Built to Last: Building America's Amazing Bridges, Dams, Tunnels, and Skyscrapers

Built to Last: Building America’s Amazing Bridges, Dams, Tunnels, and Skyscrapers

Written by George Sullivan

Book design by Nancy Sabato

Published by Scholastic Inc.

Copyright 2005

128 pages

Nonfiction

         

Built to Last is a book about different man-made structures in the United States. The book includes the Hoover Dam, the George Washington Bridge, and the Statue of Freedom. The book includes facts about different structures. How are these structures built?

It seems like Nancy Sabato used the computer to design the book. The mixture of modern pictures and older pictures add to the subject matter of the book. The use of two pages for the picture of the Sears Tower helps the reader visualize the height of the tower. The photos are important to the book, because drawings would not fit the nonfiction topic.

This book would be useful in a fifth or sixth grade classroom. Some of the vocabulary in the book would be too difficult for students in earlier grades. This book could be used for a social studies lesson. Students could create a timeline of when the different structures were built. This book could also be used for a science lesson. Students could research different materials used to make structures. This book could also be used for a writing lesson. Students could write a story about a structure using facts they learned. This book was nominated for a Grand Canyon Award in 2009. It was also chosen by the Children’s Book of the Month Club.