The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser is a charming realistic fiction tale about the true meaning of home. When I first picked up this book, I had doubts about reading it; the cover art was only a bunch of tall buildings with a few tiny human silhouettes depicted in the windows. However, there’s so much more to those small shadows. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” has never been truer. The first book in a series of four and counting, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street follows the action-packed life of the boisterous Vanderbeeker family, consisting of five children aged four through twelve: Isa, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney, and three pets: a dog, a cat, and a rabbit. Set in a loving brownstone in modern New York City, the life of the Vanderbeeker family never gets boring; something is always happening. On a fateful afternoon just eleven days before Christmas, the children discover that their highly secretive landlord refusesto renew their lease. They quickly become determined to save their beloved home. They come up with plans, some ridiculous and some not, to win over their landlord who lives on the third story of their brownstone. The siblings make many failed attempts, and several only cause their landlord to be even angrier. The blend of suspense and typical family life are perfect in this book. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is peppered with details that make the overarching plot seem believable. I also enjoy how the book is told from different perspectives – although the story is written in third person, it reveals the thoughts and opinions of all five children. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street has amusing subplots, in this case separate goals that each child wants to achieve besides rescuing their home. They range from Laney teaching her pet rabbit tricks with her adored senior neighbor, to Hyacinth preparing the perfect Christmas gifts for her family, to the twins Isa and Jessie cooking a flawless holiday dinner without any burnt dishes. Better yet, a surprising plot twist comes up about two-thirds of the way through the novel. It shocked me when I first read it, but when I thought about it, there had been foreshadowing embedded into the earlier sections of the novel. While the book is officially recommended for ages eight to twelve, I feel like it would resonate better with slightly older children, perhaps ages ten to thirteen. To me, some of the plot might be too complex for an eight year old; the characters are also more relatable for older readers. This book is also ideal for fans of The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall; it has several similarities, including the aspect of a large family with many children. After reading both series, I found that a few of the characters in The Vanderbeekers series had a loose resemblance to the characters in The Penderwicks. For example, the independent and responsible character of Rosalind in The Penderwicks reminded me of Isa from The Vanderbeekers. Still, the plots of the two series are quite different; The Vanderbeekers series focuses more on family life with a sense of mystery while The Penderwicks series shifts more between family and school life. Overall, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser is an excellent read and a warm and satisfying story. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser. Houghton Mifflin, 2018. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
How Stories Work-Writing Workshop #10: Dystopias
An update from our tenth Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop led by contributors Liam Hancock, 13, and Madeline Kline, 13, held on Saturday June 19, plus some of the output published below For this week’s workshop, we had two special guests. Madeline Kline, 13, who is a part of William’s workshop, and our very own Liam Hancock, also 13, led the workshop on the topic of dystopian stories. The two young writers delved into a thorough definition of Dystopian Fiction, plus several recent popular examples of the genre. Many people reading contemporary fiction are likely familiar with this genre, as high-profile series like The Hunger Games and Divergent are bestselling examples. Maddie and Liam went through several examples, and challenged the writers present at this workshop to create their own story in the same vein. The Challenge: Either create a dystopian world or change an existing story to incorporate some of the dystopian elements discussed. The Participants: Madeline, Simran, Sophie, Svitra, Emma, Aditi, Olivia, Sinan, Harine, Sena, Emi, Noa, Josh, Isolde, Sasha, Samantha, Audrey Svitra Rajkumar, 13,(Fremont, CA) Past Memories Svitra Rajkumar, 13 Rose was running. Although she didn’t know what she was running from and where she was going, she just couldn’t stop running. Her heart pounded like it was going to burst out of her chest. She bent down gasping for breath and trying to make sense of her surroundings. Her brain was working slower than usual and her head felt dizzy from all the continuous running. She stared up at the bright blue sky. It was an unreal blue, like the color of the ocean except burnt. The ground beneath her began to crack and split apart, and soon she was falling. Rose felt as if she had been falling for hours but the scream couldn’t make it out of her mouth. It was stuck halfway up her throat. If you thought about it, falling was actually very peaceful before you reached the ground. How did she even get here in the first place? She couldn’t remember. Where was here? Add that to the extremely long list of things she didn’t know yet. Rose peered at the vivid orange clouds in front of her. The sun was starting to set and she still hadn’t seen any sign of a surface. She was tired of falling, looking at the same scenery. Though it was exotically beautiful it had also become quite boring. She missed the company of her friends and family. Rose wanted to leave this alternate world that she was stuck in. She closed her eyes and the brilliant hued clouds faded from her vision. It was dark. Rose couldn’t see anything. At one point she wondered if her eyes were even open. Was this a dream? Her memories flooded back to her, but they didn’t feel like her own. She felt around with her hands and touched a switch sort of thing. Rose flicked it upward but nothing happened. She waited for a few minutes but the room remained dark. Suddenly, the room filled with a warm glow, and she cringed away from the abrupt brightness. She was in a completely different area. Maybe even a different dimension… Was this a dream of some sort? Rose began to take in her new surroundings. She peered upward at the tall ceiling and the many sparkling chandeliers that dangled from it. Aditi Nair, 13, (Midlothian, VA) The Gift Aditi Nair, 13 A clattering drip-drop of rain frightened even the slightest bit of light. The wind whispered through the crowd, enveloping each individual in fear. They stood, open-eyed, awaiting the announcement–the moment of destiny. Avery was among the citizens. She spotted others brushing off the slightest bit of dust from their clothes, or as some called it, rags. When people from High Lethamade an appearance, they always had to look their best. The town square was usually a lively place with smiles and laughter, but it seemed as if even the weather wasn’t cooperating. “You are all gathered here for one reason, to make Letha a better place, a better home,” the tallest man on the podium elucidated. His eyes hid behind chestnut locks of hair, and everyone could sense the annoyance and lack of energy just from his voice. All knew the lies that he told. Letha was not complete; it was broken and empty. Split between the rich, poor, and the in-between. High Letha would have been a nice place to live if the denizens kept to themselves with humility. Avery rolled her pale blue eyes. It did not matter if the man who spoke forgot his line or if he messed up a little, but if she made the slightest wrong gesture, that would be her death wish. The Board could not stand differences, and no one went against their word. No one. “… living amongst the shadows of both the Rights and the Lefts, you should know where you stand. Thank you all, and I will now let my friend from The Board speak,” he concluded. His speech catalyzed a wildfire of murmurs. Avery nervously scanned the people around her. Everyone was talking about her sister, Aura. Aura was a Left. A rebel. The Board gave her the gift of dance, but her heart was in music. Anyone who went against or ignored their gift was deemed a criminal. Aura was a sweet and loving girl, but no one liked a Left.“ Hello, everyone. Glad you made it to this place. Avery Zecker, please come up to the podium for your gift,“ the member from The Board announced. The whispers halted; it was as if the world paused right before her eyes. Desperately grabbing onto the only sliver of hope, she prayed to receive the gift of Knowledge. “We, The Board, present to you a gift; the gift of prophecy.”
Book Club Report: The Jumbies, Tracey Baptiste
An update from our twenty-eighth Book Club meeting! On June 26, the Stone Soup Book Club met for its last meeting in this session. We discussed The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste, a book about Caribbean folklore and a girl named Corinne who must save her home from the evil jumbies. After our usual ARTT rooms, where our participants were given the prompt of talking about what books they planned to read over the summer, we had a whole group discussion about The Jumbies. Our conversation ranged from our favorite characters, to the complexities and nuances of the book’s villain, Severine, to the setting described by the author, and to themes within the story: such as family and bravery. Next, we brainstormed to think about what other fairy tales we know—and what cultures they are from. We compared various myths/stories, including those from Europe and China, and analyzed their similarities, differences, and how they connected to The Jumbies. Overall, we decided that most fairy tales have some sort of lesson—about wit, bravery, moderation, or family, for example— and many of them include supernatural or nonhuman elements; but they also vary in some ways. Some stories are about princesses and princes, while others are just about regular people. In some stories, the main character needs saving, and in others, it is the protagonist who is doing the saving. With all of this in mind, we set out to write our own fairy tales—about ourselves. Our participants were given the prompt of writing about something that happens to them in the summer, but with a fairytale twist of their choice. We shared out our stories and ideas in breakout rooms; they ranged from ones about mysterious forests, to characters who read a fairy tale—and then get sucked into it. It was really fun to hear what everyone thought of! Our final activity was more relaxed. Everyone went into breakout rooms for a few minutes just to talk about what books they liked, and then we switched the rooms around a few times. By the end, most people were able to find someone who liked the same book as them! Because Book Club will not be running over the summer, we did not choose a new book; a new book will be decided on in the fall. Stay tuned for information about our fall classes of Workshops and Book Club over the summer!
