Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 11
 Blase Becomes Passe, or New Tudes for Bored Moods May 13, 2006
M. Allen Greenbaum (California)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
"Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street" is really two books in one. Although the book works as a whole, the first half is compelling, memorable and unique; the happy, goofy second half is merely fun.
As she introduces her characters' dilemmas, sorrows, and idiosyncracies, Roni Schotter is remarkably poetic and poignant. When these characters collide (both literally and figuratively) in the book's second half, Schotter combines slapstick action, romance, and, above all, a kind of melting pot cockeyed optimism, exemplified by the films of Frank Capra. Throw in the can-do spirit of Andy Hardy, and the improbable resolutions of "I Love Lucy," and you have a spirited slice of American popular culture.
The main character is young Eva, a winsome pre-adolescent student assigned to "write about what you know." Eva knows her street best, but she finds nothing worth writing about--until a melange of struggling neighbors offer Eva writing advice that reflects their lives and ways of keeping hope alive. Mr. Sims, the aging, unemployed actor, tells Eva that she's an important part of the scene, and that she need only watch for details. Mr. Morley, whose "mousse was missing something," softly says "Try to find the poetry in your pudding. There's always a new way with old words." Flexible dancer Alexis Leora, "who could hold an extremely long leg up against her ear like a one-legged woman," urges Eva to "stretch" the truth: As Leora herself might do, she says: " Use your imagination. If your story doesn't go the way you want it to, you can always stretch the truth. You can ask `What if?' and make up a better story." The advice fits the characters, and we see Eva-in-process, her scribbled words inspired by the native wisdom of these down-and-out artists and dreamers.
The illustrations--collages by Ms. Kyrsten Booker-are phenomenal. The three main comfreres are shown descending the same staircase, and the cut and pasted objects and patterns have a visual and thematic integrity. The background for Mr. Sims hints at footlights, drama, and a proscenium arch. When lonely Alexis is introduced, her long legs are echoed by the vertical grain of the wooden staircase and the climbing vines of the background wallpaper. Like abstract art (although much more comprehensible for its young readers), the compositions use multiple perspectives and the time compression to convey the action that occurs in the second half:
Briefly, a baby's dropped ball trips up a pizza delivery man, who finds floating-heart love with the concerned Alexis. The bicycle spill causes a traffic jam, from which emerges a famous soap-opera heroine, who ultimately offers Mr. Sims a job. Sims' scared cat "Olivier" knocks some coffee into Mr. Morley's mousse (inventing a popular new drink-"mocha"), and when Olivier gets stuck in a tree, Morley, the fish merchant, and soup maestro Mrs. Martinez concoct a three-course meal that lures the finicky cat. Eva, using the power of "What if" imagines a restaurant combining their talents, and so the 90th Street Caf? (Home of Great Ideas"), a great story, and financial solvency are born on Eva's street.
Although this is a superb book, the wild, fast-paced ending breaks the quiet, wise tone of the first half. As Mrs Martinez says, action makes a story better, but the fortuitous and simultaneous happenings on 90th street seem slightly contrived, as if a demographic-minded movie producer demanded a crowd-pleasing ending. With some restraint, the resolution would be more convincing: Things do happen on "nowhere" streets and forgotten neighborhoods. These may be highly visible, or noticed only by those who know how to see. A reminder of this second way of observing would have strengthened the book's premise, and infused it with even more originality. Still, this is one of the best- written and -illustrated books I've read this year. Ms. Schotter's trusts her young audience's emotional intelligence, and her narrative is subtle, psychological, and shows a knack for "new ways with old words," just as Brooker finds new uses for old images. At its best, the book fulfills one of the goals of the Transcendentalist philosophers: Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
A Great and Useful Book! August 24, 2000
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
This is a wonderfully imaginative book filled with lively characters and surprising events. I've read it to my class and they've asked for it again and again. Even more importantly, it has stimulated and improved their writing skills and inspired them to try their own version of this story. A great help in the classroom, and, a lot of fun!
A Wonderfully Entertaining and Educational Book January 8, 2000
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
A fun romp full of wonderful characters, plus helpful tidbits to improve children's writing. A multicultural and intergenerational story in an urban setting, in which the soap opera star Saundra Saunderson and the fish store owner Mr. Chang come together with many other colorful neighbors to create a community on 90th Street. Eva, the child writer, records and participates in all the action and finally comes up with an extraordinary topic for her school assignment. A funny, great and useful tale to teach and read, whether you live on 90th Street, in the suburbs, or in the country.
 I find this book hard to follow and the text, "choppy." September 8, 1999
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
The subject matter of this book is something that is of tremendous use in an elementary classroom. However, the text is choppy, and the subject hard to follow from one idea to the next. Even the illustrations fail to provide a common thread woven throughout the book. The collage style pictures are beautiful to look at, but confusing to tie together, especially when paired with the choppy text.
Wonderful for elementary writing strategies. November 28, 1998
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
As Eva records in her writer's notebook she believes she has nothing to write about. Her colorful neighbors, however, prove this to be quite far from the truth. Each rich character offers sound writing strategies that Eva applies to her writing. A lonely retired actor encourages her to look for the details all around. The prima ballerina who never smiles invites Eva to stretch her imagination. Mrs. Martinez advises Eva to add spice to her writing as she does to her Mexican soup. Mr. Morley suggests she ask herself, " What if?" All the events add up to a story that Eva has recorded for all to enjoy. An additional benefit is the new business created as a result of hilarious circumstances. Writing teachers will return to this delightful story again and again to encourage children to try the same stratgies in their own writing.
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