Meet Me in St. Louis: A Trip to the 1904 World's Fair

By Robert Jackson and Robert Jackson

Book Overview

You are holding a ticket to one of the largest and most magnificent celebrations of all time -- the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair For seven months nearly twenty million visitors from around the globe flooded the fairgrounds of Forest Park. Many explored the twelve mammoth palaces (made of plaster and horsehair ), which showcased amazing exhibits. Others enjoyed watching the first Olympic Games in the United States, keeping cool all summer with a new treat that became an instant hit -- the ice-cream cone. And everyone loved viewing all 1275 acres of fairgrounds from atop the 265-foot Ferris wheel. Robert Jackson describes the planning, building, events, and memory of a fair that enthralled millions with its magic. In fascinating detail, he captures the energy and imagination of turn-of-the-century America, when fairgoers begged friends and family to meet them in St. Louis.

• Format: Unknown Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060092688
• ISBN13: 9780060092689
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: HarperCollins Canada, Limited
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.3" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grade 3 and higher

Customer Reviews

Meet Me in St. Louis: A Trip to the 1904 World's Fair

I am writting a novel set during this time period. One of the scenes takes place at the 1904 World's Fair. Meet Me in St. Louis gave me the background information that I needed. This book covers all aspects of the fair in a delightful and entertaining format. Anyone with the slightest interest in history will enjoy the descriptions of each of the attractions and will appreciate the effort required to host this great event. The St. Louis Fair brought together the optimism and the excitement that occured at a unique time in our history.

Great for kids and adults

I orginally purchased this book for my 8 year-old niece who is becoming interested in American history. After flipping through the book and being drawn in by the illustrations and their witty captions, I sat down and read the whole thing myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit about St. Louis to boot, including surprises such as the fact that the first Olympic Games to be held in America were at the St. Louis World's Fair. The author does an excellent job of not only bringing the fair to life, but puts it in the proper context of St. Louis and America. Indeed, one can almost smell the ice cream cones and hot dogs, two of the foods said to have been invented there. Nor does he ignore some of the less savory aspects of the Fair, such as the forced confinement of Filipinos in their semi-permanent exhibit under miserable conditions. All told, this was a wonderful book, which my niece very much enjoyed as well, after I finally coughed it up!

Brief, focused look at the fair

This book presents a good overview of how the fair came to St.Louis, the preparations for it, major ingredientes and what happened after that.This is an excellent choice if you are looking for a feel of the fair and the world at that time. The book starts with how the world was at that time and how the preparations for the fair took place and ends with a narration of what happened to the buildings (and the Ferris wheel) after the fair. It was interesting to read that the fair itself was forgotten until the 1944 film, "Meet Me in St.Louis".This answered a lot of questions that I had about the fair. If you are looking for a detailed view of the fair, I would recommend "Inside The World's Fair of 1904 - Volume 1 and 2" by Elana V. Fox.