The Mariah Delaney Lending Library Disaster

by Sheila Greenwald

Book Overview

When Whitney Balliett's American Musicians appeared in the Fall of 1986, the acclaim it received was universal. Leonard Feather, writing in the Los Angeles Times, said "no other writer now living can... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618049290
• ISBN13: 9780618049295
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Lending Library

Mariah Delany always has an idea for making some extra money. She's not especially fond of books even though her parents are bibliophiles. When her mother laments about the local library being closed, Mariah sees her next great venture: turning her parents' collection into a lending library for her school chums. Things, understandably, go down hill from there. The Mariah Delany Lending Library Disaster is a 1970s vision of BookCrossing gone horribly wrong. In their enthusiasm to finally see their daughter interested in books, Mariah's parents are blind to what she's really doing. I find it baffling that Mariah would end up such an opposite of her parents but perhaps that the personal conceit of being a parent of two budding bibliophiles. Mariah's parents also haven't ever bothered to tell her about the gems in their collection. So to Mariah, these books are just a resource that is going to waste. The story is built around a family that never communicates. As this book is aimed at the upper grades of elementary school, Mariah's crash course in the value of books both in monetary terms as sources of information and entertainment is a lesson for children reading the book. Of course, if they're already reading books, they probably don't need this lesson reiterated.

For all the entrepreneurial kids in your life!

I believe this book originally came out in the 70's, but it is incredible how little times change. Mariah, who has little use for books, goes with her mother to the library, whose hours have been shortened due to cutbacks. Sound familiar?? Now Mariah's bookloving family just has TONS of books all over the house which seem to just fill shelfspace. Mariah, lacking enthusiasm for school, but running over with creative entrepreneurship, decides to privately fill the gap left by the library cutbacks. She researches cataloguing and memberships with the help of the friendly local librarian and soon is lending her family's books out to the whole school. Free memberships, but she figures she will soon be raking in the dough with late fees. Disaster strikes when everyone avoids her at school rather than paying fees or returning books, and simultaneously her parents start noticing holes in the bookshelves. This book is sure to be a hit with kids who love books and kids who can identify instead with Mariah. I thought it was well-written, funny, and Mariah is a very likeable character.Check out her Author-of-the-Month Club too!