The NRM Education Team’s Summer Reading selections continue!
The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps, by Stephen Krensky, is recommended for a fifth through eighth grade reading level. This book is set in 1867 during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad from the eyes of Winnie Tucker, a ten-year old girl.
What the Education Team really loves about this book is the way the author captures humanity. Winnie is confused by the mistreatment of her friend Lee Cheng and the other Chinese workers. She questions her father, a mining engineer for the railroad, on why the treatment is happening, and her father does his best to answer her. The story is based on real events during the Transcontinental’s construction such as, the competition with the Union Pacific, the rustic way of life in railroad towns, the Chinese labor strike against the Central Pacific, and the dangers of building a railroad through mountains. The subject matter is handled well. Young readers will like the downtime activities Winnie embarks on and the summer friendship that develops between Winnie and Lee Cheng. At only 90 pages, this book will be a great daytrip read or a single afternoon read for a young reader.
The NRM Bookstore in Snoqualmie and at the Train Shed History Campus off Stone Quarry Road carry copies for purchase. If not, the King County Library System has it to borrow either as an eBook or a physical copy.
NRM’s next summer read will be an adult audience recommendation. Don’t worry grownups, you all get a vacation read recommendation too!
