and 39 give us 2 photographs of Syracuse NY in 1870s and then again in 1915

[Sandy]

I am usually a fan of this type of history book - but this one I didn't find as engaging as others. It was a huge engineering feat and the Erie Canal definitely provided huge advantages to the US as a growing country in trade. But, I found the book a little long winded as I read it to my children.

[M]

Nice picture book for children that explains the Erie Canal. I wish they'd spent more time talking about how it was built and what it meant to our country. Most of the book focused on the maiden journey for the "wedding of the waters."

[Cala]

Super book introducing the Erie Canal to kids. My 5 yo enjoyed learning about the Canal as I read it aloud. There are many maps to look at and follow. I like the interactive nature of this, but makes it a bit difficult to read aloud.

[EmberJenn]

I used this in my homeschool with a 4th grader and just re-read it today to see if I want to schedule it in again. I love the illustrations and the maps, but the text is a bit boring. Still, it's a decent book if you are looking for something about the Erie Canal. :-)

[Becker Children]

I think we might have liked this book better if it focused more on the actual building of the canal and less on the political efforts to create and fund it, and the celebratory cruise for its opening.

[Seema Rao]

The story of building the canal told for younger readers. The images and text feel a little dated.

[Melissa]

Informative and interesting.

[Shari]

Wonderful and detailed illustrations and maps however story fell a little flat. Hard for kids to follow when many of the terms were not explained. I

[Rebecca]

Great illustrations and packed full of information. To be read again when the subject comes up so you can soak up more of the details, many over the heads of my 5 yo, but was introduced to them.

[Robyn Klepfer]

Ok for an introduction to the subject but kind of hard to follow for a read-aloud. Beautiful illustrations.

[Sara]

I love picture books. This one celebrates the first trip down the Erie Canal... intended for elementary children, I'll still use it with 8th graders.

[Marleah]

Pretty good story about the Erie Canal. The illustrations were wonderful.

[Adam T. Calvert]

Good read on the Erie Canal and the context surrounding it.

[Elizabeth S]

Absolutely fascinating. Both tells a story and gives anecdotes and statistics about the famous Erie Canal.

[Heather]

Excellent! Wonderful resource for our unit on the Erie Canal.

[Nicole Fanning]

While not a living book, this is still an interesting read. It’s engaging and lively. Very informative on the history and geography associated with the Erie Canal. I’d recommend for ages 6-9.

[Cheryl]

The maps were very interesting. I wish she showed how horses went off & on the boats and how they were attached to pull.

[Heather]

The book was not what I expected. The majority of it is about the first trip on the Erie canal, going from town to town, lots of people excited, fireworks, etc. Much of the story was just telling how town A was very excited, and then town B was very excited! Very little interesting or educational in those pages.

There were only about 8 pages talking about the need for the canal, the efforts to get it build, how long it took, etc. Nothing at all in the main text about the building of it or how it worked, just a few tiny little sidebars that were not as informative as they could be. There should have been a whole 2-page spread on the locks and the how and why, but it's a tiny bit of text over a 1/3 page illustration. Lots ofand the need for them and how they worked, and instead it's relegated to a tiny bit of text overlaying a 1/3 page illustration.

Little side notes in tiny print say "Malaria killed hundreds of diggers in the Montezuma Marshes." or "Thousands of trees had to be gotten out of the way of the canal." Those are the sorts of things the main text should have focused on, not the festivities on the inaugural voyage!

The book has gorgeous illustrations, but that's about all that we found interesting. It's a shame; it had the potential to be a great book. Instead, most of the book is spent trying to create feeling of excitement with chronicling all the celebrations, but there's very little sense of what we should be excited about.

[Katherine]

363 miles of vision and construction. Book follows the first parade and use of the canal. Documents what it meant to the area. As always, has Harness's stunningly detailed illustrations that could almost be a book of themselves.