The Araboolies of Liberty Street [Hardcover]

Sam Swope (Author)

Book Description

Illus. in full color. "The General and Mrs. Pinch rule Liberty Street, prohibiting all laughter and games. Joy and the other youngsters who live there are unhappy but there is nothing they can do about it. Then the Araboolies, who speak no English and who change skin color daily, move in. Life becomes chaotic, exciting, and fun. This sure-fire plot, destined to woo readers, offers the welcome message of tolerance. The crisp text and autumn-muted paintings are a triumph of energy, enthusiasm, and design. Excellent to share with older readers, thought-provoking at any age."--(starred) Booklist.  

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

General Pinch successfully squelches any attempts at joy-making on Liberty Street until the Araboolies arrive. "The many-sided satire on fascism is wordy and repetitive," said PW. "But the messages of freedom, individualism and tolerance are strong." Ages 4-up. (Apr.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-- When the colorful, noisy, multihued Araboolies move to conventional, quiet Liberty Street, General Pinch and his wife are horrified. And when the Araboolies paint their house in bright zigzags, camp on the front lawn, and engage the neighborhood children in wild and joyful games, General Pinch calls out the army. Quickly the children decorate every house with paints, banners and balloons, leaving the General's house as the "weird one" on the block. Following orders to find the house that is different, the soldiers tie up the Pinch's house and drag it away. Brightly colored, sweeping, full double-page paintings enliven this modern fable of people vs. government. Swope's message may well be that diversity and individuality are good, but what comes through in the story is the sense that modern neighborhoods, no matter how ordinary, exist under the threat of military enforcement. The fact that the children of the neighborhood are able to cover up the radical individualism of the dissident family and turn the tables on the General himself gives no comfort. The pictures are full of action and entertainment, and the book can prove useful--not for the lighthearted story that was probably intended, but for consideration of the seldom-discussed role of the military in modern societies. The creators of this book, perhaps unwittingly, have produced that rarity, a picture book that deals with political issues as well as more subtle social themes of tolerance, conformity, and the rights of the individual in a community. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (October 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517885425
• ISBN-13: 978-0517885420
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,088,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making a difference, February 5, 2005

By 

Wendy E. Oellers "Teacher of Thinkers" (Laconia, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Araboolies of Liberty Street (Paperback)

This book offered a wonderful way for my third grade students to reflect on what can happen when there is a dictatorship who condemns diversity. They loved the Araboolies, and enjoyed both the text and the illustrations. After reading the book, I asked the kids if they thought there was a message in the book. One child answered quietly, "like Joy, each one of us can make a difference." Others piped in, "like Harriet Tubman, Like Rosa Parks, like Abraham Lincoln" and the list went on....naming people who chose to make a positive difference in this world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book long before I had children., November 24, 2005

By 

LTR8URE (Bethlehem, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Araboolies of Liberty Street (Paperback)

I attended Middlebury's Bread Loaf School of English with the author, Sam Swope. I needed some light reading one day and cruised the campus book store. "Ah, a children's book", I thought, "that's a good choice." Little did I know how much that book would come to mean, much less to a husband and children who had yet to enter my life. The Araboolies of Liberty Street has come to be the one story we read every night which none of us wants removed from the rotation. I've been enjoying that book for 15 years-how wonderful to have others join me. It will become the "birthday" book for my children's friends. The toys will come and go, but the lessons of The Araboolies will live for a very long time, especially in our family.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is an excellent resource to study diversity., February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Araboolies of Liberty Street (Hardcover)

The Araboolies are a strange group of people who children will recognize as being just like themselves. Lessons on similarities and differences are easy to create using this book. I use this book in a citizenship lesson to teach children how to accept people who are different from themselves. A lot of fun for children up through the sixth grade.