LEWIS BUZBEE is a former bookseller and sales rep, and the author of the acclaimed adult memoir, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, published by Graywolf Press in June 2006. His next book, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, will be available from Feiwel and Friends in Fall 2010. A native Californian, Lewis lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter.
"The themes of valuing friendship, managing adults who have lost their priorities, and connecting people through stories will appeal to kids who have found their own magic in the library." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "The second half of the book is the most absorbing.... [The protagonist] is well drawn. This novel would have greatest appeal to readers familiar with Steinbeck's works." --School Library Journal "The story remains an intriguing introduction/companion to Steinbeck's works and imaginatively conveys the power of literature to transport people to another time and place." --Publishers Weekly "Buzbee's love for literature and libraries is infectious and, for those similarly inclined, deeply satisfying." --Booklist "Magical realism with Steinbeck's ghost and a discerning young hero." --Kirkus "You realize Buzbee just doesn't love books, he's besotted." --Publishers Weekly, starred review on The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop "A delectable feast.... I cannot remember when I have read a book with such delight." --Paul Yamazaki, City Lights Bookstore on The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
In his middle-grade debut, Buzbee (The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop) pays eerie tribute to a great American author. A native of Salinas, Calif., Travis Williams is campaigning to save the public library (named after the town's most famous citizen, John Steinbeck) when he's unsettled by seeing a ghost in the attic window of Steinbeck's childhood house, hearing a vagrant spouting dialogue from The Red Pony and finding a cave that holds dark secrets about Steinbeck's history. As he joins forces with a classmate and a Steinbeck expert, Travis finds himself drawn into a mystery at least as exciting as those he's read about in books. Creating a brand of magical realism that is more thought provoking than scary, Buzbee resurrects Steinbeck characters and scenes to tell a story within a story. If events are strung together too tidily to allow for a happy ending, the story remains an intriguing introduction/companion to Steinbeck's works and imaginatively conveys the power of literature to transport people to another time and place. Ages 10-14. (Sept.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
"The themes of valuing friendship, managing adults who have lost their priorities, and connecting people through stories will appeal to kids who have found their own magic in the library." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "The second half of the book is the most absorbing.... [The protagonist] is well drawn. This novel would have greatest appeal to readers familiar with Steinbeck's works." --School Library Journal "The story remains an intriguing introduction/companion to Steinbeck's works and imaginatively conveys the power of literature to transport people to another time and place." --Publishers Weekly "Buzbee's love for literature and libraries is infectious and, for those similarly inclined, deeply satisfying." --Booklist "Magical realism with Steinbeck's ghost and a discerning young hero." --Kirkus "You realize Buzbee just doesn't love books, he's besotted." --Publishers Weekly, starred review on The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop "A delectable feast.... I cannot remember when I have read a book with such delight." --Paul Yamazaki, City Lights Bookstore on The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
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