The Bridge Is Up!

by Babs Bell, Rob Hefferan (Illustrator)

When the bridge goes up, all the vehicles, including the car, bike, and tractor, and their animal passengers have to wait in a long line until it comes back down and they can all get moving on their merry way once again.

Genres: Picture Books, Transport, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Juvenile, Fiction

Hardcover

First published February 17, 2004

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic storytime book! The repetition is great, and it offers a wonderful chance for an interactive story, as the kids can name the vehicles each time. I taped pictures of the vehicles up on a white board so they could see them better, and they said the vehicle name each time I pointed to it. Also, a wonderful lesson in patience. Loved it!

[Story · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book. Very predictable and lacking a good plot. I understand this was probably written for toddlers but I found that the writing was poor as well and I'm not sure even a small child would enjoy this

[K.C. Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to explain to children that sometimes you just have to wait!

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 2 out of 5]

96/365

Liked the story but wasn't enjoying the art.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story so much. How often do you find a story about a bridge that has gone up? Talk about bridges! Good for memory skills.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

We did an arm motion that kept our bridge up for every page spread until the very end of course. I like bringing in that movement to a story.

[Sven Robertson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The suspense in this book was there from the start. A bus of tourists heading to see some attraction are driving down the road only to find that the bridge...is UP! The bus has nowhere to go. The driver and the passengers must wait for the bridge to go back down. Will it descend or is it a trap? Are these just tourists mere lambs waiting to be slaughtered?

A car. A motorcycle. A man on a bicycle. A truck. So many others head down this lonely country road only to find that the bridge...is UP! The car can't go. The bus can't go. The bicycle surely can't go. No. They cannot go. The bridge...is UP. I read this book waiting for someone to snap. After all, people have places to be. Some of the animals waiting for the bridge do NOT seem like they are happy campers at all. Heck, some of those in the back of the line have their view blocked. They might not even realize why the traffic is not moving. They might not know that the bridge...is UP!

No one can go. NO ONE! This is building for what has to be an awesome climax...

I kept waiting for action during this whole book. Does someone eventually go to see what is happening? Is the bridge malfunctioning? Are there any fears that one of the animals will turn on the others? Do any of these characters even talk to each other?

Alas, no. No, they don't. The bridge eventually descends and everyone just drives away.

And now you just read to your child a book that is literally about waiting. That's it--just waiting. It does depict different modes of transport, so that is okay I guess, but it had the potential. Some of the pictures are cute, but there is no real lesson here or even a plot. The only redeeming quality is the song-like refrain.

My kid thought it was okay, but she asked me questions about what they were doing, why they were sitting there, etc. There is no answer other than, "Well, everyone has to wait."

"Daddy, you are just reading what the book says!"

"Yep. Okay, you want to talk physics or something? The bridge is up and they can't get over."

I'm glad we got it from the library. We always read books at least twice, even terrible books. As I was reading it the second time, I kept thinking, "Boy, I hope this book is over soon. I will just have to wait."

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Pajama Story Time on 9/26/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Baby Lap Time on 10/4/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Toddler Lap Time on 10/11/12:
http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Toddler Lap Time on 10/12/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Moms Club Story Time on 11/9/14: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Avneendra]

A great book to teach preschoolers about "mode of transportation".

My 3 year old surprised me and my wife - when I pointed to a vehicle and said "tractor", she said "No, this one" - I said "yes, it's tractor" - she said "No, this one" - this went on few times when I realized I was pointing to a bulldozer and calling it tractor. I accepted my defeat "Oh sorry, that's bulldozer" - she said a triumphant "yes" and moved on to next page.

So my 3 year old outwitted me for the first time - making me and my wife gleam with proudness!! Highly recommend this book :-)

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and straight forward text that repeats. A story that can easily be read (and memorized) by young children. Once the tone is set, the audience is comfortable jumping in one the repeated lines. I can see many uses for this story in a storytime or classroom setting.

2012 storytime theme: bridges
2017 storytime theme: Build a Better World - Bridges
Additional themes: cumulative, transportation, stuck in a rut, stop & go

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Misty Phelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute but short story for any train lover, under the age of 10 that is. The story is a bit repetitive for an older reader, but that repetition is exactly what children love. Also the illustrations in this book are wonderful and appear to be created using pastel. Overall, an enjoyable read and a must-read for any children who love trains.

[Catherine Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple story about different vehicles all in a queue to cross a bridge, but the bridge is up. It starts with one vehicle and builds up to quite a few all waiting. The simplicity of the plot helps with the repetition. Very re-readable picture book for 2-5 year olds. Lots of colours and different objects to chat about with your children.

[Maggie KutsBorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coulda/woulda/shoulda made a more clever prop or flannel for this book. I had images of each vehicle to add to my flannel board but no way to make them go over the bridge (and no bridge, for that matter). Room for improvement. Prop aside, this is a strong choice for a toddler "things that go" storytime - the repetition makes it an easy and fun one to read aloud.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son asked me to read this book three times in a row this evening. That hasn't happened since "My Truck is Stuck" by Daniel Kirk. I enjoy reading it because I read the lines about the bridge being up and the bus can't go etc...and sooooo..?? My son answers "Everyone has to wait." I think it's adorable therefore this book is a winner in my world.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both Frank (4 1/2) and Elise (1 1/2) loved this book. It's totally short and easy to read, and even Elise had enough of an attention span to get through it. It doesn't have any great moral or anything. It's very repetitive, but both the kids really enjoyed it.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun story for my Tiny Tots group. Using the repetitive phrase "The bridge is up", I had the children raise one arm. Even saw some of the older children mouth the other repetitive phrase "so everyone had to wait"!

[Edna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book that has animals driving different vehicles and having to wait until a bridge descends before they can each continue on their way. Rough rendition of the House that Jack Built with adding a new vehicle on subsequent pages. Crayon illustrations are bright and very cute.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is always a hit at story time.

[Thia]

repetitive, construction

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a hit at storytime after I made it into a little repetative sit down/stand up game. This could be used in a transportation unit as it features several types of vehicles.

[Stephanie Wycihowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

cut story for a transportation or traffic jam theme for storytime!

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is out of print which is a shame because my children all love it. It provides a great carrier phrase and opportunity for language learning.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun repetitive book for a little kid.

[Kristin Millward-Anastas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book helped us get past the grammatical issue of "not can't", which was popular in our household until we read this book over and over. It is also super cute.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuck in a Rut Storytime!

[Jaime Ann Sanborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent story for teaching different modes of transportation!

[Anaeka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't work. Talks about all the automobiles and animals standing for the bridge to be open again. Could work but didn't for A at this point.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must for anyone who lives in Portland, regardless of age.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might make a nice flannel. Simple repitition and kids here might even know what it's like to wait for a bridge lift!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, 4 stars because it's such a predictable text that I get bored of it, but 5+ stars from my 2 & 4 year old boys. They could almost repeat the whole story after a few readings. They loved it!