The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt
Caroline Preston
ISBN: 22960000470467
Actual vintage ads and articles and ephemera collected and scrapbooked into a fictional narrative.
This was an interesting book. I wasn't so hot on the Grace Livingston Hill, modern girl finds a good man storyline (ok, it wasn't quite that bad, but it was a little schlocky) but it was pretty common for books set in the 1920s, and the main character does want to write, and her new husband seems ok with her doing so...
Anyway. Frankie Pratt is a whip-smart 'modern' girl who wants to go to college, but can't afford it, even on a partial scholarship. So she works as a home aide for a local retiree, until said retiree's rakish (and married) son becomes obsessed with her and starts an enthusiastically-encouraged romance. Poor Frankie. Her mom finds out, busts up the lovebirds by blackmailing the old lady, and Frankie is packed off to Vassar posthaste.
The whole story is basically all of the cliches of those early romances-disguised-as-morality tales, but every cliche is passed along in a fairly dry and somewhat winking manner, through ironic (and sometimes poignant) art and advertising clippings, bits of ephemera, and other assorted paper bits and drabs of a life lived interestingly.
Really a very fun concept, and while the story is a little meager - what can you expect from a scrapbook diary? I loved every minute of it.
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Nonfiction Picture Book: Me and Momma and Big John, by Mara Rockliff & William Low
Me and Momma and Big John
Mara Rockliff, illustrated by William Low
ISBN: 9780763643591
Read February 18, 2015
A fictionalized story of a mother and stonecutter working on St John the Divine in New York in the 1970s.
Truly beautiful story about a part of American history that I didn't know about before. St John the Divine has never been finished, but for a while in the 1970s and 1980s, a program existed that took master stonemasons from Europe, brought them over to New York, and taught local workers the stonecutting trade. Among them was a young mother, and this story is from the point of view of her young son, who is both proud of his mother's important work, and worried that she won't have her artistic creation honored like the people in the museum. He's comforted by the imposing stature of the building, realizing that architecture is created to be used, not set back and admired.
Stunning combination of story and illustrations, but a touch on the slight side. A beefy author's note at the end gives context and history, and explains that the church is even now unfinished, but is used constantly by many people of many faiths as a community center.
Mara Rockliff, illustrated by William Low
ISBN: 9780763643591
Read February 18, 2015
A fictionalized story of a mother and stonecutter working on St John the Divine in New York in the 1970s.
Truly beautiful story about a part of American history that I didn't know about before. St John the Divine has never been finished, but for a while in the 1970s and 1980s, a program existed that took master stonemasons from Europe, brought them over to New York, and taught local workers the stonecutting trade. Among them was a young mother, and this story is from the point of view of her young son, who is both proud of his mother's important work, and worried that she won't have her artistic creation honored like the people in the museum. He's comforted by the imposing stature of the building, realizing that architecture is created to be used, not set back and admired.
Stunning combination of story and illustrations, but a touch on the slight side. A beefy author's note at the end gives context and history, and explains that the church is even now unfinished, but is used constantly by many people of many faiths as a community center.
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