BREAKFAST AT THE LIBERTY DINER

DANIEL KIRK

ISBN 10: 0786803037 / ISBN 13: 9780786803033

Published by Hyperion, us, 1997

About this Item

a NF COPY of a 1st printing SIGNED AND DOODLED by Daniel Kirk. Seller Inventory # 644

Bibliographic Details

Title: BREAKFAST AT THE LIBERTY DINER

Publisher: Hyperion, us

Publication Date: 1997

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: NF

Dust Jacket Condition: NF

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Bobby, his mother, and his baby brother are having breakfast at the Liberty Diner when President Franklin Roosevelt stops in for a visit

Reviews:

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.

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.