Sidewalk Story (Puffin story books) [Paperback]

Sharon Bell Mathis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1986 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Puffin story books

When her best friend's family is evicted from their apartment, a nine-year-old black girl decides to do something about the situation.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 58 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (October 7, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140321659
• ISBN-13: 978-0140321654
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #629,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > Multiculturalism
  • #79 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Multiculturalism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sidewalk Story, March 27, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sidewalk Story (Puffin story books) (Paperback)

The sidewalk story is a great encouraging story. Lilly Etta is a very fighting person. This is a great book. You should read this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very moving story of how some people are only a few day's work from catastrophe, May 2, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sidewalk Story (Paperback)

This story is a sad one and unfortunately, one that is all too frequent. A single mother with many children is barely surviving, even though she is trying as hard as she can. However, when the children get sick, she must choose between food and rent. She makes the only sensible choice, but that leads to her eviction.
When the movers and Marshalls arrive, the young neighbor Etta is distraught and wants to help her evicted friend Tanya. Using their last dimes, they make phone calls to the police and to the newspaper. The police cannot do anything, and the reporter is skeptical. When Tanya's possessions are on the sidewalk and it begins to rain, Etta gets some blankets and covers them. However, the wind is blowing, so Etta lays down on them to hold them down and falls asleep.
The reporter was interested in the case, so he stopped by to look at the situation. When he saw young Etta lying there trying to help, his heart was moved. He called in some favors and made some other calls and managed to get Tanya's mother a job, help with child care, a place to stay and a place for her possessions to be stored. While the story is a sad one, it ends on a happy note.
It is a sad and often neglected fact that most people who are evicted are not deadbeats, but are hard working people who struggle to make it even when it is as good as it gets for them. They are only one illness or bad break from catastrophe. This book is an excellent depiction of those circumstances, but it also demonstrates compassion, and how tiny good works by many people can lead to a dramatic improvement in the life of someone who needs a hand to help them rather than to slap them.

5.0 out of 5 stars I was read this book and instantly loved it, January 20, 2012

By 

JesusJuice - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sidewalk Story (Puffin story books) (Paperback)

I was read this story when I was child. Its about reality and a single mother with many children and she is trying to make ends meet. She must choose between paying food or paying for rent and since she chose paying for food, she is getting evicted. Lilly Etta sees all this happening to her best friend Tanya and she fights to help her out. I loved this story. It is a classic about life. I still have this book for myself.