Hiawatha Passing

by Jeff Hagen

Book Overview

"A heartfelt evocation of a singular event: the passing of a train at night across a snowy midwestern landscape, as observed by a boy spending his first night at his grandparents' farmhouse." - Kirkus... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805018328
• ISBN13: 9780805018325
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.3" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Magical - a lifetime favorite!

This book takes me back to my own childhood visits to my grandparent's 100 year-old tin-roofed farmhouse along a train route in rural Pennsylvania. Now my 4 year-old son enjoys real-life "Hiawatha Passing" everytime we go to visit his great-grandparents and he gets to sleep in the upstairs bedroom facing the tracks. My son has memorized every word of this book including the postscript. The book is and will always be a family favorite. The story is captivatingly told and the illustrations are beautiful.

Hiawatha Legend

The author mentions that even though this book is recommended for ages 4 to 8, he's had a good response from all ages. For good reason. For adults, the beauty of this charming little book is that it evokes the wonder of that age, both of the little boy, but also the Great Depression when those Hiawatha trains began running. The railroad itself was in bankruptcy, as so many were, but through management and mechanical innovation, these powerful steam streamliners blasted their way into America's consciousness. To little boys, they were that magical machine to everywhere. To adults, they were a powerful symbol of optimism in despairing times. The Milwaukee Road's famous train was the fastest steam powered train service in history. Smaller engines of the same design had been static tested at 169 miles an hour. To children and adults, there was somethng mythological about these great machines; for the kids, it was travel and adventure, and there was nothing more exciting than these trains blasting past at 110 mph. For the adults, it was hope for better times, the thundering message of these amazing Milwaukee Road Hiawathas ... at every Hiawatha Passing.

Wonderful, exciting story.

Such a wonderful story. It really pulls you into it. I had the honour of meeting the authour; he is one of my 6 year old son's teachers. The paintings are perfect for the story. So well written, you are there with the boy watching the train zoom by the house. We read it again and again!!!!!