Going Up!
  • Published: 15 February 2014
  • ISBN: 9781770495166
  • Imprint: Tundra Books
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $16.99

Going Up!

Elisha Otis's Trip to the Top

Formats & editions
Paperback
15 Feb 2014
Hardback
15 Oct 2012
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The fourth book in Tundra's Great Idea Series of biographies for young readers, this is the story behind the invention of the elevator!

 In 1818, seven-year-old Elisha was fascinated by farm machinery. As a young man, he tried a variety of ways to make a living, but nothing fired his imagination more than the job he found in a bed-frame factory. Soon he invented a machine that made frames four times faster than ever before. In 1852, while overseeing the construction of a new factory, he had to find a way to move heavy machinery to the second floor. He didn't trust the hoisting platform, so he invented a safety brake. It was so successful that rather than lift machine parts, Elisha decided to build "people-hoisting machines." In 1857, Elisha Otis installed his first successful passenger elevator in a five-storey department store in New York City. Before Elisha's invention, buildings were never higher than six stories. At last it was possible to build skyscrapers!
  • Published: 15 February 2014
  • ISBN: 9781770495166
  • Imprint: Tundra Books
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $16.99
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About the author

Monica Kulling

Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832 in Pennsylvania and grew up in Concord, Massachusetts. She is best known for her books for children. The daughter of philosopher and reformer Amons Bronson Alcott, she was also a supporter of women's rights and an abolitionist. Family debts led her to write the autobiographical novel LITTLE WOMEN (1868). The book was a huge success, followed by LITTLE MEN, AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL, and several other novels.

Also by Monica Kulling

Susan B. Anthony: Her Fight for Equal Rights
Dr. Jo
Eliza Hamilton: Founding Mother
Alexander Hamilton: From Orphan to Founding Father
Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge
To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground
Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni's Ice Machine
See all

Praise for Going Up!

  “… In his realistic, fine-lined illustrations, Parkins … captures the narrative’s broad, high-energy tone in images of the inventor with eyes bulging, mouth wide open and arms flung out wildly during various Eureka! moments….”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Kulling gives lesser-known inventor Elisha Otis a lift in this latest entry into the Great Idea series…. [T]his picture-book biography gives a lively account of Otis’ world-changing invention. Caricatured expressions set against detailed backdrops add playfulness to the informative text.”
—Booklist