The Great Wheel

I am an adult and bought a used hardcover edition of this wonderful book. Written in 1957 so African-Americans are referred to as Negroes. That's the way it was, but the story takes place in 1893 or there abouts and is accompanied by illustrations provided by the author himself. Conn, a teenager from Ireland, is told his fortune based on the tea leaves in the bottom of his cup by his Aunt Honora. I love the use of language in the dialogue. Is Conn's fortune of going west and riding a great wheel fulfilled? Did you notice the books title?Can Conn learn any job he's handed faster than most? Why does everyone seem to like him so? Will he wed his cousin Agnes who loves him? How is this gigantic wheel constructed in the cold of a Chicago winter?I was caught up in the tale from beginning to end and think you will be, too.

Well written book on a topic of interest to us. We enjoyed it.

I have always been intrigued with the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. This book would be of interest to anyone who likes all things related to the fair, or historical fiction. Suitable for junior high through adult.

Interesting book about the first Ferris Wheel and how it was constructed and the operated during the 1893 World's Fair.

I am looking for books my grandsons would enjoy. I found this book about the first Ferris wheel built quite interesting.

The Great Wheel is a good educational book about the first Ferris Wheel. It's an easy read. We enjoyed it.

My 6th and 2nd grade boys and I read The Great Wheel together for our homeschool curriculum. We really enjoyed it! The story was both educational and engaging.Conn is a poor young Irishman who leaves his home to come to America to work for his uncle in New York. But Conn knew that he had more of a journey ahead. Before leaving Ireland, his fortune-teller aunt told him that he will go to the west and ride the greatest wheel. After successfully working in NY for a while, Conn has the opportunity to work with a different uncle building a humongous wheel for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Fate seems to lead him west to build Mr. Ferris' great wheel.The characters in the story kept it interesting and the details made it educational. From the history of the famine in Ireland to the Westward expansion in the US, there is a lot of history covered in this book. We also loved reading about the details of the Ferris wheel, from the very first concrete poured into huge holes with steam to keep it from freezing to the shiny brass number plates and huge windows in the passenger cars on the wheel. Conn works in every area, so the reader gets to see the challenges of his work and the celebrations of his accomplishments.This is definitely a book that I would recommend for the kiddos. Some of the mechanical details made it a little tough for youngest to follow, but he liked the story overall. My oldest found those details fascinating and listened to me read with interest throughout the entire book.

The first half of this story was honestly very boring for me to even read to my sons, and I nearly gave up, but didn't want to, since I thought the subject matter would interest my sons. The problem I had with it is that the accents given to people are hard for me to even understand (and believe me, I read them using accents, which I did pretty well, but the way the words are typed up made it difficult).Conn seeks his fortune from Ireland into NYC to work for an uncle, when another uncle picks him up to do another job. The whole story also revolves around a German girl that Conn met on the boat.The whole building of the Ferris wheel in this story took a lot of time that also made this boring. There were some good portions, but it dragged during the middle especially. I almost said, "Let's go to the next book." I know that one of my sons didn't care for this story while they other one really enjoyed it a lot. I guess it was worth it. I don't know how historically accurate this story is in regards to Mr. Ferris and the building of his wheel, either.