Customer Reviews

Library Card (After Words)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What sounds like a boring topic actually turns out to be a wonderful series of four individual stories, about four different young people whose lives are about to change because of the mysterious appearance of a blue plastic card.

Mongoose lives in the inner city. With his good friend, Weasel, he writes graffiti all over the neighborhood. Weasel eventually drops out of school -- Mongoose has found a strange blue card that opens up a world he hadn't even dreamed of...

Sonseray lives in a car, with his uncle. They travel from city to city, often leaving earlier than his uncle wants because of Sonseray's anger over the early loss of his mother. But that funny blue card shows up mysteriously, leading him to a nice cool library with more than central air conditioning.

Brenda loves television. Her life evolves around her favorite shows -- until one week, when she has to participate in her school's Great TV Turnoff. How will she ever survive? That blue card pulls her so far away from the television, she may never return.

And April Mendez, who loves to read. Stuck in a funny farm... when her family moves, she meets Nanette, a tough runaway teen who loses April's library card! Some strange blue card shows up -- April eventually gives it to Nanette and -- well, things really change.

My almost 10 year old son and I read this. He is NOT an avid reader, which is why I am always reading WITH him, and he surprised me by begging to read the next story after we finished each one (he had to wait a whole day for each story!)

Very different, high quality story that gives a message without being at all preachy.

I once heard an author interview with Gary Paulsen, who as a young boy, sought refuge in the local library, soaking up the books there. These four vignettes about four very different kids and the way their lives are touched by a library card made me wonder if Spinelli was inspired by that same interview to write this book.

Each of the kids experiences alienation in very different ways, and each of the kids discovers themself and their connectedness differently, but the common thread is the library card that magically appears for each. All of the characters are very strong, and their disaffection for the world is clear. I especially enjoyed the first and the last vignette in the book. The first tells of a 12 year old boy who has been flirting with street gang behavior discovering the joy of knowledge. The last one tells of a girl who is new to her school and an outcast discovering the joy of reaching out to another in need.

Spinelli has a way with characters such as these. He captures their personalities and inner conflicts, but does so with a subtle touch of humor that allows young readers to sense that everything will be okay for the hero or heroine. As a teacher who often finds myself working with students like "Mongoose" in the first vignette, I've discovered that Jerry Spinelli's books can capture even the most reluctant reader.

This book is divided into 4 different stories. One is about a boy who is undergoing peer pressure when he finds a library card and becomes facinated by books. Another is about a girl suffering from laziness who only watches tv. She then must turn off the tv for a week. Another is about a girl who goes aboard a 'library bus' and the last one is about a poor boy who lives in a car with his uncle and travels about.
This is aimed more towards younger kids, which is probaly why i didn't like it too much. It was a little too short and some parts lacked creativity. It kept me busy for a couple days, but there are better books I would suggest, such as Tangerine, Silent to the Bone, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, Holes, The Face on the Milk Carton and A Wrinkle in Time.
I give it a 3 out of 5.

Jerry Spinelli is one of the best writers of young-adult fiction currently writing. His ideas connect not only with his main target audience, but with many adults as well. His writing style is full of vivid images and he uses unusual vocabulary words that force readers to grow in their language skills.

THE LIBRARY CARD is basically a novella written around four different stories tied together through a mysterious blue libary card. The first revolves around a boy named Mongoose and all the pranks he pulls and trouble he gets into with his friend named Weasel. The second focuses in on a girl named Brenda who is obsessed with televsion. The third story is about a homeless teenager named Sonseray who lives in a car with his uncle near a junkyard. The final story in the book is told as a first-person narrative from a girl named April and tells about moving to a Philadelphia mushroom farm and being hijacked on a bookmobile. Each story is unique in and of itself and the main characters have very little in common. However, each story illustrates the power of reading and how reading really can change a person's life.

This book is very interesting, and the storyline is strange but good. There are 4 different characters, each affected by a library card. The first is a kid by the nickname of Mongoose, who happens to find the card. He uses it to learn about a certain bug which he found (he accidentally spray- painted over it while painting graffiti). He ends his chapter by becoming a book- addict and becoming obsessed with random things he learns in his readings.
The card is then carried over to Brianna, a TV- obsessed maniac with a life of "Teen Toons" and other shows. Her school holds a great TV turnoff- one week of no television. Will she survive? read to find out. there are also 2 other characters, which you should read about yourself. I would recommend this book to a 5th- 6th- or 7th- grader.

The library Card By Jerry Spinelli

You Have to Read This Book
A 10-year Reader From White Lake, Michigan

If you like sad and happy stories this is the one to read. I would give my book a 4-star there is one bad part of the book it is talking about one person then it changes to a different person but the rest of the book is really good .It takes place in a big city and a fram and other places. It is 4-different. The char actors in the book are Mongoose,Weasel,Brenda,Sonseray,April and Nanette. It is a really good book besides that. My favorite part is with Mongoose and Weasel.

The Library Card

In my second period L.A class my teacher Mrs. Donohue (Mrs. D short for Donohue) has us read 3 books per quarter. We have to do a critical review each quarter. Our first quarter, we have to do a critical review on the first book we read. I have to tell you some information about this book. So here we go.

My first book I read was called The Library Card. The author is Jerry Spinelli he writes a lot of different books like Loser, Stargirl, Wringer, etc. The Library Card is a story. There are different sections of it. The Library Card falls into a mystery/adventure category. This book is about to boys that are bestfriends. They always sit on top of a tall building. They go to a market and steal quite a bit of candy and sell it, to buy spray paint cans. Then they go around and spray paint things. As they do this one of the boys find a blue card in his pocket. Then he realizes that its a library card so he goes to the library and starts to check out books. Then the library card gets passed around to different people, and they use the library card.

The books have strengths and weaknesses. The strength part of the book is that at the end of every chapter it leaves sentences that make you want to keep reading. This is called a narrative hook. The weakness in the book is that when the library card gets past around to different people it kind of goes into a different story so its a little confusing. Jerry Spinelli is a great author to write books. He has adventure, drama, mystery, and so much more in his books. I think this book is a great book, if people have a chance they need to go to the library and check out The Library Card. This is a great book for readers from 5th to 8th grade because they can learn a lot from this book. They could learn that going to the library and checking out books is a great thing to do for your education.

Four rather disconnected short stories. Each short presents a different type of non-reader: the budding vandal in a gritty urban setting, your middle-class "vidiot" tv drone, one homeless teen with a hot temper, and a girl who flags down the local book-mobile, only to find that it has been hi-jacked. Mr. Spinelli treats some of his short story characters rather poorly when compared with those found in his full length books... one becomes a nerd and another a twit. This book borders on sci-fi/fantasy, a first for Mr. Spinelli, so perhaps we can excuse him for certain transgressions. And yet, He has written so many outstanding works for young readers that it pains me to discribe this book as average. Perhaps that is the answer: he has written a good book for non-readers in the hopes that they will be hooked on real kids, doing real kid things, while thinking real kid thoughts. Tempt your favorite non-reader with "The Library Card", wait for it to digest, mix in some "Maniac Magee", "Dump Days", and watch for the next outstanding Spinelli work.

If you like a book with friends who steal, and one friend changes, then read this book! This book is called The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli. Mongoose and Weasel are best friends. There's only one problem: Mongoose steals.

Mongoose and Weasel spray paint all over walls, tires, and dumpsters. They never get caught. Weasel starts to adore school and he even goes to the library on a daily basis just to read books all day!

When Mongoose goes into stores he stuffs his pockets with candy to sell at school to get money. Then he runs out without the cashier even noticing him. Weasel is a bystander when this happens.

This book should only be read by people who are fine with fighting and stealing. My opinion about is book is that the author doesn't interest me at all. This book is not the type of books I would read.

These two friends are friends the first second then they aren't. What will happen to Weasel and Mongoose? Will they stay friends? Are there other main characters? Find out when you read The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli.

THIS BOOK IS THE WORLDS BEST BOOK SINCE MOLLY MOONS INCREDIBLE BOOK OF HYPTNOTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is awesome because, after every story, there is a moral. This book showed me that the things that things that seem horrible, turn out to be the best thing for you. It changed my life the same way it changed Mongoose, Brenda, Sonseray, and April Mendez.The thing that I thought was interesting was that the libraryian was always in the story. Sure when they went to the library they saw her, but she's also deeper everywhere. Think about it.