The Lonely Phone Booth

By Peter Ackerman and Max Dalton

A sad, forgotten, New York City phone booth becomes a hero in this story of community and caring for others.

The Phone Booth on the corner of West End Avenue and 100th Street was one of the last remaining phone booths in New York City. Everyone used it―from ballerinas and birthday clowns, to cellists and even secret agents. Kept clean and polished, the Phone Booth was proud and happy until, the day a businessman strode by and shouted into a shiny silver object, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Soon everyone was talking into these shiny silver things, and the Phone Booth stood alone and empty, unused and dejected.

How the Phone Booth saved the day and united the neighborhood to rally around its revival is the heart of this touching story. The Lonely Phone Booth has a lot to say about the enduring power of the faithful things in our lives. For children, it’s a wonderful way to talk about their own communities.

“A story celebrating the fabric of a neighborhood.” ―New York Times Book Review

“Evoking the same kind of New York charm as favorites like The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge and The House on East 88th Street, screenwriter Ackerman celebrates a humble phone booth (still standing at 100th Street and West End Avenue) that saves the Upper West Side—and vice versa . . . . Cultural history of the best sort.” —Publishers Weekly

“The art not only tells a splendid story in and of itself, but it also celebrates the colorful and diverse people who live in New York City.” —Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jul 16, 2010
• ISBN: 9781567925050

Peter Ackerman

Dr. Peter Ackerman est le fondateur du International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) et le Président du Board d'ICNC. Il est le coauteur le nombreux ouvrages notamment A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict (2001) et Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century (1994). Il a produit la Série en deux parties "A Force More Powerful" pour la chaîne publique américaine PBS-série qui fut nommée au Emmy, et qui relate l'histoire de plusieurs mouvements de résistance civile du 20ème siècle. Il est aussi le Producteur Exécutif de plusieurs autres films sur la résistance civile, notamment le documentaire de PBS "Bringing Down a Dictator," sur la chute du dictateur serbe Slobodan Milosevic. Ce film a reçu le Prix Peabody 2003 et le Prix ABC News VideoSource 2002 de l'Association Internationale des Documentaires. Dr. Ackerman est le co-président du Comité Internaƒtional de Conseil du United States Institute for Peace et il est membre du Comité Exécutif du Board du Atlantic Council.

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Reviews for The Lonely Phone Booth

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The phone booth at the corner of 100th Street and West End Avenue provided a valuable service for many members of the local community, giving people a means of contacting employers, suppliers and loved ones. It even provided the secret agent a place to change his disguises. But then one day people started speaking into shiny objects they carried around, and it seemed that no one needed the phone booth anymore. Would it be carted away? Or would it still serve a purpose...?This debut picture-book from screenwriter and playwright Peter Ackerman and illustrator Max Dalton, who subsequently collaborated on The Lonely Typewriter, presents an engaging, kid-friendly story, one which highlights themes such as the progression of technology over time, and the role of icons and landmarks, in the emotional life of a community. I enjoyed the story, appreciated the New York City setting, and found the colorful, stylized artwork appealing. I do wish that the author had included an afterword giving more information, as this is apparently based on a true story, but leaving that aside, The Lonely Phone Booth is one that I would recommend to those looking for children's stories that explore means of communication, or the emotional attachment people form to icons and beloved objects, as well as to anyone searching for picture-books set in New York City.