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The Story Collector #1
The Story Collector
In the tradition of E. L. Konisburg, this middle-grade mystery adventure is inspired by the real life of Viviani Joffre Fedeler, born and raised in the New York Public Library.
Eleven-year-old Viviani Fedeler has spent her whole life in the New York Public Library. She knows every room by heart, except the ones her father keeps locked. When Viviani becomes convinced that the library is haunted, new girl Merit Mubarak makes fun of her. So Viviani decides to play a harmless little prank, roping her older brothers and best friend Eva to help out.
But what begins as a joke quickly gets out of hand, and soon Viviani and her friends have to solve two big mysteries: Is the Library truly haunted? And what happened to the expensive new stamp collection? It's up to Viviani, Eva, and Merit (reluctantly) to findout.
Eleven-year-old Viviani Fedeler has spent her whole life in the New York Public Library. She knows every room by heart, except the ones her father keeps locked. When Viviani becomes convinced that the library is haunted, new girl Merit Mubarak makes fun of her. So Viviani decides to play a harmless little prank, roping her older brothers and best friend Eva to help out.
But what begins as a joke quickly gets out of hand, and soon Viviani and her friends have to solve two big mysteries: Is the Library truly haunted? And what happened to the expensive new stamp collection? It's up to Viviani, Eva, and Merit (reluctantly) to findout.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2018
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2357 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews
August 23, 2018
From 2007 until about 2012 I had the distinct pleasure of working in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of New York Public Library. It’s one of those parts of my working life I look back at with a little bit of amazement. For only one time in my life I could essentially say to someone, “You know that library with the big stone lions in front in New York City? Yeah. I work there.” Initially I worked in the Children’s Center at 42nd Street where I held Literary Salons, worked alongside the original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals, and conducted tours of the whole building. Well… not the WHOLE building. There are places down in the deep stacks below the building where no one really goes, and you can bet that some colleagues and I took the time to explore them thoroughly over the years. Later I would work in the building in my new capacity as the Youth Materials Specialist, and it was then that I started visiting library branches all over the city, only to encounter again and again the abandoned library apartments they housed. These were full working apartments housed within the libraries that used to belong to the maintenance workers of the library system, now no longer in use. After a while, I began researching them more thoroughly, looking into their residents, how long they were operational, and the stories associated with them. One such apartment, located on the Mezzanine level of the main location, housed a whole family of kids. You can read news articles from the Times about how they’d play baseball in some of the rooms, raise pigeons on the roof, and how their father would try to scare them with stories of a red bearded ghost. Now all that rich fodder has been turned into a middle grade novel, made under the auspices of New York Public Library’s new imprint with Henry Holt & Company. And happily, it is not only a rip-roaring tale of mystery and ghostly possibilities, but also one filled with a lot of fun and true facts about the time. Got a kid who wishes they could live in the library? Reading this book is the next best thing.
Ever wanted to live in a library? Imagine that you did. It's the 1920s, Viviani’s spent her whole life surrounded by the gilt and marble of the main location of New York Public Library with her siblings, and life is pretty sweet. She spends her time dodging the creepy janitor Mr. Green and trying to spot the ghost, Red, that her father told her about. Then she meets a new girl at school who doesn’t believe her wild and outrageous stories or even that she lives in a library! Worse, an expensive stamp collection on display has been stolen and no one has a clue where it went. It’s up to Viviani, her new frenemy Merit, and her friends and sibs to uncover the multiple mysteries hidden behind the library shelves.
It is one thing to write a mystery for kids, but it is another thing entirely to play fair when you do. Now I love The Westing Game, don’t get me wrong. That book has more going for it than a pack of Agatha Christies, but don’t ever sell me on it being a tried and true mystery novel. To my mind, a real mystery novel gives a kid the chance to solve it on their own. Not in some Encyclopedia Brown way where they use their knowledge of trivia to solve the case, but where they pay careful close attention to what the author's laying down and put the clues together. A mystery author, therefore, must walk a fine line. On the one hand they need to place the clues throughout the text. On the other hand, they can’t make them too easy. If you give too much of the game away, it’s going to be a problem. In The Story Collector I am happy to report that Ms. Tubb does an excellent job of this. As an adult I could pretty much figure out the villain of the piece. That means that a couple sharp-eyed young readers will do the same, while others are completely flummoxed by the reveal. In other words, it hits the mystery sweet spot.
As for the book itself, it’s definitely going for that sweet spot of living in a public building (ala The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which many a recommendation blurb has cited) with the Nancy Drew-ish vibe of a spunky young woman solving a mystery with a slight supernatural bent. Now Tubb is no stranger to conjuring up strong characters and plots. She’s one of those middle grade authors that makes it look effortless. What’s important in this particular case is that she also needed the idea of living in a library to sound like fun. I know that sounds ridiculous at the outset, but when an author comes up with a cool premise it can be difficult to hold onto that kernel of cool (cool = living in a library) when you have to wrangle character arcs and development, a mystery, and a sense of time and place. Ms. Tubb juggles all with such ease, it’s enough to give a gal envy.
The trouble with working for the New York Public Library and then handling a book of this sort that is that there is too much information in my brain. As I watched Viviani navigate the lower levels of the main location, I was consciously aware that my position is odd. Almost nobody else is going to know where the door to the lower levels is precisely located, after all. Once I was able to compartmentalize that information, I could really settle down to enjoy the book. I read an early galley of this book prior to publication, and to my delight several mistakes that I found in that book were corrected for the final publication. Clearly somebody somewhere was copy editing this thing incredibly well. Bravo, faithful fact-checkers!
The last library apartment in the NYPL system didn’t fall out of commission until the turn of the new Millennium. Even before that happened, though, many of the apartments fell into disrepair because they aren’t ADA compliant (and many are potential fire hazards). Viviani’s home on the Mezzanine of the Schwarzman Building is all office space and currently houses whole rows of cubicles, albeit cubicles with killer half-moon windows that look out upon the city. The era of the library child may have passed but with books like this one it’s possible that the romance of their lives may only be beginning. A mystery that plays fair with its tropes and gives as good as it gets. Here’s to many more future books about kids living in libraries.
For ages 9-12.
Ever wanted to live in a library? Imagine that you did. It's the 1920s, Viviani’s spent her whole life surrounded by the gilt and marble of the main location of New York Public Library with her siblings, and life is pretty sweet. She spends her time dodging the creepy janitor Mr. Green and trying to spot the ghost, Red, that her father told her about. Then she meets a new girl at school who doesn’t believe her wild and outrageous stories or even that she lives in a library! Worse, an expensive stamp collection on display has been stolen and no one has a clue where it went. It’s up to Viviani, her new frenemy Merit, and her friends and sibs to uncover the multiple mysteries hidden behind the library shelves.
It is one thing to write a mystery for kids, but it is another thing entirely to play fair when you do. Now I love The Westing Game, don’t get me wrong. That book has more going for it than a pack of Agatha Christies, but don’t ever sell me on it being a tried and true mystery novel. To my mind, a real mystery novel gives a kid the chance to solve it on their own. Not in some Encyclopedia Brown way where they use their knowledge of trivia to solve the case, but where they pay careful close attention to what the author's laying down and put the clues together. A mystery author, therefore, must walk a fine line. On the one hand they need to place the clues throughout the text. On the other hand, they can’t make them too easy. If you give too much of the game away, it’s going to be a problem. In The Story Collector I am happy to report that Ms. Tubb does an excellent job of this. As an adult I could pretty much figure out the villain of the piece. That means that a couple sharp-eyed young readers will do the same, while others are completely flummoxed by the reveal. In other words, it hits the mystery sweet spot.
As for the book itself, it’s definitely going for that sweet spot of living in a public building (ala The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which many a recommendation blurb has cited) with the Nancy Drew-ish vibe of a spunky young woman solving a mystery with a slight supernatural bent. Now Tubb is no stranger to conjuring up strong characters and plots. She’s one of those middle grade authors that makes it look effortless. What’s important in this particular case is that she also needed the idea of living in a library to sound like fun. I know that sounds ridiculous at the outset, but when an author comes up with a cool premise it can be difficult to hold onto that kernel of cool (cool = living in a library) when you have to wrangle character arcs and development, a mystery, and a sense of time and place. Ms. Tubb juggles all with such ease, it’s enough to give a gal envy.
The trouble with working for the New York Public Library and then handling a book of this sort that is that there is too much information in my brain. As I watched Viviani navigate the lower levels of the main location, I was consciously aware that my position is odd. Almost nobody else is going to know where the door to the lower levels is precisely located, after all. Once I was able to compartmentalize that information, I could really settle down to enjoy the book. I read an early galley of this book prior to publication, and to my delight several mistakes that I found in that book were corrected for the final publication. Clearly somebody somewhere was copy editing this thing incredibly well. Bravo, faithful fact-checkers!
The last library apartment in the NYPL system didn’t fall out of commission until the turn of the new Millennium. Even before that happened, though, many of the apartments fell into disrepair because they aren’t ADA compliant (and many are potential fire hazards). Viviani’s home on the Mezzanine of the Schwarzman Building is all office space and currently houses whole rows of cubicles, albeit cubicles with killer half-moon windows that look out upon the city. The era of the library child may have passed but with books like this one it’s possible that the romance of their lives may only be beginning. A mystery that plays fair with its tropes and gives as good as it gets. Here’s to many more future books about kids living in libraries.
For ages 9-12.
March 5, 2020
Another one to go on my Best Of 2020 shelf; that’s two in a row now!
Reading this took me to a place that’s become dear to my heart in the past few years; the New York Public Library, with the lions in the front. For a book addict like me, the idea of living in a library and being able to explore it freely every night after it closes is just totally wonderful! That people actually did this in the 20’s and 30’s makes me deeply envious!
My very favorite part: Viviani scaling a card catalog to get to “the best hiding place in the whole library”!
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg.114)-“Viviani stepped to the edge of the building and swept her arm over the view: the green swath of Bryant Park, the red-tile rooftops and steeples hopping and dotting across Fifth to Sixth Avenue, from east to west. She turned to Forty-Second and Fortieth, north to south, all the way down to the gleaming white spire of the towering Woolworth Building in the distance. The sun was setting pink, turning the East River to her left and the Hudson on her right into pathways of sparkling diamonds. Lights and streets glittered like a universe- the whole New York City universe.”
Reading this took me to a place that’s become dear to my heart in the past few years; the New York Public Library, with the lions in the front. For a book addict like me, the idea of living in a library and being able to explore it freely every night after it closes is just totally wonderful! That people actually did this in the 20’s and 30’s makes me deeply envious!
My very favorite part: Viviani scaling a card catalog to get to “the best hiding place in the whole library”!
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg.114)-“Viviani stepped to the edge of the building and swept her arm over the view: the green swath of Bryant Park, the red-tile rooftops and steeples hopping and dotting across Fifth to Sixth Avenue, from east to west. She turned to Forty-Second and Fortieth, north to south, all the way down to the gleaming white spire of the towering Woolworth Building in the distance. The sun was setting pink, turning the East River to her left and the Hudson on her right into pathways of sparkling diamonds. Lights and streets glittered like a universe- the whole New York City universe.”
April 16, 2021
I loved this! What’s not to love?? 1920’s NY, our MC LIVES in a NYC library, we learn so many actual facts, & there’s mystery & more. Viviani Fedeler has spent her whole life in the NY Public Library. She knows every room by heart, except the ones her father keeps locked. When she becomes convinced that the library is haunted, new girl Merit Mubarak makes fun of her. So Viviani decides to play a harmless little prank, roping her older brothers & best friend Eva to help out. Bu what began as a joke, quickly gets out of hand, & soon she & her friends have 2 big mysteries to solve-Is the Library truly haunted? & what happened to the expensive new stamp collection? It's up to Viviani, Eva, & a reluctant Merit to find out. Many of the people & events in this book are based on actual fact-the authors note goes over them all, & I loved it! This book is inspired by the real life of Viviani Joffre Fedeler who was born IN & raised in the library. The idea of living in a NY library apartment in the 1920’s makes me so envious! The time period, the location, LIVING AMONG ALL THOSE AMAZING STORIES waiting to be explored & read?! Yes please! Both NY & the library were vividly described, & I pictured everything perfectly. This had beautiful writing, mystery, family, friendship, & of course stories. Coupled w/so much based in fact, made for an amazing read. Highly recommend, & can’t wait to start book 2 tonight! Stunning cover by 1 of my favs Iacopo Bruno, w/full page illustrations sprinkled throughout too. Libraries are home to some of our favorite stories, some not yet found, so they are a calming & peaceful place for story lovers to be. I was in heaven reading this. Many amazing things can happen in a library. Everybody has a story to share, & everybody has a story worth sharing. Amazing characters. Viviani herself is amazing. What she offers a certain gentleman at the end brought tears to my eyes-beautiful! She has the best dialogue, is so funny, smart, loving & brave-after all, “courage is simply fear stuffed with hope”.💜
October 25, 2018
Eleven-year-old Viviani Joffre Fedeler is a story collector and story teller. How could she be anything else, having been born and raised in the New York Public Library? She was born just three days before the library's grand opening, just after her father was hired as building Superintendent and moved in with the family. Viviani knows every inch of the library -except the off-limits places like her father's workshop. She longs to explore more and finally come up with her own story-a story about who she is. When a new girl at school, Merit, questions the truth of some of Viviani's stories, Viviani is devastated. She decides to teach Merit a lesson in the power of stories by inviting her to the library to see the library ghost! Viviani, her brothers and friends get more than they bargained for and learn a valuable lesson about stories.
I really liked this idea of this story. Like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler kids spend the night in a New York institution-this time the New York Public Library of 1928. The New York Public Library is an amazing place and I loved getting an insider's tour of the iconic building. If I could spend the night at the library I wouldn't waste time sliding down banisters- I'd read! I'd love to go back to 1928 and get my hands on a first edition The House at Pooh Corner or if I was locked in now I'd camp out with Pooh and friends. The 1928 library is something of a spooky place so I can see where the ghost stories evolve from and I probably would have believed them and been scared too when I was Viviani's age.
The plot was fun but it was WAY to obvious who the villain was and how they managed to steal something valuable from the library. I would have liked more suspects and less transparency.
Viviani "Red" is not the most appealing character. I didn't like how Viviani spends her time roaming around the library. Today I think she would be labeled ADHD! She can't seem to settle on any one subject to study or any one game to play. She spends her nights running around the library, sliding down banisters and causing mischief and mayhem wherever she goes. Yet, she's very sheltered and naive growing up in the library. She doesn't know much about the outside world yet and believes what she hears. I did relate to Viviani's desire to find her own once upon a time, however, and how much she believes in the power of storytelling and imagination.
I liked the rest of the family better. Mr. Fedeler is warm and funny. He understands his children, allows them to have a degree of freedom but wants them to be safe. I love his way of teaching the children important lessons and punishing them. Mrs. Fedeler is a little more tough but she handles her lively children with good humor. Viviani's older brother Oliver is the naughty one. He is at the age where he tests boundaries. He likes to read and learn but seems to prefer a more active lifestyle than his younger brother Edouard. 12-year-old Edouard is the nerdy one of the family. He likes facts and memorizing new bits of information to share at the appropriate moment. I could relate to him the most of the children!
This story is fun for tweens and teaches some great lessons. I hope after reading this they all want to visit the NYPL!
I really liked this idea of this story. Like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler kids spend the night in a New York institution-this time the New York Public Library of 1928. The New York Public Library is an amazing place and I loved getting an insider's tour of the iconic building. If I could spend the night at the library I wouldn't waste time sliding down banisters- I'd read! I'd love to go back to 1928 and get my hands on a first edition The House at Pooh Corner or if I was locked in now I'd camp out with Pooh and friends. The 1928 library is something of a spooky place so I can see where the ghost stories evolve from and I probably would have believed them and been scared too when I was Viviani's age.
The plot was fun but it was WAY to obvious who the villain was and how they managed to steal something valuable from the library. I would have liked more suspects and less transparency.
Viviani "Red" is not the most appealing character. I didn't like how Viviani spends her time roaming around the library. Today I think she would be labeled ADHD! She can't seem to settle on any one subject to study or any one game to play. She spends her nights running around the library, sliding down banisters and causing mischief and mayhem wherever she goes. Yet, she's very sheltered and naive growing up in the library. She doesn't know much about the outside world yet and believes what she hears. I did relate to Viviani's desire to find her own once upon a time, however, and how much she believes in the power of storytelling and imagination.
I liked the rest of the family better. Mr. Fedeler is warm and funny. He understands his children, allows them to have a degree of freedom but wants them to be safe. I love his way of teaching the children important lessons and punishing them. Mrs. Fedeler is a little more tough but she handles her lively children with good humor. Viviani's older brother Oliver is the naughty one. He is at the age where he tests boundaries. He likes to read and learn but seems to prefer a more active lifestyle than his younger brother Edouard. 12-year-old Edouard is the nerdy one of the family. He likes facts and memorizing new bits of information to share at the appropriate moment. I could relate to him the most of the children!
This story is fun for tweens and teaches some great lessons. I hope after reading this they all want to visit the NYPL!
May 9, 2022
3.5 stars
I love any opportunity to share a book with my eight-year-old and we enjoyed listening to the first book of this middle grade series in the car on the way to school and errands over the course of a couple weeks. The Story Collector is an adventure based on the real life of Viviani Joffre Fedeler, a girl born and raised in the New York Public Library!
Eleven-year-old Viviani has explored every room of the New York Public Library with her older brothers and her best friend Eva, after all, it is her home! When she becomes convinced that a ghost resides in the library, she’s stunned to find the new girl at school, Merit, makes fun of her. She’s on a mission to prove to Merit that there is a ghost and needs a little help to make it happen.
Meanwhile, a valuable stamp goes missing from an exhibit and Viviani and her brothers look like prime suspects!
This was a fun middle grade book. The “villain” is quite obvious but it didn’t make the story any less fun, Viviani’s vivid imagination made this a charming adventure, and the setting made for a great atmosphere!
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
I love any opportunity to share a book with my eight-year-old and we enjoyed listening to the first book of this middle grade series in the car on the way to school and errands over the course of a couple weeks. The Story Collector is an adventure based on the real life of Viviani Joffre Fedeler, a girl born and raised in the New York Public Library!
Eleven-year-old Viviani has explored every room of the New York Public Library with her older brothers and her best friend Eva, after all, it is her home! When she becomes convinced that a ghost resides in the library, she’s stunned to find the new girl at school, Merit, makes fun of her. She’s on a mission to prove to Merit that there is a ghost and needs a little help to make it happen.
Meanwhile, a valuable stamp goes missing from an exhibit and Viviani and her brothers look like prime suspects!
This was a fun middle grade book. The “villain” is quite obvious but it didn’t make the story any less fun, Viviani’s vivid imagination made this a charming adventure, and the setting made for a great atmosphere!
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
March 8, 2019
I understand I am not the target demographic and liked the historical setting, but am tired that in this day and age all librarians are still portrayed as shushing or tittering at a male authority. I'm sure there were some that were wonderful, even back then...
September 27, 2018
Is there anything more amazing than visiting your local library? How about living in a library? I suppose that not every kid has a fantasy to live in a library 24/7, but I sure did. I couldn't of course, I came as close as I could. Throughout my school days, I spent as much time in the campus libraries as I could. I was in city libraries daily during breaks and as an adult, I am delighted that my child walks to his local branch near daily (mostly to get books for me) and jumps at the chance to visit the main branch every chance he gets. As I read the antics that Viviana and her tribe get up to in The Story Collector, I could see a group of kids just like them getting into that kind of mischief at our wonderful library. Amazing as our library is, it pales next to the New York Public Library, the true star of this book, brought to life beautifully by the author. It was so easy to envision it in its prime when strict librarians and card catalogs ruled with an iron grip. This book was a true adventure.
An adventure is what Viviana is desperate for, just like the ones she reads in the books all around her. Her father is the building super at the New York City Library, during the 1920’s, so she and her family actually live in the library, all those stories at her fingertips and the whole of the building is a playground for her and her siblings, as long as they can avoid disturbing the librarians, evade the security guard, and keep clear of the janitor, who may or may not be a cannibal. Oh yeah, they also have to keep away from Big Red, the ghost that haunts the library. While she is waiting to find adventure, she collects stories and shares them her friends at school. However, a new student in her class isn’t impressed with Viviana’s stories and an attempt to sway her opinion with an overnight ghost hunt backfires its way into a mystery that only the children may be able to solve.
Well written and imaginative, with the perfect touch of mystery, this book is a must-have for middle-grade readers. That it has a basis in actual history makes it all the more fun.
Let's talk more about kid's books at I Read Kid's Book Journal
An adventure is what Viviana is desperate for, just like the ones she reads in the books all around her. Her father is the building super at the New York City Library, during the 1920’s, so she and her family actually live in the library, all those stories at her fingertips and the whole of the building is a playground for her and her siblings, as long as they can avoid disturbing the librarians, evade the security guard, and keep clear of the janitor, who may or may not be a cannibal. Oh yeah, they also have to keep away from Big Red, the ghost that haunts the library. While she is waiting to find adventure, she collects stories and shares them her friends at school. However, a new student in her class isn’t impressed with Viviana’s stories and an attempt to sway her opinion with an overnight ghost hunt backfires its way into a mystery that only the children may be able to solve.
Well written and imaginative, with the perfect touch of mystery, this book is a must-have for middle-grade readers. That it has a basis in actual history makes it all the more fun.
Let's talk more about kid's books at I Read Kid's Book Journal
January 5, 2020
I purchased this book from the gift shop of the New York Public Library, and was amazed to learn that it was inspired by the life of a girl who lived in the library with her family. Her father was the superintendent, and they spent years with the library as their playground to explore, just like Viviana in this story. The appeal of living in a library and the adventures that take place after the doors close to the public is extremely appealing, and definitely drew me into the story.
In historical fiction mystery, Viviana believes that the library is haunted. She is ridiculed by one of the girls at school, and Viviana invites her for a sleepover and promises to prove to her the ghost is real. Although Viviana's plan to play a prank on Merit (with help from her brothers and friend) backfires, they discover that a someone has stolen a priceless stamp collection. What is going on in the library, and how can the kids uncover the answers and solve the mystery?
I really enjoyed this story, and look forward to reading the sequel that comes on in January 2020. It's not a scary mystery, and I think it would appeal to upper elementary readers, as well as middle graders.
In historical fiction mystery, Viviana believes that the library is haunted. She is ridiculed by one of the girls at school, and Viviana invites her for a sleepover and promises to prove to her the ghost is real. Although Viviana's plan to play a prank on Merit (with help from her brothers and friend) backfires, they discover that a someone has stolen a priceless stamp collection. What is going on in the library, and how can the kids uncover the answers and solve the mystery?
I really enjoyed this story, and look forward to reading the sequel that comes on in January 2020. It's not a scary mystery, and I think it would appeal to upper elementary readers, as well as middle graders.
January 21, 2021
As a librarian who love historical fiction and mysteries, I adored this book. The author uaed many real facts in the story: a family who lived in NYPL and a theft. My enthusiasm from the first chapter appealed to my reluctant kid reader. We read it together and there were some cliffhangers that encouraged more reading.
Oh and each chapter has an associated Dewey Decimal Number.
Oh and each chapter has an associated Dewey Decimal Number.
April 14, 2024
Good read. I’m more of a fantasy book lover, but I expected a little more suspense. Will recommend to my fifth graders. Think some of my students would enjoy, but not enough to keep my interest. I put it down, read several others and kept going back to it to finish! Good story line, just not my type of book!
June 6, 2018
This was so beautiful!!! One of my favorites. The writing was so vivid and the details made you feel like you were there. The author did an amazing job with the accuracy of the library, city, and characters (many of them, including the MC, were real). Such a fun read.
August 25, 2020
Well. This book is perfect. Just absolutely enthrallingly, stunningly perfect.
September 1, 2018
*Thanks to the author, Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, for the free copy of this magical tale. All opinions are my own.
Gather around, my friends, and you will hear a fantastic story seemingly too impossible to be true. A family living in apartments in THE NYPL? A baby born among the books, her first cries ricocheting off of the shelves? The family's children playing baseball, complete with the newly-published Winnie the Pooh, as a base, in the library? A valuable stamp collection displayed in said library, stolen in the night? Yup. It all happened.
But the extra twists of an author's babbling imagination only add to the plot of this historical fiction/mystery.
The red herring? Check. The girl-friendship drama? Mmmhmm. The tone pitch perfect to its era? Yes. As a matter of fact, I was thrilled to see that THE Betsy Bird also saw a Nancy Drew-ish quality on the pages in her own review.
Kudos to author Kristin O'Donnell Tubb for the meticulous research; her work is peppered throughout the book and will undoubtedly make curious readers (like me) run for Google to find out more about the historical references.
The clever chapter headings-Dewey Decimal subheadings-give an air of whimsy. The author's note detailing the fact from the fiction in the book. The time line. The peek into the library's archives. What a rich resource, a love letter to the art of reading and writing and library science, a nod to an iconic institution.
And who can resist the playful way in which the opening unfolds: "Some people are story collectors. While others collect seashells, or stuffed animals, or stamps, story collectors wrap themselves in words, surround themselves with sentences, and play with participles, even those pesky perky dangling ones. They climb over Cs and mount Ms and lounge in Ls. Soon enough they land in the land of homonyms, then, wham! They stumble into onomatopoeia, that lovely creaking, booming bit of wordplay-and hat, Dear Friend, is where our story begins."
,,,or that ending?! Oh, my. My students will LOVE the ending. That one sentence at the end! Delightful. Quite simply, The Story Collector is the bee's knees.
Highly recommended.
"That powerful cry of yours echoed and absorbed into the thousands of books lining the shelves. And in return, those books awakened, unfurling their words, their worlds, slowly, quietly, until stories became as much a part of you as your red hair, your green eyes."
..."courage is simply fear stuffed with hope."
"Without imagination, nothing is dangerous."
"Sometimes a glimpse of sunshine makes itself known through the murky leaves and limbs of the dark forest. Sometimes a glimmer of friendship can be found in places where only animosity was seen before."
"Every story is true underneath it all."
"'Look at all this stuff I don't know yet.' Viviani smiled at the yet. part. Her father always said bold learners think in terms of yet."
"Sometimes the bad guy is disguised as a good guy. Does that mean...that sometimes the good guy looks like a bad guy?"
"...this fellow had helped her realize that her story was worth telling. That her voice was worth listening to. That she was, indeed, a story collector."
"Viviani smiled and considered all the stories Mr. Green would be able to unlock with this key. This special, one-of-a-kind key: the unique mix of books and stories that he would choose to read. Different from everyone else on the planet. His blanks to fill in. His Once Upon a Time."
"...I'm still a story collector. A word peddler. A knowledge warrior. Stories help us make sense of things that don't make sense at all...That's the truth of fiction, after all. It's hidden in feelings, not facts."
Gather around, my friends, and you will hear a fantastic story seemingly too impossible to be true. A family living in apartments in THE NYPL? A baby born among the books, her first cries ricocheting off of the shelves? The family's children playing baseball, complete with the newly-published Winnie the Pooh, as a base, in the library? A valuable stamp collection displayed in said library, stolen in the night? Yup. It all happened.
But the extra twists of an author's babbling imagination only add to the plot of this historical fiction/mystery.
The red herring? Check. The girl-friendship drama? Mmmhmm. The tone pitch perfect to its era? Yes. As a matter of fact, I was thrilled to see that THE Betsy Bird also saw a Nancy Drew-ish quality on the pages in her own review.
Kudos to author Kristin O'Donnell Tubb for the meticulous research; her work is peppered throughout the book and will undoubtedly make curious readers (like me) run for Google to find out more about the historical references.
The clever chapter headings-Dewey Decimal subheadings-give an air of whimsy. The author's note detailing the fact from the fiction in the book. The time line. The peek into the library's archives. What a rich resource, a love letter to the art of reading and writing and library science, a nod to an iconic institution.
And who can resist the playful way in which the opening unfolds: "Some people are story collectors. While others collect seashells, or stuffed animals, or stamps, story collectors wrap themselves in words, surround themselves with sentences, and play with participles, even those pesky perky dangling ones. They climb over Cs and mount Ms and lounge in Ls. Soon enough they land in the land of homonyms, then, wham! They stumble into onomatopoeia, that lovely creaking, booming bit of wordplay-and hat, Dear Friend, is where our story begins."
,,,or that ending?! Oh, my. My students will LOVE the ending. That one sentence at the end! Delightful. Quite simply, The Story Collector is the bee's knees.
Highly recommended.
"That powerful cry of yours echoed and absorbed into the thousands of books lining the shelves. And in return, those books awakened, unfurling their words, their worlds, slowly, quietly, until stories became as much a part of you as your red hair, your green eyes."
..."courage is simply fear stuffed with hope."
"Without imagination, nothing is dangerous."
"Sometimes a glimpse of sunshine makes itself known through the murky leaves and limbs of the dark forest. Sometimes a glimmer of friendship can be found in places where only animosity was seen before."
"Every story is true underneath it all."
"'Look at all this stuff I don't know yet.' Viviani smiled at the yet. part. Her father always said bold learners think in terms of yet."
"Sometimes the bad guy is disguised as a good guy. Does that mean...that sometimes the good guy looks like a bad guy?"
"...this fellow had helped her realize that her story was worth telling. That her voice was worth listening to. That she was, indeed, a story collector."
"Viviani smiled and considered all the stories Mr. Green would be able to unlock with this key. This special, one-of-a-kind key: the unique mix of books and stories that he would choose to read. Different from everyone else on the planet. His blanks to fill in. His Once Upon a Time."
"...I'm still a story collector. A word peddler. A knowledge warrior. Stories help us make sense of things that don't make sense at all...That's the truth of fiction, after all. It's hidden in feelings, not facts."
October 6, 2022
A fun and light-hearted story, but what I loved was this book was made to be read aloud. Loads of onomatopoeia and fun word play that you can really get into.
October 4, 2018
Several months ago, I spied this story on a list of upcoming 2018 releases and immediately added it to my TBR list. A historical fiction novel about a girl living in the New York Public Library? I was HOOKED. In this story, we have Viviani, a curious, imaginative eleven-year-old who lives in the NYPL with her family, as her father serves as the library superintendent. Viviani loves stories, especially sharing them with her classmates at school and using them to make her best friend, Eva, laugh. A new girl, Merit, moves to NYC from Egypt, and the two don't get along so well. Merit is very practical, which Viviani's imagination often gets her into mischief. The girls team up, however, after some valuable stamps from a new exhibit go missing from the library. Intriguing!
This is a quick, easy read, but an enjoyable one as well. The atmosphere is divine: I've, unfortunately, never visited the NYPL (especially not in the early 1900s!), but this book's descriptions made me feel like I could've lived there too. For such a short book, there were a lot of facts and historical anecdotes weaved into the story seamlessly. I have so many ideas of how a teacher could implement this novel into a classroom curriculum!
The characters were also one of the novel's strong points. Viviani is described by another character as being a, "real life Anne Shirley," and that description was spot-on, from Viviani's wild imagination to her striking red hair. She was fun, precocious, and flawed, and she acted and sounded like her age. One of my biggest pet peeves is authors who try to write younger characters and don't execute it well at all. The characters either sound/act too "old," or their speech is very stunted and inorganic. Tubb did an excellent job making her characters, young and old, sound like they were real people on the page. In middle grade novels, where adults are often supporting characters, I honestly don't notice them much because I'm too focused on the main characters. That being said, I really enjoyed a lot of the adults in this story too! Mr. Fedeler, Viviani's father, and Mr. Green, the mysterious library custodian, were my favorites in particular!
My favorite part of the story, however, really had nothing to do with the plot at all. Instead, it was all of the inspiration quotes (i.e. comments) made by assorted characters throughout the novel. Some in particular are, but not limited to:
"Our stories are what makes us unique."
"The combination of stories in our lives-the unique mix of the stories we chose to read, chose to live-makes each of us just a tiny bit different from everyone else on the planet."
"It's not supposed to be perfect. It's supposed to be you." - Mr. Hill
"Well, that's good. I'm kinda far from perfect." - Viviani
I could go on, but then I'd quote the book, and that's not exactly legal. Anyway, the quotes were spectacular. I liked how other little stories-personal anecdotes, ghost stories, etc.-were used to teach Viviani certain life lessons. Those stories make complex issues easier for an eleven-year-old, even a smart one, to understand. I think that sends a powerful message to readers as well. Stories are important, even if you're not a huge reader. For a girl who lived in the library, Viviani was rarely described reading, but she loved a good story anyway. How many people do you know that can relate?
I really wanted to rate this book five stars, and I thought we'd get there, however, my biggest complaint with this story was that I wish the mystery described in the synopsis came into play a little earlier. It was essentially introduced, planned, and solved in about two chapters, which really didn't do it justice, nor was it logical. This is a spoiler-free review, so I won't go into too much detail, but essentially, Viviani recruits both Eva and Merit to help her catch the thief that stole some valuable stamps from a patron's stamp collection that's being loaned to the NYPL for a special exhibit. There is an excellent plot line, and unfortunately, it wasn't given enough time to be fully fleshed out to really be effective.
I really enjoyed this book overall. It was a fun story that also packed a bit of a punch, as it dealt with topics like friendship, lying vs. storytelling, right and wrong, etc. It would be an excellent book to use in a classroom, as its historical pieces hold merit as well. It makes several good points and contains so many wonderful quotes that are perfect for any library or Pinterest board. If you've ever wanted to see the ins and outs of the historic NYPL, this is your backstage pass!
This is a quick, easy read, but an enjoyable one as well. The atmosphere is divine: I've, unfortunately, never visited the NYPL (especially not in the early 1900s!), but this book's descriptions made me feel like I could've lived there too. For such a short book, there were a lot of facts and historical anecdotes weaved into the story seamlessly. I have so many ideas of how a teacher could implement this novel into a classroom curriculum!
The characters were also one of the novel's strong points. Viviani is described by another character as being a, "real life Anne Shirley," and that description was spot-on, from Viviani's wild imagination to her striking red hair. She was fun, precocious, and flawed, and she acted and sounded like her age. One of my biggest pet peeves is authors who try to write younger characters and don't execute it well at all. The characters either sound/act too "old," or their speech is very stunted and inorganic. Tubb did an excellent job making her characters, young and old, sound like they were real people on the page. In middle grade novels, where adults are often supporting characters, I honestly don't notice them much because I'm too focused on the main characters. That being said, I really enjoyed a lot of the adults in this story too! Mr. Fedeler, Viviani's father, and Mr. Green, the mysterious library custodian, were my favorites in particular!
My favorite part of the story, however, really had nothing to do with the plot at all. Instead, it was all of the inspiration quotes (i.e. comments) made by assorted characters throughout the novel. Some in particular are, but not limited to:
"Our stories are what makes us unique."
"The combination of stories in our lives-the unique mix of the stories we chose to read, chose to live-makes each of us just a tiny bit different from everyone else on the planet."
"It's not supposed to be perfect. It's supposed to be you." - Mr. Hill
"Well, that's good. I'm kinda far from perfect." - Viviani
I could go on, but then I'd quote the book, and that's not exactly legal. Anyway, the quotes were spectacular. I liked how other little stories-personal anecdotes, ghost stories, etc.-were used to teach Viviani certain life lessons. Those stories make complex issues easier for an eleven-year-old, even a smart one, to understand. I think that sends a powerful message to readers as well. Stories are important, even if you're not a huge reader. For a girl who lived in the library, Viviani was rarely described reading, but she loved a good story anyway. How many people do you know that can relate?
I really wanted to rate this book five stars, and I thought we'd get there, however, my biggest complaint with this story was that I wish the mystery described in the synopsis came into play a little earlier. It was essentially introduced, planned, and solved in about two chapters, which really didn't do it justice, nor was it logical. This is a spoiler-free review, so I won't go into too much detail, but essentially, Viviani recruits both Eva and Merit to help her catch the thief that stole some valuable stamps from a patron's stamp collection that's being loaned to the NYPL for a special exhibit. There is an excellent plot line, and unfortunately, it wasn't given enough time to be fully fleshed out to really be effective.
I really enjoyed this book overall. It was a fun story that also packed a bit of a punch, as it dealt with topics like friendship, lying vs. storytelling, right and wrong, etc. It would be an excellent book to use in a classroom, as its historical pieces hold merit as well. It makes several good points and contains so many wonderful quotes that are perfect for any library or Pinterest board. If you've ever wanted to see the ins and outs of the historic NYPL, this is your backstage pass!
July 26, 2020
The Story Collector would have been one of my favorites as a child, had it been written years ago. A charming story about the family who lived in the New York Public Library and their adventures in the stacks, The Story Collector is a fun reading experience for bibliophiles. Except for the part where they play baseball in the library with picture books as bases. No one should treat The House at Pooh Corner like that! Fully with the shushy librarians on this one.
Our heroine, Viviani Joffre Fedeler, existed in real life. Tubb made up the story, but based it on real events and people. Viviani is a charming heroine, easy to understand, and imperfect but not aggravating. I applaud Tubb for embracing the multicultural scene of 1920s New York wholeheartedly. There were even a few plugs for the Harlem Renaissance, which was lovely, though the book doesn't take place in Harlem. One of the characters, Merit Mubarak, is a recent immigrant from Egypt. I really, really appreciated how Tubb described her accent as British and didn't refer to it again, nor did she make a point of Merit stumbling over English words or American phrases. Viviani's other good friend, Eva, has a briefly-mentioned Armenian heritage. Perhaps in later books we will learn more about her family.
Perhaps my favorite parts of The Story Collector were the chapter titles. Each chapter was named for a section of the Dewey Decimal System, complete with numbers and related sections. It gave the book a feeling of being by a library lover for library lovers.
Some of the dialogue felt a bit anachronistic ("wow," "amazing," et c.), but had it been replaced with period-appropriate exclamations, it may have felt forced, so I'm letting it slide. Tubb refers to many popular children's books of the early 20th century, like Anne of Green Gabels, Winnie the Pooh, and L. Frank Baum's Oz books.
Overall, I look forward to more in the series, and will gleefully share this series with any and all bookish children. Though I read this early on a hot summer morning, I highly recommend it for rainy/snowy afternoons, curled up under a blanket with a cup of cocoa steaming nearby.
Our heroine, Viviani Joffre Fedeler, existed in real life. Tubb made up the story, but based it on real events and people. Viviani is a charming heroine, easy to understand, and imperfect but not aggravating. I applaud Tubb for embracing the multicultural scene of 1920s New York wholeheartedly. There were even a few plugs for the Harlem Renaissance, which was lovely, though the book doesn't take place in Harlem. One of the characters, Merit Mubarak, is a recent immigrant from Egypt. I really, really appreciated how Tubb described her accent as British and didn't refer to it again, nor did she make a point of Merit stumbling over English words or American phrases. Viviani's other good friend, Eva, has a briefly-mentioned Armenian heritage. Perhaps in later books we will learn more about her family.
Perhaps my favorite parts of The Story Collector were the chapter titles. Each chapter was named for a section of the Dewey Decimal System, complete with numbers and related sections. It gave the book a feeling of being by a library lover for library lovers.
Some of the dialogue felt a bit anachronistic ("wow," "amazing," et c.), but had it been replaced with period-appropriate exclamations, it may have felt forced, so I'm letting it slide. Tubb refers to many popular children's books of the early 20th century, like Anne of Green Gabels, Winnie the Pooh, and L. Frank Baum's Oz books.
Overall, I look forward to more in the series, and will gleefully share this series with any and all bookish children. Though I read this early on a hot summer morning, I highly recommend it for rainy/snowy afternoons, curled up under a blanket with a cup of cocoa steaming nearby.
October 17, 2018
THE STORY COLLECTOR, by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, is a charming and whimsical story about a girl who lives in the New York Public Library in the early 1900's. The amazing fact, however, is that the story is based on the life of Viviani Fedeler, a real girl who did indeed grow up in that amazing environment of books all around. Viviani roams through the exhibits, explores the hidden corners of the basement, and invites her friends over for sleepovers. She is even instrumental in solving the theft of one of the library's valuable exhibits. My inner fifth-grade self devoured this lively story of friendship, mischief, and mystery. My adult self applauded Tubb for her masterful world-building, with the New York Public Library and the city outside its doors coming alive for the reader. When I thought I was almost through with the story, when most of the loose ends had been tied up, Tubb interjected a twist that had me cheering and getting a little misty eyed. THE STORY COLLECTOR is definitely a story to be savored.
May 12, 2018
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Eleven-year-old Viviani Fedeler and her family live in the New York Public Library where her dad is the superintendent. She had her siblings are constantly playing in the stacks and being sushed by the librarians. Not only does Viviani love to read but she also loves to tell stories. That is until new student Merit Mubarak comes to town and calls her a liar. In her quest to prove herself Viviani sets out to trick Merit and there are disastrous results.
Set in the 1920’s and based on the real Fedeler family I thought this was a great story. I loved the timeline, photos, and authors note at the end. I also loved the chapter titles with their Dewey decimal number and alternate subject headings.
For any library lover and story teller this is a must read.
Eleven-year-old Viviani Fedeler and her family live in the New York Public Library where her dad is the superintendent. She had her siblings are constantly playing in the stacks and being sushed by the librarians. Not only does Viviani love to read but she also loves to tell stories. That is until new student Merit Mubarak comes to town and calls her a liar. In her quest to prove herself Viviani sets out to trick Merit and there are disastrous results.
Set in the 1920’s and based on the real Fedeler family I thought this was a great story. I loved the timeline, photos, and authors note at the end. I also loved the chapter titles with their Dewey decimal number and alternate subject headings.
For any library lover and story teller this is a must read.
January 27, 2019
Fantastic and magical middle grade novel that depicts the real family that lived in the NYPL in 1929. Loved everything about it!
September 6, 2018
I love books in which the setting of New York City becomes nearly as central as one of the characters or plot elements. I have so many favorites: picture books, chapter books, adult fiction, kids nonfiction. So The Story Collector was a natural for me. The fact that the specific location in NYC is the New York City Public -- the main branch with the lions out front -- well, how could I resist?
I wasn't disappointed. The Story Collector is a light family story with a bit of mystery thrown in, and some friendship conflict included. The characters are well-drawn and distinctive. The author explains historical elements without being didactic or taking away from the plot. The mystery isn't terribly mysterious, but it's not really the main point of the book IMO.
I hope that Tubbs has collected some more stories about the Fedeler family so I will have more opportunities to spend time exploring the NYPL with the luckiest kids in New York City (imagine living IN the library!)
PS. Every chapter starts with a Dewey number!
I wasn't disappointed. The Story Collector is a light family story with a bit of mystery thrown in, and some friendship conflict included. The characters are well-drawn and distinctive. The author explains historical elements without being didactic or taking away from the plot. The mystery isn't terribly mysterious, but it's not really the main point of the book IMO.
I hope that Tubbs has collected some more stories about the Fedeler family so I will have more opportunities to spend time exploring the NYPL with the luckiest kids in New York City (imagine living IN the library!)
PS. Every chapter starts with a Dewey number!
April 30, 2019
3 stars for the story, but I bumped it up a star for the beautiful writing - see examples below:
"Some people are story collectors. While others collect seashells, or stuff animals, or stamps, story collectors wrap themselves in words, surround themselves with sentences, and play with participles, even those pesky, perky dangling ones. They climb over Cs and mount Ms and lounge in Ls. Soon enough they land in the land of homonyms, then, wham! They stumble into onomatopoeia, that lovely creaking, booming bit of wordplay--and that, Dear Friend, is where our story begins" (1)
"the seconds whisk softly away like page turns. So at the stroke of midnight, when the hands aligned at the top of the clock in the pale slant of moonlight, they did so in silence. Like the whisper of a passing black cat or the sigh of a ghost. Midnight is far creepier when it arrives in this way: a new day slicing in to cut away the last, the passing of yesterday, and the fragile first moments of a new day taking shaky, unsure steps." (156)
"And so I'm still a story collector. A word peddler. A knowledge warrior. Stories help us make sense of things that don't make sense at all." (224)
"Some people are story collectors. While others collect seashells, or stuff animals, or stamps, story collectors wrap themselves in words, surround themselves with sentences, and play with participles, even those pesky, perky dangling ones. They climb over Cs and mount Ms and lounge in Ls. Soon enough they land in the land of homonyms, then, wham! They stumble into onomatopoeia, that lovely creaking, booming bit of wordplay--and that, Dear Friend, is where our story begins" (1)
"the seconds whisk softly away like page turns. So at the stroke of midnight, when the hands aligned at the top of the clock in the pale slant of moonlight, they did so in silence. Like the whisper of a passing black cat or the sigh of a ghost. Midnight is far creepier when it arrives in this way: a new day slicing in to cut away the last, the passing of yesterday, and the fragile first moments of a new day taking shaky, unsure steps." (156)
"And so I'm still a story collector. A word peddler. A knowledge warrior. Stories help us make sense of things that don't make sense at all." (224)
November 22, 2019
Imagine you live in a library, but you live in the New York Public Library (I didn't know that people lived there)! It sounds like a dream come true for those of us that work in libraries, right? Viviani is a firecracker redhead that plays baseball in the New York Public Library in 1928 with her brothers, John Jr. and Edouard, and her best friend Eva. Viviani tends to stir up mischief and avoids the janitor, Mr. Green because he's a cannibal! She collects stories from anyone she can find, and also makes one's up herself too. So when her father tells her and her siblings about a ghost that lives in the library, she just has to tell all her classmates, until a girl named Merit calls her a liar. After that insult, Viviani takes on the task to show Merit that her ghost is truly real. However, things get a little frantic when the prized stamp collection goes missing. This book was an absolute joy for me because I work in a library myself, and I believe we have a ghost that lurks around. Viviani is a fun, interesting girl that isn't afraid to stir up some trouble with her friends or her brothers. She loves books and stories but her other friend Merit believes in the concrete things in life. Did I mention she was from Giza and Viviani is jealous? The ending was a little predictable, but it is a children's book. I hope I see more New York Public Library adventures in the future, and maybe my own in the future!
October 20, 2018
I love the homage to books and reading since it's in a new collection of books published in/around/for publicity for the New York Public Library but I was more captivated by the note at the end of the real Viv and her story being *swoon* born in a library and raised for the first 15 years of her life with her family because her dad was the library's superintendent.
BUT, the fictionalized story, while adventurous and squarely middle grade with it's silliness, humor, intrigue, and light, did not do anything for me either from the character, setting, or plot perspectives. I didn't really feel much but absolutely enjoyed the illustrations throughout and the thought BEHIND the concept of the stories.
I'll still try the others that will come out, but this one didn't really do it for me, library ghost or not.
BUT, the fictionalized story, while adventurous and squarely middle grade with it's silliness, humor, intrigue, and light, did not do anything for me either from the character, setting, or plot perspectives. I didn't really feel much but absolutely enjoyed the illustrations throughout and the thought BEHIND the concept of the stories.
I'll still try the others that will come out, but this one didn't really do it for me, library ghost or not.
August 10, 2018
I’m a librarian and was immediately drawn to this book about an eleven-year-old girl who lives at the NY Public Library. How wonderful! Each chapter correlates to a Dewey Decimal number, so that makes this story even more exciting. Set in the 1920’s, The Story Collector evokes the time period well with black-and-white drawings, old timey language, and wholesome hijinks. Viviani is a spirited character, and the mystery that unfolds inside of the library was fun to read. Part historical fiction, part mystery, this should appeal to a broad audience—especially the tweens and librarians of all ages.
October 19, 2018
A tale for story lovers of all generations to enjoy. I love the author's note at the end explaining the historical significance of this book. I couldn't help being jealous of Viviani being born and raised in the flagship New York Public Library.
I love how the main character appreciates stories as part of our identity. I agree that it's the unique mix of stories in our lives that makes us a tiny bit different from everyone else. Stories do help make sense of big feelings and unexplainable things as wise twelve-year-old Viviani knows, and photos also tell a story. Viviani's closing letter profoundly answers her daunting question about the truth and telling stories.
I love how the main character appreciates stories as part of our identity. I agree that it's the unique mix of stories in our lives that makes us a tiny bit different from everyone else. Stories do help make sense of big feelings and unexplainable things as wise twelve-year-old Viviani knows, and photos also tell a story. Viviani's closing letter profoundly answers her daunting question about the truth and telling stories.
December 22, 2020
I grabbed this off the shelf as a quick read to satisfy a 2020 reading challenge block I didn't encounter in the wild-- a book set in the 1920s. With time running out on the year and 6 other books to finish, I headed for juvenile shelves! So this book turned out to be fun, sweet, and useful, and definitely one I wouldn't have read otherwise.
The main character is spunky and realistically flawed. Her big ideas will be obvious to young readers as not always the best plans. Her reflections as she deals with her mistakes didn't feel lecture-y. The setting is intriguing to adult read-aloud-ers. This is a series I can recommend at work, so I'm glad to have it in my list.
The main character is spunky and realistically flawed. Her big ideas will be obvious to young readers as not always the best plans. Her reflections as she deals with her mistakes didn't feel lecture-y. The setting is intriguing to adult read-aloud-ers. This is a series I can recommend at work, so I'm glad to have it in my list.
September 29, 2021
2021 bk 297. What a fun children's book (4-6ish grade level). I have read a number of articles on the apartments built into the New York City Public Library - but this is the most fun description of the people who lived in the library and especially what it was like for the children who lived there. While this is a fictional account - all of the family were real persons. The book uses real names and real situations (yes there was a break-in) to create this wonderful story. I'm looking forward to book #2 in the series. I recommend this book to those of all ages who like reading about the time between the 2 wars, life in a library, and what goes on behind the scenes at a library.
October 20, 2020
This is a fun book, perfect for its age group. I've always enjoyed O'Donnell Tubb's historical novels, and this didn't disappoint. When I was in elementary school, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was one of my favorite books, and this reminded me of it. And while I didn't live in a library, I can totally relate to having adventures in the buildings and surrounding parks while my mom used to teach exercise classes. Lots of fun, with a mystery tied in, and gorgeous illustrations. Honestly, more books should have illustrations. Completely delightful read.
September 16, 2018
Kristin O’Donnell Tubb is an amazing author. I’ve read all of her books and they just keep getting better. The Word Collector is the latest. It’s historical; fiction and I’m amazed at just how much history was contained in this book. An adventure, a mystery, an wonderful book.
July 18, 2023
This was so fun! I absolutely adore how this story is based off of a girl who really was born (and lived!) in the New York Public Library. A short and sweet story, great for kids looking for a quick-witted mystery.
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