Wanna get the juicy story behind MADHATTAN MYSTERY? I’ll be part of a fun middle-grade author panel and we’ll all be revealing the inside scoop about our novels at Bank Street Bookstore in New York City on Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. I hear there are some great prizes, too!
http://www.scbwi.org/inside-story/
http://www.bankstreetbooks.com/event/scbwi-inside-story-author-event
Posted in Bank Street Books, Bank Street Bookstore, book event in New York City, Inside Story, Madhattan Mystery, middle-grade fiction, middle-grade humorous book, New York City fiction, New York City mystery, SCBWI, SCBWI Inside Story, writing, writing life
Tagged Bank Street Bookstore, book event, bookstore event, children's book events, inside story, Madhattan Mystery, middle-grade mystery, New York City children's books, NYC, SCBWI
Continuing the MAD About MADHATTAN tour of the coolest spots in New York City that are featured in my middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY, let’s go to Central Park and ride some horses! Like Lexi McGill, you might be thinking, “But don’t we need special boots and an insurance policy?” Nooo. Not those kind of horses.
The Central Park Carousel is one of the largest in America with 57 hand-carved painted horses. It was originally created for Coney Island in 1908 by the Brooklyn carousel makers Stein and Goldstein. Over 250,000 people ride the carousel each year and at $2.50 a pop who could resist? Did you know that there were several carousels in Central Park that came before this one? The very first was in 1870 and was turned by a crank (and probably a very cranky crank operator). The second, in 1873, was turned by a horse (which is really sad—especially since it’s said to have been a blind horse hidden under the platform. Good grief.) In 1924 a humane mechanical version came along but it burned down, as did the next one in 1950. (I’m thinking the horse did it.) The Central Park Carousel is pretty spectacular but it’s not the only carousel in Manhattan.
Right next to the New York Public Library on the southernmost side of Bryant Park sits Le Carrousel, a scrumptious little French carousel. Consisting of fourteen colorful animals, it was specially created to complement the park’s French classical style. At two bucks a ride, grab your child and a chocolate croissant and hop aboard this confection of a carousel. You’ll instantly be transported to Paris as you revolve to the sound of French cabaret music. Très magnifique!
Then there’s the new Pier 62 Carousel in Riverside Park, next to Chelsea Piers, the humongous sports complex located along the Hudson. This modern industrial-ish looking carousel opened in May 2010 and features 33 animals indigenous to the Hudson River Valley. There’s a turtle, a turkey, a seahorse, a raccoon, a unicorn… (Wait, I’ve never seen a unicorn galloping along the Hudson. While I was a awake, anyway.) No matter. This carousel is definitely worth checking out. Where else can you ride a fish wearing a saddle?
Anyway, circling back to the oldest carousel of the three and the most famous, the Central Park Carousel, here’s an excerpt from MADHATTAN MYSTERY…
“This goes a lot faster than your average carousel,” Kim Ling had to go and say when they met up with her at the ticket booth. “A lot faster. And no brass ring. That’s ’cause they don’t want kids reaching for it and busting chins.”
“What?” Kevin turned that greenish shade again. “I don’t know about this, Lex.”
“C’mon, Kev, it’ll be fun.”
“Geez, man up!” Kim Ling said to him, handing three ticket to the ticket-taker. “It’s not like it’s a mechanical bull—it’s a baby ride.”
That remark got Kevin unstuck somehow and he followed the girls onto the carousel platform with the enthusiasm of someone boarding the Titanic II.
“That’s what they said about the Haunted Mansion ride at Kingsley Park,” Lexi whispered to Kim Ling. She helped Kevin onto the smiliest horse with the shiniest gold mane and just as she was about to mount the one next to it, a boy in a plastic fireman hat beat her to it. “Shoot. Are you going to be okay by yourself, Kev, or should I—?”
“Just go already,” he said, wrapping his arms around the shiny pole.
“I’ll be on this one right in front of you. Hold on tight.”
A rinky-dink rendition of “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” began playing loudly and Lexi quickly hopped onto the horse Kim Ling was saving for her. As soon as the carousel came to life, Kim Ling leaned over to her and shouted, “So, what’s the scoop?”
“Shhh! Kevin fell off a ride. He was around five. Split his head open.”
“No way.”
“Way. They had to shut it down and everything.”
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That’s it for now. Thanks for joining me on this Carousel-ebration through Manhattan!
This is a repost from last year, but since it’s hotter than a witch’s bunyons again here in the Baked Apple, I felt the need to complain openly and in rhyme–and my brain’s too overheated to think of a new poem. So, feel free to pour yourself a frosty tall glass of iced-tea, crank up the A.C. and have at it. (You’ll feel so much better afterward, I promise.)
IT’S HOT!
It’s one of those sweltering, hot summer days.
Not a hint of a breeze and the sun is ablaze.
The sidewalk is smoking, the air is too thick,
I need gallons of water and ice cubes to lick.
The people out walking look sleepy and damp,
And the letter I’m mailing won’t stick to the stamp.
My sneakers are melting and stuck to my toes,
And my glasses are foggy and slide down my nose.
My clothes are all wrinkled and wet—nothing fits.
And Olympic-size sweat pools encircle my pits.
With no trace of spit, I can’t swallow or speak,
And I’d run for that bus, but I can’t—I’m too weak.
It’s too hard a choice to go left or go right,
My whole body’s expanding, my hair is too tight.
That pen in my pocket’s too heavy a load,
And I think I just saw a small pigeon explode.
Those men wearing suit jackets aggravate me,
’Cause they won’t take them off—IT’S ONE-HUNDRED-AND-THREE!
It’s only July, lots of summer to go.
I can’t wait to complain about blizzards and snow.
Copyright 2012 John J. Bonk
Unabashedly Bonk! 