Need a STEM-themed library or classroom lesson for Native American Heritage Month (November) or September 11, 2001? To Walk the Sky by Patricia Morris Buckley fits all these!
Students will love this book for its many STEM connections, study of skyscrapers and bridges, and perilous working conditions the steelworkers encountered daily.
Author: Patricia Morris Buckley
Illustrator: E. B. Lewis
Genre: informational picture book
Setting: various skyscrapers and bridges in the USA and Canada
Themes: skyscrapers, bridges, engineering, STEM, Native Americans, First Nations, Iroquois, Mohawk, discrimination, dangerous jobs, Sept. 11, 2001, Quebec City Bridge collapse (1907 and 1916), US history, Canadian history
Protagonist: Native Americans in history who were sought-after skywalkers, or construction workers who built skyscrapers
Recommended for: PreS-5 (but I disagree with this - see my review for details)
Starred Reviews: Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and SLJ
Publication Date: January 28, 2025
High above the ground, generation after generation, Native workers called skywalkers have sculpted city skylines, balancing on narrow beams, facing down terrifying heights and heartbreaking loss.
These skywalkers who dared to touch the heavens have built a legacy of landmarks all over the North American continent—and even today, there are Native Americans still climbing up among the clouds, brave enough to walk the sky.
With impactful and illuminating prose, Patricia Morris Buckley (Mohawk) tells the soaring story of the remarkable skywalkers, whose bravery and tragedies are warmly captured in moving watercolors by award-winning artist E. B. Lewis (Lenni-Lenape).
So gorgeous! This is a great read-aloud choice for Grades 3-6.
This informational picture book tells the story of Iroquois and Mohawk steelworkers who built (and rebuilt) some of the most-famous bridges and skyscrapers across the USA and Canada. Their jobs were extremely dangerous, and many worked without safety harnesses and other safety equipment.
The book itself is an interesting read-aloud, but I disagree with some professional reviewers’ grade level recommendations. Publishers Weekly recommends PreS-Grade 3. Booklist recommends Grades K-3. SLJ and Kirkus both recommend Grades 1-5.
This is a picture book, but that does not automatically mean it’s great for the youngest elementary students. I personally would not read this book aloud lower than Grade 3. The book describes two tragedies, both of which had many casualties.
The Quebec City Bridge collapsed in 1907, killing 78 of 86 ironworkers. Sadly, some of the workers had family members watching from the banks of the St. Lawrence River when the bridge collapsed with their loved ones on it. The author’s great-grandfather was among those killed in the collapse. The great-grandfather is only mentioned in a separate “The Story of My Family” page, not in the main text of the book, but the bridge collapse is detailed in the story.
The other tragedy was the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks and collapse. This one has less detail in the story, and the number of deaths is not mentioned in the main text of the picture book.
Mentioning both disasters is necessary to the story and illustrates the dangerous working conditions. Both passages focus on loss and resilience. I do not object to the inclusion of the events; I do think preschool through Grade 1 are too young for these events in a library read-aloud.
While some could certainly handle it, I know some will have a hard time with it. For a whole-class read-aloud, I would choose something else for the little ones.
Nearly all characters are unnamed Native American steelworkers. The workers are mostly men, but women workers are mentioned on the last page.
The story describes fatal collapses of the Quebec City Bridge in 1907 and the Twin Towers in 2001. Be mindful when reading this to students younger than Grade 3; sensitive young readers may be upset by these tragedies.
