Breakfast at the Liberty Diner [Hardcover]

Daniel Kirk (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Series: Breakfast at the Liberty Diner

When Bobby, his mother, and his little brother stop in at the Liberty Diner, they get much more than breakfast. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enters the diner. A victim of polio himself, Bobby is left inspired by his encounter with this man who overcame his own physical disabilities to become president of the United States. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3?It's the 1930s, and Bobby Potter, his mother, and baby brother are traveling by train to an undisclosed destination. It's the first time the boy has been away from home since an illness left him with the need to wear a leg brace. His mother has arranged to meet her brother at the Liberty Diner, and there's a rumor that President Roosevelt is headed there as well. While Bobby waits for breakfast, he tries to understand the mysterious language spoken by the waitress and the short-order cook ("a pair of cackles, wrecked" means scrambled eggs) and is annoyed that his baby brother seems to get all the attention. Eventually, the president arrives as predicted and the child's chance encounter with him provides a much-needed, albeit saccharine, dose of encouragement. The stylized, boxy illustrations are painted in oil on canvas and focus on the diner and its varied customers. While close-ups capture the mother's anxiety and Bobby's frustrations, some portraits of lesser characters border on caricature. By combining his love of diners and his admiration for FDR (explained in a detailed author's note), Kirk has created a personalized period piece that will appeal more to older baby boomers and their parents than to the targeted audience.?Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

While they wait for Uncle Angelo at the Liberty Diner, Bobby, his baby brother, George, and his mother are surprised when President Roosevelt stops in during breakfast. Kirk (Trash Trucks!, p. 723, etc.) captures the happy chaos of a restaurant packed with diners, reporters, and a busy staff: Marge the waitress barks out orders as customers come and go. In the midst of all this, Bobby orders ``wrecked cackles'' for breakfast, only to discover he's getting scrambled eggs, which he hates. He starts to pout, but everything is interrupted by the arrival of the president. A reporter thrusts George into the president's arms for a picture, but Roosevelt pulls Bobby into the picture, too. Kirk barely dabbles in the range of colorful diner vernacular and, through the presidential visit, prevents readers from understanding just how exciting an ordinary day at the diner is. Expressive, eye-catching illustrations tell the tale better than the wordy text; filled with bustling, sipping, munching, smiling people, the scenes at the Liberty Diner come alive. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Disney Pr (Juv Trd) (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786803037
• ISBN-13: 978-0786803033
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,454,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for many levels and topics, May 25, 2000

By 

Dan & Sherri Purdom (Independence, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breakfast at the Liberty Diner (Hardcover)

This has become one of my favorite children's books. It touches so many different levels and topics. I read it to a second grade class and we discussed everything from diner lingo, to a grand train station such as our Union Station in KC, to polio and immunizations, to the president, to growing up and being whatever you dream to be. They loved it and I think you will too.