Bridges

Children's Literature

The construction and purpose of bridges is explained in this book from the "Smart Structures" series. Both natural and man-made bridges are used as examples in the introduction, "Bridges as Structures." The shapes used in the construction of bridges are described in "Looking at Bridges." "The Parts of a Bridge" explains the different components of bridges and how bridges must be flexible. "Building Materials" describes the materials used for building past, present, and future bridges. The next chapter, "Bridge Design," explains different types of bridges and how they are built. "Building Bridges" describes the steps taken to build various bridges. "Working Bridges" explains the maintenance that must be performed to keep them in working order. "Bridges that Went Wrong" describes engineering mistakes and the resulting disasters (such as the Millennium Footbridge). "Amazing Bridges" describes some of the more interesting bridges of the world. The final chapter "Using Models to Learn About Structures," encourages children to build their own bridges with construction sets. The book is well illustrated with drawings, diagrams, and photographs. New words are set off in bold type and defined both on the page on which they appear as well as a glossary. This book is a must-buy for a fledgling engineer. 2003, Smart Apple Media, Ages 8 up.
— Amie Rose Rotruck