Aunt Lulu

by Daniel Pinkwater

Tired of working as a librarian in Alaska, Aunt Lulu takes her sled and her fourteen Huskies and moves to Parsippany, New Jersey.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Library Binding

First published November 1, 1988

About the author

Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok - what could be better than a librarian that brings books by dogsled (with names like Melvin, Louise, and Bruce) to gold-miners in Alaska? Aunt Lulu is a one-of-a-kind role model delivered with Daniel Pinkwater's wonderful sense of humor.

[Joshlynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aunt Lulu's pretty badass. I wish she was my aunt.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I retire I'm going to write a letter that says:

"Get a new librarian. I'm going home."

MARK MY WORDS!

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve lived in Alaska a month, I’m not sure I’m ready to move to New Jersey, but I get it.

[Kortney Rupprecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in Northern Alaska, a librarian name Lulu delivers books to gold miners by bobsled once a week. Lulu loves her quirky dog team and loves being a librarian, but is bored living in Alaska so she goes home to her family in New Jersey. She decides to brings the dogs with her and stick with a bobsled as her mode of transportation, even in the summer which her family finds humorous. The niece’s storytelling, easy-to-read text, and simple cartoon drawings add a humorous tone and make Aunt Lulu seem like the reader’s own crazy aunt.

AK: Sled Dogs, Gold Miners, Moose Call, Parka

Activity: Have your students compare and contrast Aunt Lulu and her pups living in AK compared to when they live in NJ.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not the entire source of Malamutes in New Jersey, this books explains at least one influx, as the main character retires there from her library job in Alaska with a full sled team of them. In her Alaska job, she delivered books to miners in the wild, by dog sled. Oddly, she considered the miners to be the boring part of her job, but that may be just compared to the trials and tribulations of delivering and picking up the books, as shown.
After retiring to New Jersey, she continues her unconventional ways, including finding ways to keep her sled dogs busy as she figures out ways to continue to using them AS sled dogs, even in the summer.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunt Lulu is a librarian in Alaska. Every week she hitches up her dogs and sleds out to the miners that need books. But when Aunt Lulu decides to move on, what will happen to Mush, Melvin, Louise, Phoebe, Willie, Norman, Hortense, Bruce, Susie, Charles, Teddie, Neddie, Eddie, Freddie and Sweetie-pie?

Cute.

[Ann Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted to remember all the names of the dogs from long ago reading to a kindergarten class.
Sweetie Pie was name I could not remember.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected something more. I liked the idea of a librarian delivering books by dog sled, but this fell flat. (And naming all of the dogs is a pain.)

[elstaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pull quote/note
"'Those miners are nice fellows,' Aunt Lulu said. 'But they get boring after a while.'"

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has dogs, an aunt and a librarian. We had to have it. Also it is partly set in Parsippany. Classic Daniel Pinkwater: who can forget Alaskan miners' send-off to their librarian, or the dogs in pink sunglasses?

[Sandra Bordley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids are 16 and 17 and still remember this book in detail - and we never had our own copy! We borrowed it from the library every few visits. So sad it is out of print. I had to add the name of our own husky, Oslo, to aunt Lulu's string to keep my kids happy...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunt Lulu is stupendous. Also, I can't read this book without hearing my mother's voice yelling the dogs' names as fast as possible - MelvinLouisePhoebeWillieNormanHortenseBruceSusieCharlesTeddieNeddieEddieFreddieandSweetie-PIE!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the names of the dogs and miners are just so silly.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has one of my favorite dedications, ever.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny word play to share with kids.

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was way too cute. Wheels! And 14 huskies.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leave it to Daniel Pinkwater to take a cool concept like a sled-dog librarian and turn it just kind of meh. There's just something about his writing style that I just don't care for. I'd like to keep this book around, but I just don't see it getting checked out again. I hope someone else will write a better book about a cool sled-dog librarian!