Nothing Ever Happens On 90th Street [Paperback]

Roni Schotter (Author), Kyrsten Brooker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

write what she knows,"" young Eva takes the literary advice of her neighbors while adding a few embellishments that make her neighborhood seem much more exciting than she realized.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?Schotter offers blocked young writers some savvy advice as she gives the premise of Ellen Raskin's Nothing Ever Happens on My Block (Aladdin, 1989) a contemporary flavor?in more ways than one. Sitting on her stoop with a Danish and a notebook as blank as her mind, Eva searches for inspiration as passing residents share words of wisdom: watch carefully, don't neglect details, use words in new ways ("Try to find the poetry in your pudding"), stretch the truth if necessary, make something happen. Taking the last to heart, Eva crumbles up her pastry to attract a flock of pigeons, setting off a chain of small accidents, chance meetings, and conversations, all of which she happily records. By the end, good things have come to everyone: an actor "on hiatus" lands a job offer, romance blooms between a pizza man and a lonely dancer, and the addition of some spilled coffee changes a vendor's bland chocolate mousse into mocha so magnificent that he is inspired to open a cafe with two new friends. Brooker incorporates pieces of newspaper, scraps of patterned cloth, and small objects into her paintings of a thoroughly lived-in urban neighborhood. Against backgrounds that have the intimacy and flattened perspective of a small stage, she poses her characters in appropriately theatrical stances; their wide gestures and exaggerated expressions suit this lively, fluently told tale perfectly.?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-7. Eva's homework assignment is to write about what she knows, but she thinks that observing the goings-on in her neighborhood will be boring. At first she's right. One neighbor doesn't smile, several have job problems, one can't get his mousse to taste right. All of them have suggestions for Eva's writing, though. They advise her to stretch the truth, add action as if it were seasoning, and, most of all, when the story bogs down, ask, "What if . . . ?" and try to figure out what happens next. That's just what Eva does, and with the help of her manipulation, neighbors start falling in love, opening restaurants, and adding mocha to mousse. The story meanders at times, but Brooker's snazzy artwork will keep readers and listeners focused. Resembling the pictures of Lane Smith but executed in collage, the stylized art has action and humor enough for children but is visually interesting enough to appeal to adults reading it aloud. An excellent choice to use with older children studying creative writing. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531071367
• ISBN-13: 978-0531071366
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roni Schotter is the award-winning author of 28 books for children, including picture books and story picture books for middle readers, as well as middle-grade and young adult novels. Three more of her books will be coming out in the next couple of years. Her books are concerned with imagination and its power and the extraordinary courage of children who think for themselves and "dare to reach out to the larger world."

Born in New York City, Roni Schotter lived for a time in Brooklyn, New York, then moved to the state that had the smallest piece on her jig-saw puzzle map--Rhode Island. There she learned to love johnny cakes and the sea.

She never knew she would grow up to be a writer, but she knew that she loved words--their mystery, meaning and power. She was shy and spent a good amount of time watching and listening to the world, using her imagination to make sense of what she saw and heard. Grown up and an author now, she still does the same thing. Like a detective, she listens, looks and sniffs the world, then writes about whatever excites or puzzles her--in her notebook. Daydreaming, she uses imagination to create her many stories.

Ms. Schotter's books have won various awards, including the Parents Choice Award (for The Boy Who Loved Words and Captain Snap and the Children of Vinegar Lane), the Hungry Mind Review Award (for A Fruit and Vegetable Man), and the Washington Irving Children's Choice Award (for F is for Freedom and Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street.) Dreamland and A Fruit and Vegetable Man were cited as Washington Irving Honor Book Awards. In 1991 Ms. Schotter received the National Jewish Book Award for Hanukkah! Passover Magic was cited by the National Council of Teachers of Social Studies as a "Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies." Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street was cited by the National Council of Teachers of English as a "Notable Children's Trade Book in Language Arts." Her first book, the young-adult novel, A Matter of Time, was made into an ABC After School Special and won an Emmy Award. Several other books have been adapted for the stage by Stages Theatre Company--Hopkins, Minn.

Many of her books have received starred reviews in School Library Journal, including The Boy Who Loved Words, Mama, I'll Give You the World, and Captain Snap and the Children of Vinegar Lane and Dreamland (also cited by the Child Study Assoc. and named as an Honor Book for the Irma Simonton Black Award by Bank Street College of Education). About Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street, SLJ said, "Schotter offers blocked young writers some savvy advice . . .[in a] fluently told tale." About The Boy Who Loved Words, SLJ said, "Schotter blends magical realism with a tongue-tingling narrative to create an ode to the power and purpose of language. An inspiring choice for wordsmiths and anyone who cherishes the variety and vitality of language,"

In the past, Ms. Schotter worked as a children's book editor for various publishers. She has also taught writing at Queens College, C.U.N.Y., at Manhattanville College, and privately. She has been a guest speaker at Vassar College's Summer Institute in Children's Publishing, and at annual conferences of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

These days, she does a good deal of speaking in schools to children--fellow writers--about the art and craft of writing and the importance and pleasure of using their imagination to tell their own stories.

Roni Schotter was born in New York City and grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She attended Carnegie Mellon University and graduated from New York University with a B.A. in English. She lives in a small village north of New York City with her husband, a playwright/lyricist and professor. She has one son, Jesse, who loves writing and reading as much as she does.

Visit Roni at http://www.ronischotter.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great and Useful Book!, August 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nothing Ever Happens On 90th Street (Paperback)

This is a wonderfully imaginative book filled with lively characters and surprising events. I've read it to my class and they've asked for it again and again. Even more importantly, it has stimulated and improved their writing skills and inspired them to try their own version of this story. A great help in the classroom, and, a lot of fun!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful for elementary writing strategies., November 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Nothing Ever Happens On 90th.s (Hardcover)

As Eva records in her writer's notebook she believes she has nothing to write about. Her colorful neighbors, however, prove this to be quite far from the truth. Each rich character offers sound writing strategies that Eva applies to her writing. A lonely retired actor encourages her to look for the details all around. The prima ballerina who never smiles invites Eva to stretch her imagination. Mrs. Martinez advises Eva to add spice to her writing as she does to her Mexican soup. Mr. Morley suggests she ask herself, " What if?" All the events add up to a story that Eva has recorded for all to enjoy. An additional benefit is the new business created as a result of hilarious circumstances. Writing teachers will return to this delightful story again and again to encourage children to try the same stratgies in their own writing.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderfully Entertaining and Educational Book, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nothing Ever Happens On 90th Street (Paperback)

A fun romp full of wonderful characters, plus helpful tidbits to improve children's writing. A multicultural and intergenerational story in an urban setting, in which the soap opera star Saundra Saunderson and the fish store owner Mr. Chang come together with many other colorful neighbors to create a community on 90th Street. Eva, the child writer, records and participates in all the action and finally comes up with an extraordinary topic for her school assignment. A funny, great and useful tale to teach and read, whether you live on 90th Street, in the suburbs, or in the country.