Scooter: A Chapter Book for Children (Ages 8-12) About Moving to the City, Summer Discoveries, and New Friendships

by Vera B. Williams

Elana is thrilled to be living all the way up on the eighth floor of 514 Melon Hill Avenue, an apartment building in New York City. But with her new life come changes--and challenges. Is her shiny scooter up to the crags and potholes of city sidewalks? Will she be able to make new friends? Can she find a way to help out little Petey, who everyone says doesn't talk? And will the kids from Melon Hill win any blue ribbons at the Borough-Wide Field Day? As Elana coasts toward discoveries and surprises in her new home, she keeps one thing in Anything can happen as long as you have a winning attitude and a cool set of wheels! Elana Rose Rosen and her mother have just moved to a new apartment, and this is Elana's story about the event-filled summer that follows and the new neighbors and friends that become an important part of her life. "A pleasure to read....A story, told with tremendous inventiveness, of the satisfactions and intellectual excitements of childhood, of the worlds seen, explained and illustrated through the remarkable eyes of a remarkable girl."--New York Times Book Review.

Genres: Childrens

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Graduate of Black Mountain College, North Carolina, where she majored in graphic art. In her own words, she has "done graphic art, school teaching, children-raising [she has two daughters and a son], has run a bakery and been a cook in schools and restaurants." (from back flap of book)

Vera B. Williams is the winner of the 2009 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature.

You can read much more about this author here or here

Reviews

[Joann · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books. Great story, acrostic poems to start each chapter, interesting drawings. (Who can resist a graph of the ups and downs of your day?)
Realistic portrayal of the struggles and joys of growing up with a single parent, quirky caring friends and neighbors, and a realistic main character. This book does a particularly good job of showing the anger, jealousy and happiness that can all exist in one little girl.
WHY is this book no longer in print? Luckily, used copies are readily available on line. I’ve bought two. One to cherish and one to lend.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never knew that Vera B. Williams wrote anything longer than picture and short poetry books until I found this novel. It's about a girl who moves to an apartment in New York City, and the people she meets in her apartment building as she rides her scooter around and makes friends. It took place during the course of one summer, and the way Williams makes you feel as if you're there, with little details of daily life, I think it's got to be all or partly autobiographical. I liked the relationship between Elana and her mother, who were on their own after Elana's father left. Williams does a good job of portraying what it's like to throw a tantrum and lose control of oneself. I would like to read more about Elana's adventures--wish she'd write a sequel!

[Cheryl]

I should've loved this. But I couldn't get into it. And yet I really have no idea why. I lightly skimmed after the first two chapters and just didn't ever feel tempted to wade in, much less immerse.... I do recommend it to you if you're interested though.

Btw, it's a full-length heavily illustrated novel for ages 6-9 (I think), but it's more the shape of a fat picture-book.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 8-year-old daughter was pulled into a special group to read this -- and tomorrow, to hear the author speak. She begged me to join (in the reading and the trip), and it's hard not to embrace her love of words.

I wish, though, that I'd loved this book.

It skews quite a bit younger than she usually reads (which is funny, as the narrator/protagonist is her age). And it just didn't resonate with me.

It's a sweet tale of a girl adjusting to life in NYC. But not anything that will stay with me very long.

Maybe I'll be wowed by the author instead.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rode a scooter more than I rode a bike in it childhood but that doesn't day much considering I never learned how to ride a bike

[Allison Whitford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scooter is the story of a young girl named Elana and her struggle with making new friends. Elana has just moved to a new apartment building in New York City. She is very excited to live on the eighth floor, but she is nervous to ride her scooter through the city streets. Elana is also nervous about making new friends. Elana has a wonderful time during that first summer. She goes on several different adventures and always has a positive attitude about every situation. Elana makes a lot of great friends and they all love her signature item... her shiny scooter.
I liked this book a lot, even though it was hard for me to relate to it. Apart from moving to college I have lived in the same house my entire life. To move to a new building in a huge city like New York would be very hard for a young child. When reading this book I was try to think about how I would feel if I would have had to move. I do not think I would have liked it very much. This book helped me to be more sympathetic and admire children that have to move a lot in their lifetime.
This book would be wonderful for students who have moved and are struggling to make new friends. Hopefully this book would help inspire students who have been around the school for a while to reach out to the new kids. I want my future students to always feel welcome in my classroom. Maybe this book can help.

[Ellen L. Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elana Rose Rosen is a remarkable character, and Vera Williams is a remarkable author and illustrator.

I loved this imaginative book about Elana, her adventures on her Scooter in NYC and her friendships with Nanette, Adrienne, Siobhan, Eduard, Vinh, and Petey. The borough-wide field day, which Elana and her friends have eagerly prepared for, ends up being a "Zig Zag Day," a concept that she beautifully illustrates as well as explains. Most of all, I love Elana's fondness for acrostics. Here's what she does with the word Alphabet--
“All we have to do is
Learn 26 little letters then
People can make a million + words (in English alone)
Humans were brilliant to invent alphabets!
All alphabets are equal
Best friend to everyone, the alphabet is
Elegant, efficient, easy to learn
Totally impossible to imagine myself alphabet-less.”

And here is her description of herself—

”Every day she rides her scooter
Loves to dance and loves music
Admits she acts stupid and stuck up sometimes
Now she has friends at Melon Hill Houses
And Nanette is coming.”

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Williams' cartoons, drawings, lists, and recipes predate other diary type books in this story of Elana Rose Rosen, her scooter, her new neighborhood -- urban apartment complex, single working mother, realities of that life combined with fun, everyday childhood experiences (fair day, friendships, etc.) -- pioneering in so many ways.