The Lonely Typewriter

Gr 2–4—Though many writers may wax nostalgic about the "thunk" sound of a typewriter carriage return, the premise that elementary school-aged Pablo's parents are of that generation makes this whole endeavor implausible. When Pablo's parents' computer breaks the night he needs to write a report about penguins, his mother pulls out a typewriter that has been languishing alone in their attic since she ostensibly used it to write love letters to Pablo's dad. Though the typewriter began its life with Pablo's grandmother typing pamphlets for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this detail is never fleshed out, nor is the typewriter ever really effectively personified to elicit any sympathy for its loneliness. Though the artwork is appealing with its simple browns, blacks and white typewriter typeface, and the diagrams of how a typewriter works are interesting, this will be unlikely to interest young readers.—Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH