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The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Last updated Monday, November 25, 2024
Author: Karina Yan Glaser
Illustrator: Karina Yan Glaser
Date of Publication: 2017
ISBN: 0544876393
Grade Level: 4th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Dec. 2024
Synopsis:
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.
| Note to readers: |
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This is a long book. You will probably only get through 3 chapters or so, unless you decide to skip some. Remember to tell the kids that they can check the book out from the library to finish it.
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Chapter 1 (pp. 1-15) introduces the Vanderbeeker family, their pets, their home (there is a great map of the Vanderbeeker's neighborhood on the inside front cover pages, and drawing of their block of row houses on the next page before you begin), and the challenge: getting their landlord to change his mind about not renewing their lease ("Operation Beiderman").
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Page 5 shows the layout of the Vanderbeekers' apartment. Note that the Ground Floor, and First floor are what we would call the 1st floor and 2nd floor; this is the way New Yorkers talk about different floors of a building.
Page 17 (near the beginning of Chapter 2) shows how the Vanderbeekers live at the bottom of the building and Mr. Beiderman, their landlord, lives at the top.
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| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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Ask the kids to look at the map. Show where the Vanderbeekers live, the library, and school ("P.S." for "public school" 737). See if the kids want to try to read the map and identify things on their own. Have they ever been to New York City?
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The Vanderbeekers are mom and dad and five kids (11-year old twins, Isa and Jessie, 9-year old Oliver, 6-year old Hyacinth, and 3-3/4-year-old Laney) plus the family pets: dog Franz, cat George Washington, and rabbit Paganini. How many brothers and sisters do you have? How do you get along with each other?
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Describe your relationships with your siblings or friends.Give an example of an interaction with one of them to illustrate their description of how they get along.
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What pets does your family have? What is your favorite animal to live with?
Vocabulary
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radiator - a device that heats a room using hot water or steam. It's usually a large metal apparatus that's connected to a boiler, which heats water to a high temperature. The hot water then passes through the radiator and releases heat into the room. Here's a photo of an example: https://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/hudson-reed-colosseum-horizontal-column-radiator
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companiably - in a friendly and pleasant way
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brownstone - a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Generally, used to describe townhomes or rowhouses that are brick structures with grand stoops, tall windows, and unique windowsills. Brownstones are at least two floors, typically ranging from three to four floors.
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shale - Metamorphic Paleozoic rocks made from deposits of mud. This sediment, composed of quartz, mica and feldspar, became brownstone.
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flinch - make a quick, nervous movement as an instinctive reaction to fear, pain, or surprise. (Maybe you can demonstrate?)
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macarons - A macaron is a meringue-based sandwich cookie made with almond flour, egg whites, confectioners' sugar, and food coloring. Common fillings include buttercream, ganache, and fruit-based jam.
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Bunsen burner - A Bunsen burner is a type of gas burner commonly used as a heat source in laboratory experiments.
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Erlenmeyer flasks - a conical flat-bottomed laboratory flask (glass container) with a narrow neck.
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rotund - (of a person) plump. Marked by roundness.
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facade - face ( of a building) - the front of a building, any face of a building given special architectural treatment
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turrets - a little tower, specifically : an ornamental structure at an angle of a larger structure
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Rube Goldberg machine - A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way.
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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Chapter 2 tells more about their neighborhood, members of the family, how they have local friends, and the kids' initial ideas for ways to change "the Beiderman"'s mind. It also talks about how each of the kids look, including their mixed heritage and which physical characteristics they received from each parent. It also talks a little bit about Mr. Beiderman: the kids have never met their landlord, because in 6 years he has never left his apartment.
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What do the children learn about Mr. Beiderman from Mr. Jones (the mailman)? How does Angie help them discover additional information about Mr. Beiderman and his family?
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What kind of things would you do to make friends with someone you've never met?
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How do you help your family at home? Do you help cook? Do you help clean? What about making dog biscuits/treats?
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Do you know the person who delivers mail to your home/apartment/etc?
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How does your family celebrate winter holidays? What are some winter holidays (examples: Christmas, Hannukah (Jewish), Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day (Buddhist), Saint Nicholas Day (Christian), Boxing Day (English), Yule (pagan),
Saint Lucy's Day (Nordic national holidays), Ōmisoka (Japanese New Year's Eve). What other holidays do you celebrate in December?
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Who do you celebrate holidays with? (neighbors, friends, various family members?)
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| Craft ideas: |
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Refer back to the map of the Vanderbeeker neighborhood. Create a map of your own community. What buildings and people does this map include?
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Using a brown paper bag, draw the Vanderbeekers' brownstone (or your own apartment building) for a gift bag! See https://pin.it/5gHtZdAUl
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Using a paper coffee filter (the round 8-12-cup size), preferable white, make snowflakes. Examples at https://pin.it/2RXr2VLzZ
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| Special activities: |
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Do the word search
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*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
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