Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building

by Deborah Hopkinson, James E. Ransome (Illustrator)

This Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book and ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book provides a riveting brick-by-brick account of how one of the most amazing accomplishments in American architecture came to be. It’s 1930 and times are tough for Pop and his son. But look! On the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue, a building straight and simple as a pencil is being built in record time. Hundreds of men are leveling, shoveling, hauling. They’re hoisting 60,000 tons of steal, stacking 10 million bricks, eating lunch in the clouds. And when they cut ribbon and the crowds rush in, the boy and his father will be among the first to zoom up to the top of the tallest building in the world and see all of Manhattan spread at their feet.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Historical, Architecture, Construction, New York

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 4, 2004

About the author

I write nonfiction and historical fiction, picture books, and Golden Books. I speak at school, libraries, and conferences. I also love to garden and offer manuscript critiques. (Deborahhopkinson@yahoo.com)

NEW books in 2024 include DETERMINED DREAMER: THE STORY OF MARIE CURIE, illus by Jen Hill, ON A SUMMER NIGHT, illus by Kenard Pak, TRIM HELPS OUT and TRIM SAILS the STORM, illus by Kristy Caldwell, EVIDENCE! illustrated by Nik Henderson, and a nonfiction work called THEY SAVED THE STALLIONS. I'm delighted to say that Trim Helps Out, Trim Sails the Storm, On a Summer Night and Evidence! are all Junior Library Guild selections.

I live and work in Oregon and travel all over to speak to young readers and writers.

Reviews

[Chak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don't like books written in the second person, but that didn't seem to bother my son when I was reading him this book. He's a skyscraper freak, and don't even get me started on our lengthy conversations about Taipei 101 or Burj al-Arab vs. Burj Dubai, ok? Therefore, he easily got past the voice and the side-story of the hardscrabble times of the Great Depression and focused on the over-arching story of the building of the Empire State Building. The book has some fun statistics and interesting details about how the building was made. We particularly liked the part about the "riveting gang." They actually MADE the rivets fresh, on-site and hammered them in one by one! The fact that the ESB went up four and a half stories each week and was completely finished in one year and forty-five days with so much less technology than we have today puts current builders to shame, I think.

I guess I am a little bit of a skyscraper freak, too.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, rosy-eyed historical fiction tribute to the construction workers who thrust the Empire State Building to a record height into the sky during the Great Depression.

[Kari Kabat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read aloud for upper elementary.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Sky Boys, the historical building of the Empire State building is chronicled in free verse through a young boys eyes. The reader meets the young boy, scrounging for wood around the city. Pop's lost his job and times are tough. But there is hope in the form of a dream: a soaring tower which, once built, will be a beacon of hope in desperate times. Men line up to help each day. The reader learns how, steel column by steel column, the magnificent building goes up! At last, it is open and the boy's pop has saved their pennies so they both can take a ride to the top. Finally, as the building closes and they return to the street, the story ends with the hopeful boy glancing up at the shining light of the building.

What a fanastic story for K-2 graders. Authentic black and white photos are used to create a collage inside the covers of the actual building process. This is a unique story because it tells a fictional story of something historical in what feels like poetry. That helps to capture the emotion and movement. Students get an understanding of how that kind of writing can easily be used to describe this kind of event.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
Told from the the perspective of a young boy, as he watches the "world's most famous building (The Empire State building) take miraculous shape before his eyes,' readers experience every stage of the building process from clearing the area of debris, to sixty thousand tons of steel arriving on the "backs of rumbling flatbed trucks" to form the structure, watching the men "high overhead [as:] they crawl like spiders on steel, spinning their giant web in the sky, and the teamwork of these three thousand men, as "bit by bit, piece by piece like a giant, real-life puzzle...[until:] in November, the sky boys give a cheer. The skeleton has a skin-all one hundred and two stories are done!" Pop has "been putting [their:] pennies aside," so the two of them are able to take the "longest elevator ride of [their lives:]" up to the top of the Empire State Building. The amazement and wonder continue as the boy and his father are "on top of the world!" And as they arrive home that evening, they are able to see the the Empire State Building from their house in the distance.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book about the construction of the Empire State Building. I learned quite a bit about the pace of the construction as well as the timing, providing much-needed jobs for men during the Great Depression.

The oil paint illustrations are nicely detailed and the characters show the emotion of hard work and the troubles of living in Manhattan in those times.

This book was selected as one of the books for the April 2018 - Building and Engineering discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end pages of this book is really cool because it is actual pictures of the guys who built the Empire State Building, before the book goes in detail and explains how they built it. The pictures in the book are made with acrylics in a realism fashion. The arrangement of pictures and space is different on each page, as some are positive space with positive shape and others are negative space with positive shape. The pictures also have a horizontal line, to make the pictures look longer, as the tower gets taller. The dress of the subjects is representative of the 1930's era. The colors are also very bold and are representational with how high they are in the air or the time of day.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sky Boys tells the story of the thrilling, dangerous work in building The Empire State Building. As New Yorkers desperately try to find work during The Great Depression, they are truly amazed by the massive undertaking. This story is told in simple terms so that the youngest child can envision the daring steps it took to erect the building.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of people in my class didn't like this book, and did bring up several valid issues with it. However, I really liked it and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot as a child as well. Urban history and things like that have always appealed to me

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great detailed description on construction and context.

[Lili Li]

< Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building >
If you read this book, you probably noticed that the kid who was talking throughout the book said "if your ears start to hurt, you can swallow."And I always experienced ears hurt when having a sudden turn down. So when I read that sentence, I was really confused thinking "why do they say if your ears start to hurt, you can swallow?"If you ever wondered the same thing, here is the answer to the question. Because the ear will be blocked when your body is at high altitudes. The pressure of the air changes along as the altitude changes. This creates pressure difference on both sides of the eardrum. You may feel your ears hurting as a result.

[Parent's review]
Sky Boys
About ten years ago, my husband and I visited the Empire Sate Building. But back then, we never did any research about its history before going there as some random tourists. I was, and am still, awed by its magnificence when we entered the grand lobby, and even more when we were looking down at the New York City from the observation deck. Now this book finally helped me make up the history piece that I missed ten years ago.
Built in the years of Great Depression, it still reminds of the people in United States that how versatile they can be and why we should never lose hope even in the most difficult times. I worry a lot about “what if we never recovered from the next big recession” (I never doubt there would be another recession soon.) When I was reading that book, I wondered, why they would still wanted to this “tallest building in the world” (at that time) during that economical crisis, why not to save the cash and waited till time looked better? Note, the building was started in 1930, it’s time when the economical index plummeted. After reading that book, I saw this sentence on the back cover of the book, “A symbol of hope”, with a painting of Empire Sate Building in rosy sunset/dawn light. And I realize, yes, that’s the answer: to give people hope, even in the darkest time.

[Amber Staker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot by reading this book. I had no idea that the Empire State Building was built so quickly. This book does an amazing job showing all the work it took to build this fantastic building. I also learned a lot of new vocabulary words pertaining to the equipment and jobs of the builders. I think students would enjoy reading this book too. The illustrations are nicely drawn, but the beginning and end of the book have actual photos from when it was being built, which really depicts the equipment that was used and how high up the people were when building. Throughout the book it is describing the Great Depression, which was happening during the building of the Empire State Building. There definitely could be a lesson or discussion about that while reading this book to students. Also, you could teach about New York City, the geography and culture of it. It would be a different way of life, especially to those that live in a rural area. An actual trip to see the building would be great after reading this book, but even a virtual tour would help students understand the size and beauty of this building.

[Victoria Swisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, a young boy and his father watch as hundreds of men begin to build what would eventually become the Empire State Building in New York City. The book explains many different facts about the construction of the empire state building, such as how many men worked to build it, what materials were used and how much, and how long the building took to construct. At the end of the book, when the Empire State Building is finally complete, there is a grand opening and the boy's father surprises him with a trip to the very top. I thought his was a great book! I especially loved the illustrations. I also thought that it was interesting how the author wrote the book as fictions, with a fictional character telling the story and visiting the building with his father, but all of the facts and descriptions of how the building was built was real, factual information. I would include this book in my class to talk about important American landmarks and how they came to be.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by the Empire State Building and having this much detail in a book for children is amazing to me. In my mind, it is a first purchase as it will tie so nicely into STEM activities in the media center of my schools. It also could be used by our staff who teach a bit about The Great Depression and show the spirit and joy this building brought to the many people living nearby. For those of us interested in architecture there is plenty of detail that will hold our interest through out the story and in the end notes. I love that they included a bit of information about the sources they used to create this fabulous book! Once again, I am impressed and grateful for the work of both Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome and I look forward to seeking out their work over and over again.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet book whose inner story details the work of the construction men who built the United States' tallest building (at the time).  The outer story certainly appears to be an "in" into the construction men's working lives rather than an important part of the story, but it still manages to be sweet and heartwarming.  The illustrations, at times, felt a little oddly structured at time, but the beautiful lyricism of the text ("canyons of Manhattan," "steel forest") certainly made it up to me.  Overall, this is an informative book, and perfect for a young one who loves construction sites, skyscrapers, or New York City.

Review cross-listed here!

[Hannah Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning more about how the Empire State Building was made through reading this book. I haven't been to it the actual building but I have been to New York City so that so I enjoyed thinking back on my trip while reading this book. I also have a new appreciation for the many men that worked on it because there is no way in the world that I would be able to go up as high as they had to. It was also neat how it gave a look into what it was like during the Great Depression and the struggle of finding a job. I would definitely add this to my future classroom library.

Genre: historical fiction
Reading level: 5-6

[Patricia Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: historical fiction, grades 2-4
Deborah Hopkinson is one of my all time favorite middle grades authors, so when I saw that she wrote for younger readers too I had to check it out! I was not disappointed. The story was so interesting, I only wish there had been more detail. I'm sure that it will inspire students to look up more on their own time! I also really loved the illustrations. They made me feel like I was precariously balancing up high on a beam. I also loved that real pictures were included on the inside cover. This is a great read and a wonderful introduction to historical fiction!

[Liz Weimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informational Nonfiction
Primary (2-3)

I thought this book had a lot of interesting information and gave an appropriate amount of detail for the age range. There was a lot I didn't even know about the Empire State Building that I learned from this book. I think some of the info might get lost in the story and it may not be as obvious for younger students who can't separate hard fact from added in information or character interactions. Overall I enjoyed this read and I think it would be a great addition to the classroom, but I do think this could be a lesson about including fictional ideas and characters into a nonfiction book.

[Amanda Vander hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes really quickly and is great for a read-aloud. It looks at how the Empire State was built and the processes that went into building it. It has great pictographic evidence that helps demonstrate processes in a clarifying way rather than trying to just explain it with text. This book melds text and illustration together to help create a cohesive whole that demonstrates some basic architectural knowledge and demonstrates how a great piece of architecture was created.


Hopkinson, D. Ill. Ransome, J. (2006, February 28). Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. Toronto, Canada: Schwartz & Wade Books.

[Jessica Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grades-3-5
Genre: Historical Fiction

This is a good book full of great history of how the Empire State Building was built and I think it would be a good asset in the classroom for a student to pick up during reading time and learn about a famous building while reading or to use for a project presentation topic. I also enjoyed reading this book because New York City is known for some amazing buildings and this book helps to emphasize that by telling the story of how one of the most amazing buildings there was built.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"... bold, SOARING. A symbol of hope in the darkest of times."

Opened on May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building took 1 year and 45 days, 7 million man-hours, and more than 3,000 men to build. Great details of the construction of the building, including terms like Rocket Boys, Heaters, Catchers, Bucker-ups and Gunmen to add flair to the writing.

There is an author's note and slight bibliography in the back and the end pages include actual photographs of the workers and construction site. For more information, go to www.esbny.com

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, of the five Hopkinson children's books I read today, was my favorite. Not only did James Ransome illustrate the narrative beautifully, but Hopkinson created a lilting poetic feel to most of the narrative even though the vast majority formed free verse that could be mistaken for simple prose as well.
She told the history without becoming pedantic, something I sincerely appreciate in children's literature.

I definitely recommend this book.

[Pat Salvatini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early in the Great Depression life was grim, folks were out of work and money was tight. The race to build the tallest building had begun and was sparking the interest of the people of New York. Hopkinson and Ransome recreate the excitement with well paced text filled with interesting facts and detailed colorful illustrations. Historical black and white photographs decorate the endpapers, author’s and source notes give additional information.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

How fascinating, seeing how the work was done by the "sky boys", men who built the Empire State Building. This book captures the hard scrabble work and optimism of the early 20th century. Illustrations by James E. Ransome feature angles that really make you feel you're at dizzying heights, looking down on the jobless men who wait to do your job if you can't. Great book for kids who like construction, math or are daredevils!

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follows the building of the Empire State Building through the eyes of a boy living in New York.

This is really good at both being about the building and the people who built the building (and not just in a "people x did job y" kind of way).

And the scale of things -- the physical scale of the Empire State Building, but also of how rough things were in the Depression and also the timescale of the Empire State Building being built -- really comes through.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way to long for storytime, but a great book to read with kids for STEAM exposure. I thought it was a wonderful book, filled with struggle and Majesty. Perhaps we've forgotten what it's like to work together, in difficult times, toward a common goal. It is a beautiful thing and makes me appreciate this building so very much more.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of the “kid’s dad is part of amazing historical thing” so I was glad the kid was only in the beginning and the end, and his dad didn’t work on the building. LOVED the pictures!! The illustrator did a nice job showing the stages of the building in different ways. The different jobs, timeline, and backdrop of the Depression were all nicely explained.

[June Brault · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd - 5th Grade
Genre: Historical Fiction

This is a great book that has fantastic illustrations. The illustrator took many famous pictures and made them into illustrations. The storyline is fun and sweet as well as explaining the importance and the history of how the Empire State Building was made.

[Ryan Koontz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Level: Early Primary
Genre: Historical Fiction
This story highlights the construction of the Empire State Building. Through the eyes of a curious boy, you get to see all of the people and effort that went into building this skyscraper, along with seeing how grand it was at the time. Definitely a fun read.

[Amy]

photographs in front and back
note in back
It was the tallest building in the world when completed in 1931.
It set records for how quickly it was constructed.
esbnyc.com - number 1 tourist attraction in world
skyscraper.org - Skyscraper Museum - website contains interactive graph of world's tallest buildings from 1890 to present