The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
Read to the 9yo, 7yo and 5yo.
I was hoping for 'updated Elizabeth Enright' vibes, and that's what we got! The characters were spunky and unique, the biracial element was a unifying force, and the children were generally kind, untidy, loving, interesting, creative little weirdos. Just like my kids. Everything moved very swiftly along in terms of plot (this was not a challenging or time intensive read At. All.), chapters were short, attitudes were pretty good, parents not the loveable buffoons they are so often portrayed as these days, all in all a good read aloud. A few negatives, easily glossed over: a child character says "freakin'" in conversation, as in 'she has to practice violin in the freakin' basement'. Not really a problem, I just didn't read it, but it seemed unnecessary. The elderly upstairs neighbour is referred to dismissively as 'the Beiderman', even after parents instruct the children not to call him that. Some children argue with other children, words like 'shut up' are used. Really, nothing untoward.
Think...The Saturdays mixed with the Clementine books, and taken down a few reading levels. I will def. read another in the series and probably buy the paperbacks for my soon-to-be 8yo to read.
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