Cool Off and Ride!: A Trolley Trip to Beat the Heat

by Claudia Friddell (Author) Jenn Harney (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

This historical picture book about 1930s Baltimore residents beating the heat the old-fashioned way--by riding a trolley!-- is filled with fascinating information on public transit and staying cool before the advent of air conditioning.

Everyone in Baltimore is hot and sticky, from little Hazel playing on the slide to the grandma knitting on the porch. So when evening comes, they all jump at the chance for a little "cool off and ride." The whole neighborhood-from the Taylor twins to Grandpa, and even the dog!--piles onto a breezy homemade roller coaster, a city trolley!

In this charming, rhythmic romp, Claudia Friddell and Jenn Harney take us back to a time before air conditioning when you had to cool off any way you could. And the Cool Off and Ride Program was certainly a popular way! More than 8,000 people rode the trolleys every evening in the summer. Taking the streetcar brought the whole neighborhood together, and everyone's fares helped keep the Baltimore streetcars running. This STEAM title is a terrific read-aloud that will also educate kids about weather and the history of transit in the United States.

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

A gently humorous depiction of a city's effort to beat the heat.

Review quotes

 
Claudia Friddell
Claudia Friddell is the author of several children's books, including To the Front!: Clara Barton Braves the Battle of Antietam, Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call: The Heroic Story of WWI Telephone Operators, and Saving Lady Liberty: Joseph Pulitzer's Fight for the Statue of Liberty. She has worked with children throughout her career, which included being a therapist, a school counselor, and a teacher.

Jenn Harney is the illustrator for CATastrophe!: A Story of Patterns, "Smelly" Kelly and His Super Senses: How James Kelly's Nose Saved the New York City Subway, and Probably a Narwhal. She has worked as both an author and illustrator of children's literature for over twenty years.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781635926842
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Calkins Creek Books
Publication date
July 11, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV023000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | City & Town Life
JUV009100 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Seasons
JUV041000 - Juvenile Fiction | Transportation | General
Library of Congress categories
-

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