By: Karina Yan Glaser
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: 2017
Publisher’s Description
“The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It’s practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are.
And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home…”
Our Take
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is a book full of life, family and community. Seriously, it makes us want to go out and get to know all of our neighbors! In a way, this community feel is reminiscent of what inspired us to want to share about our book club in the first place. To create a sense of belonging and hang onto it with everything we have. You will laugh, cry, and feel warm inside after reading this book. We secretly hope it will become a Christmas movie one day! In fact, there is a rumor that Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions has obtained the film rights… time will tell!
food to share
This book had TONS of tasty food ideas. To start, we had “Castleman’s Bakery” bags for each of the kids and filled them with pastries! In honor of the beloved rabbit, Paganini, we also had a carrot cake. We balanced out all of this sweet deliciousness with some veggies. (Yes, even the veggies were a hit!)
on the menu:
- Carrot Cake
- Cheese Pastries
- CHocolate Croissants
- Cookies
- Shaved Brussles Salad
- Veggies with Tzatziki Dip
craft
Our crafts this month included Vanderbeeker bookmarks with some of our favorite quotes from the book. One of the kids drew a map of their house, like the one of the Vanderbeeker home illustrated in the book, And another drew pictures of each of the Vanderbeeker children, along with their hobbies. One of the kids even played a song on the violin for us!
discussion
- Which characters did you see yourself in the most and why?
- Do you think it’s okay to keep a secret from your parents, if it’s for a good cause? This was in reference to the petition the kids made to keep their home. It was an interesting question to ask our kiddos! The answers ranged from “sometimes we keep presents from someone, because it’s good”, to “this is a common theme in books, but not very realistic”, to “It wasn’t too bad until the Vanderbeeker kids lied to someone”. The conclusion we all landed on was that it’s ok to keep surprises, but not secrets!
- Was there a time you felt brave like Hyacinth when she went to knock on Mr. Beiderman’s door? This was such a fun question. Everyone told stories, kids and adults alike, of a time we were brave in our lives. Some of those times were going rock climbing and almost making it to the top, getting the courage to tell someone what you want, standing up for a sibling, and deciding not to cheat on a test when everyone around you is doing it.
- Why do you think Mr. Beiderman broke the jazz record that Laney gifted him?
- “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” have you owned an animal you loved?
- Lastly, we read the excerpt from the book when Isa plays the violin at Mr. Beiderman’s doorstep. We asked if the kids knew why he shut the door on her. After discussing, we played the two songs Isa played, ‘Les Furies’ by Eugene Ysaye and ‘The Swan’ by Camile Saint-Saens. They were both so beautiful and really brought that part of the story to life!
quotes
“Home is much more than a place.”
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
If ‘Les Furies’ had cleansed her heart of rage, ‘The Swan’ opened up space for grace to enter again.”