Product Description

A lonely New York City resident finds companionship and good cheer at the Westway Cafe where dreams come true.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24175 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780531070826
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up-- Solomon Singer is a middle-aged man who lives in a hotel for men in New York City. One night his solitary wanderings take him into a restaurant where he reads these words on the menu: ``The Westway Cafe -- where all your dreams come true. '' A soft-voiced waiter (metaphorically named Angel) welcomes him and invites him back. Each night Singer returns, ordering food and, silently, ordering his wishes for the things he remembers from an Indiana boyhood. Rylant has sketched a spare portrait, in flawless, graceful prose, of a man weighted down by hopelessness. Readers do not know the details of his circumstances, but they will feel his forlornness acutely. There is a symbolic and ambiguous quality to this book, which, despite its uplifting ending, is heightened by the illustrations. Catalanotto's signature watercolors have never been more affecting. He captures the smudgy nighttime murkiness of urban streets illuminated by artificial lights that float upward to become stars and bleed downward onto wet pavements to become a vision of midwestern wheat fields. This can be read as a familiar allegory in which the mysterious stranger represents the wish giver--the angel. It also works as a straightforward reminder that, in the face of staggering social problems, a smile in chance encounters has power. Not for the average story-hour crowd, but this title will be of great value to libraries in which whole language demands new creative uses for picture books for older readers, writers, and thinkers. --Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Old Solomon lives alone in a dreary hotel on N.Y.C.'s Upper West Side, longing for things he can't have--a balcony, a picture window to see the birds, the freedom to paint his wall purple. Not loving where he lives, he wanders the streets, where he finds the Westway Cafe. He likes the name--it reminds him of his native Indiana; he responds to a friendly waiter's smile (whose name turns out to be Angel); and, pursuing his own dreams, he imagines ordering the things he yearns for along with the tomato soup. In time, this tenuous beginning transforms Solomon's outlook: he begins to enjoy the city lights, feels friendlier, and makes at least one dream come true by secretly adopting a cat. This tender vignette, narrated with eloquent simplicity, has appeal for almost any age; Catalanotto's empathetic watercolors extend (but certainly don't limit) the range to younger children. Using telling details and an evanescent blend of imagination and reality, as he did so effectively for Lyon's Cecil's Story (1991), he poignantly evokes Solomon Singer's loneliness and poverty and the way one warm human contact changes him. A very special union of text and art in a memorable portrait of one lost old man who symbolizes many more. (Fiction/Picture book. 5+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author
As a child in West Virginia, Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant devoured comic books and paperback romances. She never dreamed of being a writer until she took one college English class. Then she became "hooked on great writing...I didn’t know about this part of me until I went to college—didn’t know that I loved beautiful stories." One night, inspired by the Southern writer, James Agee, she wrote her first picture book, When I Was Young in the Mountains, which was an instant success. Since then, she’s written more than 60 children’s books and received numerous awards, including the Newbery and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. With simplicity and grace, Rylant’s books explore such subjects as aging, the trials of spirituality, the loss of a loved one, and the spirit and integrity of family life with all its joys and hardships. Rylant has said, "Books alter our hearts." Her books are a testament to this promise. Rylant lives in the Pacific Northwest. For more information about Cynthia Rylant, visit: scholastic.com/tradebooks

Customer Reviews

An Angel for Solomon Singer
I have used this book in my classroom to introduce the active reading strategy called synthesis. It is a beautiful story for a read aloud to intermediate students, with wonderful illustrations. I was able to demonstrate using visual clues, making inferences, questioning, and making connections. Students could quickly summarize the story and practice synthesis, coming up with a message or a theme. They shared ideas such as one can learn to love where they are, rather than always wishing for another place, and that a person can choose to be happy or not. We also discussed the importance of feeling accepted and having friends.

TRULY A CLASSIC
Solomon Singer lives in a men's shelter in Manhattan's Upper West Side. Very little is known about Solomon's background other than he is an Indiana native. This, however, proves to be a very effective tool in the telling of this story.

Lonely, longing for the natural joys of birds and countryside as he knew in Indiana and a friendly person to talk to, Solomon takes to going for walks during the day. A creative man, he dreams of being able to paint the dingy walls at the men's shelter purple; he yearns for freedom of decision making that he does not have at the shelter.

Luckily for Solomon, he finds the Westaway Cafe, a friendly and fun place. A man aptly named Angel works at the Westaway and the two become instant friends. Angel listens to Solomon and genuinely cares about him. The question is, is Angel really an angel. Yes, he is!

This is a heartwarming, very moving story that will find a permanent place in the hearts of all who read and hear it. One of these days it will become a classic.

heartwarming
this is a great book for all ages. I had to read it for aChildren's lit class and found it to be inspiring and full of hope.Something the world needs more of for sure.