Publishers Weekly
¡ï 01/04/2016
Corey¡¯s absorbing story of New York City¡¯s ill-fated first subway provides an ideal venue for the sculptural artistry of Chris Sickels, aka Red Nose Studio. Sickels (The Beginner¡¯s Guide to Running Away from Home) crafts stylized clay figures and furnishings with infinite care, then photographs them under dramatic lighting¡ªthey could be stills from a movie. In the 1860s, Alfred Ely Beach conceived of an underground train that could be propelled pneumatically. He oversaw the building of a short tunnel, a single car, the machinery to make it move, and a luxurious underground waiting room, complete with a fountain. ¡°Beach¡¯s train was a sensation,¡± writes Corey (Here Come the Girl Scouts!). A witty spread shows the car traveling to the right of the page, then back to the left, its momentum causing the wide-eyed, elaborately dressed passengers to sway. Shopkeepers and corrupt city leadership scotched the project, and it was forgotten, but Corey¡¯s account sheds light on the way that commonplace institutions are often preceded by false starts, error, and scandal. Ages 4¨C8. Author¡¯s agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. Illustrator¡¯s agent: Magnet Reps. (Mar.)