The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

Oliver struggles with Christmas gift ideas for his sisters. Seeing many gifts already under the tree with his name on the tag, he empties his piggy bank but finds only $2.36 for gift shopping. On his way out of the house for his weekly basketball game with Jimmy L, he sees Hyacinth knitting something that she quickly hides, and he wishes he could make gifts as easily as his creative sister. As he walks to the court, he hears the choir in the Baptist church rehearsing their Christmas program. Oliver finds his basketball friends, including Angie, waiting at the court. Despite the bracing cold, Oliver enjoys the escape basketball gives him, but his friends notice that he is distracted. Oliver tells them that he has no idea what to give his four sisters for Christmas. Angie suggests jewelry, though she doesn’t like it herself. His friends empty their pockets and produce some loose change and other junk to contribute as gifts. Oliver leaves the court thankful for his friends and more resolved than ever to solve the Beiderman problem.

Jessie sits at the top of the stairs while Isa practices violin in the basement because she is afraid of the “dungeon” (157). Jessie decides she must tell her sister about Benny. Isa sees that Jessie is working on a science experiment to create a battery from citrus fruit and asks her to join her in the basement. Reluctantly, Jessie descends the stairs for the first time in six years and the sight astounds her. Isa has padded the walls and floor with carpet and adorned the ceiling with stars. Isa demonstrates the acoustics by playing a Beethoven piece, and they think, “Never had Jessie heard Isa’s violin sound better” (158). Isa’s violin is special because it is Mr. Van Hooten’s family heirloom. Jessie apologizes to Isa for not seeing her special room sooner, but Isa tells her she has always been there for her and reminds her of the time she defended her against a school bully. At the school’s spring concert, Jessie overheard football jock Jefferson Jamison making fun of Isa calling her “Izzy” and saying the concert was boring. Jessie poked him in the arm and told him not to talk down about her sister or the type of music she plays. Jessie remembers how beautifully her sister played that night and realizes that they must save the apartment, so Isa won’t lose her special practice room. Jessie almost tells Isa about Benny, but Isa interrupts by getting emotional about the move. They lay on the carpet side by side and listen to the sounds of the brownstone.

Oliver returns from his game on time and begins sorting through the items his friends gave him to see what might work for a gift. Mama asks if he can help complete their annual tradition of delivering Christmas cookies to their neighbors. Oliver protests, but Mama says she made him his bag of cookies to enjoy on the route. As he leaves, Oliver notices that the stacks of moving boxes are growing taller.

Oliver delivers cookies to Mr. Smiley, the super of another building and Angie’s father. Angie and Oliver exchange their secret handshake, and she quickly devours a sugar cookie before offering to help him deliver the remaining cookies and collect more petition signatures. Oliver tells her that Mr. Beiderman is showing the apartment to potential new tenants and Angie wonders if that is a violation of their tenants’ rights. Angie gives Mr. Smiley the cookies and warns him not to eat them all at once. Angie wants to research the Beiderman on the Internet, so they use her old computer, which Jessie repaired, to search for his name. The computer is slow, and Oliver needs to finish his deliveries, so Angie offers to continue the research later. Mr. Smiley eats all their cookies, so Oliver shares his with Angie. By the end of the deliveries, they have 20 more signatures, but Oliver only has two cookies left. He looks forward to savoring them alone later while he reads Prince Caspian. On his way inside, he makes the last cookie delivery to Mr. Beiderman’s door. He leaves his last two cookies as a “[p]eace offering” (171). He collects the trash bag by the door, and as he walks away, he notices the smashed record album inside.

The Vanderbeeker children convene a meeting since it is only two days until Christmas. Isa worries that the petition is not enough and that they need to work harder to win over Mr. Beiderman’s heart. Laney admits to leaving him the tree, and everyone is shocked when Oliver reveals his sacrificial cookie offering. The children decide to visit City College and inquire about Mr. Beiderman’s time as an art history professor there. In the meantime, they plan to use their talents to show him kindness. Laney will draw him a picture of the brownstone, Jessie will create an invention for him, Oliver offers to write him a poem, and Isa will make him a recording of her playing the violin. Hyacinth remains quiet and doesn’t offer to contribute.

Mama asks Jessie to take Laney for a walk so she can concentrate on packing her baking supplies and Papa can finish preparing the bathroom for a coat of paint. Isa suggests they visit City College, and Laney is happy to go, since she thinks princesses live in the castle-like building. The children walk to the college in a cold, bracing wind, but when they arrive, it is not as enchanting as it seems from farther away. Finding the campus mostly empty due to the holiday break, the children must consult a map to find the art history department. They follow the directions to Goethals Hall but are greeted by an unkind receptionist anxious to complete her work and leave for the holiday break. The receptionist shoos them away saying that children are not allowed on campus. Isa pleads for help and asks if she knows Mr. Beiderman who used to work on campus, but the receptionist has no knowledge of him and is unwilling to help. As the dejected group leaves, a frantic college student runs into the office attempting to hand in her final paper. Laney begins to cry, and the children hurriedly leave the campus.

On the way home, the children collect more signatures and meet Mr. Austin Rochester, the conductor of the teen orchestra called Rhythm NYC, whose wife is a researcher currently traveling in Egypt. Isa looks forward to the day she is old enough to audition for Rhythm NYC, and Mr. Rochester gives her his business card. Mr. Rochester is on his way to tour a brownstone, and when Oliver sees it is their address, he gives him the wrong directions. After Mr. Rochester walks away, everyone feels guilty for lying to such a kind man. Isa says, “He would have been perfect for the brownstone […] He would have understood the spirit of it” (191).

The kids spend the afternoon working on their projects, which they call “Acts of Kindness” (193). Laney makes the brownstone rainbow colored, ignoring her siblings’ assertions that it is the wrong color. Hyacinth makes the Beiderman a paper wreath but is keeping her real project a secret. She asks her siblings why the Beiderman is so reclusive. Oliver suggests that he may be a criminal or in the Witness Protection Program. Oliver composes a haiku poem on panda paper and Jessie completes her fruit battery invention. After connecting the wires and demonstrating how it works, everyone except Oliver is impressed with her skills. Isa is still working on recording her performance, so the other children deliver their gifts to the Beiderman’s door, and they slide a note under the door telling him to check outside. Hyacinth stays behind gathering her courage to complete her plan later.

Angie arrives with news about the Beiderman from her research. Mr. Beiderman had a wife named Abigail and a 16-year-old daughter named Luciana who died on March 8, 2007. The children’s imaginations run wild with the possibilities of how they died. Then they become sad thinking about everyone in the family dying except one person.

Plagued by anxiety, Isa struggles to get her performance of Paganini’s “Cantabile for Violin and Guitar” right for the recording. Jessie visits Isa in the basement but soon falls asleep next to the radiator. Isa leaves her to nap and takes a walk to Castleman’s for fresh air and to purchase bread. Mrs. Castleman is manning the counter and hands Isa a thin envelope and tells her to read it later. Benny emerges from the back and takes Isa’s order with little conversation. Isa decides to find out what is bothering him, and he tells her he is upset that she refused to attend the dance with him. Isa claims he never asked her, but Benny explains how he asked Jessie, and she said Isa wouldn’t want to go. Isa insists she knew nothing about it, but Benny doesn’t believe her. Isa races home crushed by Benny’s lack of trust and confused by Jessie’s deception.

Mr. Beiderman wants to show the apartment on Christmas Eve, but Mama refuses to comply. Overwhelmed with the remaining packing, Mama asks Hyacinth to bathe Franz, who hasn’t had a bath in three weeks. After his bath, Franz runs around crazily to release his energy, and he runs right into Isa as she opens the door. Isa angrily points at Jessie and demands to speak to her outside. Jessie tries to defend herself, saying that she would never want to go to a school dance. Isa shouts at her sister to never make decisions for her and says she never wants to speak to Jessie again. Jessie sleeps on the couch as she silently weeps, and Papa comes to sleep next to her. Alone in her room, Isa can’t sleep thinking about all she will miss by not attending the dance. She remembers the envelope from Mrs. Castleman and opens it to see a newspaper article about Mr. Beiderman’s family. His wife and daughter were struck by a cab driver named David Albertson, and Mrs. Castleman witnessed the accident. Isa hides the article on her bookshelf and goes downstairs and crawls in bed with Mama for comfort.