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Reviewed by: Julianne Westrich, Elementary School Librarian Title: Olivetti
Author: Allie Millington
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (division of Macmillan)
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: 3-7 Genre/Type of Book: Magical Realism
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: significant character has cancer
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I won it at the Boces Book Review PD last spring.
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
You just might find hope hidden in the stories collected in an old typewriter -if it is willing to share them with you.
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Review:
Ernest seems to struggle through everything, even fitting in with own his family, but his one constant is his mom, Bea, who holds the family together. When Bea goes missing Ernest will need help from a new friend (Friends? What friends? Ernest doesn’t exactly have friends) and the typewriter his mom left behind. It turns out the typewriter holds all the stories his mother ever wrote, and is willing to share them with Ernest if it helps get Bea back. Told in alternating chapters, Ernest and the typewriter narrate their journey as they uncover where Bea went and why she left.
A major theme in this story is Ernest navigating the world that he doesn’t quite fit in with, and taking the chance to reach out and make a friend who is willing to accept him as he is. It deals with the challenges of having a parent battle cancer, and how that impacts the way that Ernest’s family has interacted with each other. The fact that Olivetti can recount all the stories that have been shared with him is an exciting component - and a great way to introduce students to “old-school” typewriters. I’d suggest seeing if you could get one for students to use in the library as a curriculum connection. Olivetti’s knowledge reminds us that we never really truly know those around us. I thought this was a charming story and would be a great read-aloud!
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Reviewed by: Lisa Rice, Middle School Librarian Title: Olivetti
Author: Allie Millington
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (division of Macmillan)
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: 3-7 Genre/Type of Book: J fiction, fantasy, mystery
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: parent illness
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book:
The lovely cover drew me in! I was immediately attracted to the old-timey typewriter with colorful flowers on a black background!
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
"School is a breeding ground for awkward situations and strange social interactions." - Ernie, page 16
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Review:
I loved the cover of this book and the beautiful story it told! It is one of those witty books with a simple message, beautifully and creatively told that I wish I had written. Olivetti is the typewriter and narrates part of the book. (I wonder if my middle schoolers will know what a typewriter is.) Olivetti isn't really its name but where it was made. Olivetti lives with the Brindle family, "a copper-colored family with eyes as rich as ink," (page 4), with four Brindle children: Ezra, Adalyn, Ernest, and Arlo in the Valley View apartments in San Francisco. When we first meet Beatrice, the mom, Olivetti is concerned as she is "leaking and her tears were hitting the space bar." We aren't sure what is upsetting mom, and that is part of the mystery in the book.
Some chapters of the book are told by Olivetti, and some told by Ernest. I love Ernie and his brother Arlo. Ernie likes to read the dictionary and memorizes words in alphabetical order. Younger brother Arlo says that the dictionary is just a bunch of words and wonders why Ernie doesn't just read an actual story like a normal person. Ernie says that all stories are just a bunch of words. Ernie says that he is the child most often discussed in the third person, and his sister says that he has "loner issues." Ernie says his preferred environment is silence. Arlo loves frogs. Chives is the favorite pet frog, and another named Meatloaf, and they all get kissed before Arlo leaves the house, even in emergencies.
This book loves words. There are a lot of puns, a lot of alphabetized lists (because Ernie!), great vocabulary (never heard of absquatulating), and the parents believe that families should read together and the greatest thing to have is a library card. Instead of a Welcome Home sign, Ernie decides on Salutations to Your Abode! I think this book is a great addition to an ELA classroom, and a wonderful read aloud with lots of words, facts about the dictionary (in 1934 a fake word was accidentally added to the dictionary, and it took five years before someone caught the mistake - you have to read the book to find out what the word is!) and vocabulary presented in a fun way.
Besides all of the fun, quirky family members, including Olivetti, and their antics, there is a mystery to be solved. Mother goes missing. No one knows where she is, but Olivetti has some ideas. Unfortunately, he has just been dropped off at the pawn shop by Beatrice and Olivetti is heartbroken and sure that she is mistaken, and he will be picked up by her at any moment.
This book is heartwarming and heart breaking, and I love it and highly recommend it. There are so many fun quotes and things to laugh about and cry over. And, as Olivetti says at the end, "there's only so much one typewriter can do for mankind." (page 244). One of the best things is at the end, you can contact Olivetti by going to the author's website. I did ask Olivetti a question and am waiting to hear back!
Number of party hats:
For more information about this book, see the publisher's website
Find resources and activities for Olivetti at TeachingBooks.net
Find this title in your BOCES SORA Collection: