When I started blogging I promised myself I would never start a blog with an apology for not posting as planned. We all have lives, right? And most of us aren’t doing this to pay the bills. Of course sometimes we’ll be absent from our blogging community longer than we like.
So–this is me not apologizing. 😀 I AM glad to be back and sharing a very Christmas-appropriate post with you all, as my one and only December spotlight! Here’s looking at The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street!

This is the story of how the Vanderbeeker children learn that they’re going to have to move from the home where they’ve always lived on 141st Street (because their grumpy and secretive landlord won’t renew the lease), and try to save themselves from this disaster.

It’s also the story of a community realizing who they’ve forgotten, and finding the one who fell through the cracks, thanks to the Vanderbeeker kids’ enthusiasm for life and growth. And it’s about each Vanderbeeker child–twins Isa and Jessie, followed by Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney–growing and taking important life steps against this backdrop of family and community. Isa has a boy interested for the very first time, and Jessie isn’t at all sure how she feels about that, so the twins have to do quite a bit of growing and negotiating before the end. Oliver faces up to some smallish but significant personal failings and sorts himself out. Hyacinth learns to let her heart help her by Hyacinth the Brave. And little Laney takes a first step from being the cute baby to a planner and doer in her own right.

I love how unique each of the kids are, and their parents, too. For that matter, each member of the community feels fully sketched–but we spend most our time with the Vanderbeeker kids. I also loved the way the pets played an integral part in the story, and the way the kids, pets and community seemed to be part of a fluid whole that could wrap itself around anyone in need of some love.
Which is part of why the ending resonated so much! I’ll try to articulate that without giving away any spoilers (because, really, the book is just a big romp where the kids try to save their home, plus spoilers, so there’s a lot to avoid!) but I was braced for possible disappointment as I saw where the story was going. I hate quick-fix endings, or stories that gloss over people’s pain. They don’t ring true, and are an injustice to the very real challenges people face. But, Glaser sailed through the ending without any difficulties of that kind and still managed to keep the warmth and joy of the book going strong precisely because she didn’t gloss over anything or pretend someone’s pain wasn’t that bad. The novel seemed to be saying that yes, tough stuff happens. Sometimes people fall through the cracks. But sometimes we pull them back up again and healing happens, too. And honestly, isn’t that the most pretty much perfect message you can think of for a kids book set at Christmas? Even thinking about the ending now brings warmth to my eyes–and I am not a softie! 😀

So, after all that careful talking around the pertinent bits–let’s see what Apricot-kitty thought of it:

Okay, yes, the story was delightful–if you didn’t mind that big yappy dog! Whatever the kids end up figuring out and however it all finished, I’m sure it was actually the dogs fault they almost had to move. Ugh…these books with dogs. A bunny I can take, but busy bumpy bumbling dogs like that? No, thank you!

Ookay! Guess we know what she thought about Franz…but then, I think we could have guessed that. While she tolerates some dogs, he did fall solidly into the kind I suspect most cats would find annoying.

Apricot-kitty’s grumpiness aside, I was truly touched by this lovely story, and can’t recommend it enough! I promise it will be one of those few instances where a book you’ve heard about for forever will actually exceed your expectations.

I hope whatever holiday you celebrate, your season will be lovely and your life filled with warmth and joy. I will see you in January, post book launch (for a Lily Black title) and post peanut-season. 😀
Be sure to stop by our Marvelous Middle Grade Monday host Greg Pattridge’s blog for the full round up, and happy reading!

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