New York City in the 1860s was crowded and dirty, with no subways--just cobblestone streets, wagons, stagecoaches and horses. People from "politicians to peddlers" wanted to improve the chaotic roads, but it was Alfred Ely Beach, a publisher and inventor, who had a bold vision of an underground train. The Secret Subway by Shana Corey (You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer) is the engagingly told story of Beach's ill-fated invention, illustrated by Red Nose Studio (Here Comes the Garbage Barge!) with astounding, atmospheric photographs of hand-built sets and clay-sculpted characters. The haunting faces and shadowy 3-D effects (all explained in a fascinating fold-out) will draw readers into--and under--the streets of 19th-century New York.
Beach knew that Boss Tweed, who ran the city at the time, might try to block his large-scale idea, so the plucky inventor sneakily pitched his subway idea as a pneumatic underground mail tube. Then, in the dead of night, he and his crew started digging a tunnel under Devlin's Clothing Store in Lower Manhattan that would eventually be 294 feet long. He invited New York's bigwigs to see his "railroad of the future," and, in time, Beach was charging 25 cents a ride. Beach's invention died on the vine, however, only to be unearthed again in 1912 when workers were drilling tunnels for another train. An author's note further rounds out the history.
The Secret Subway is not only a visual extravaganza, it's an inspiring story of can-do spirit, good old-fashioned gumption and a fun peek below the surface of New York City. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness