The Lonely Phone Booth

by Peter Ackerman, Max Dalton (Illustrator)

This is the story of one of the last remaining phone booths in New York City, the Phone Booth on the corner of West End Avenue and 100th Street. Everyone used it from ballerinas and girl scouts, zookeepers and birthday clowns, to cellists and even secret agents! The Phone Booth was so beloved that people would sometimes wait in line to use it. Kept clean and polished, the Phone Booth was proud and happy...until the day a businessman strode by and shouted until a shiny silver object, "I'll be there in ten minutes!" Soon everyone was talking into these shiny silver things, and the Phone Booth stood alone and empty, unused and dejected.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, New York, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Peter Ackerman is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter best known as a co-writer of the animated movies Ice Age and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for 20th Century Fox. He began his career as an actor in the low budget movie Astronomy of Errors (2000), and later went on to perform off-Broadway in the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and in Visiting Mr. Green. Following his work on the Ice Age movies, Ackerman was a writer and producer on the TV series The Americans on FX channel, and was hired in 2017 as the screenwriter of The Angry Birds Movie 2 for Sony Pictures.

For the stage Ackerman's debut play, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight, was performed off-Broadway in New York and at Soho Rep in London. He was commissioned by NPR to write the radio play, I’d Rather Eat Pants, which was broadcast as a short serial on Morning Edition. He authored the play, The Urn and his adaptation of The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick Jr., won the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival on Broadway. He has also written the children’s books The Lonely Typewriter, and The Lonely Phone Booth, which was produced as a musical at the Manhattan Children’s Theatre.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t help thinking this book is designed most for someone like me, someone old enough to remember regularly using phone booths and having lived in the pre-cell phone age. That’s the main reason I took off a star because I did really love this.

I think young kids could like it; I think many will. After all, there is a sentient inanimate object. There are really wonderful illustrations. I loved them. There is so many details to view. There is a lot of terrific humor; I found some parts hilarious. For kids who have any interest in “the old days” they’ll likely find the story interesting. And, because there is a real still existing phone booth in the location of the phone booth in this story, kids who are in NYC might get a kick out of going to visit it, and possibly even using it.

Very cute! Very NYC. Reading this, I feel inspired to include a trip to the phone booth if I ever get time/sufficient time in NYC.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The phone booth at the corner of 100th Street and West End Avenue provided a valuable service for many members of the local community, giving people a means of contacting employers, suppliers and loved ones. It even provided the secret agent a place to change his disguises. But then one day people started speaking into shiny objects they carried around, and it seemed that no one needed the phone booth anymore. Would it be carted away? Or would it still serve a purpose...?

This debut picture-book from screenwriter and playwright Peter Ackerman and illustrator Max Dalton, who subsequently collaborated on The Lonely Typewriter , presents an engaging, kid-friendly story, one which highlights themes such as the progression of technology over time, and the role of icons and landmarks, in the emotional life of a community. I enjoyed the story, appreciated the New York City setting, and found the colorful, stylized artwork appealing. I do wish that the author had included an afterword giving more information, as this is apparently based on a true story, but leaving that aside, The Lonely Phone Booth is one that I would recommend to those looking for children's stories that explore means of communication, or the emotional attachment people form to icons and beloved objects, as well as to anyone searching for picture-books set in New York City.

[Rahmadiyanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jadi nostalgia masa-masa antre di telepon umum, ngumpulin koin, sebel waktu dapat peringatan waktu telepon mau habis dan sudah kehabisan koin, bete sama orang yang pakai telepon lama banget padahal dia tahu banyak yang antre. Aah...

Buku ini selain jadi nostalgia buat orang dewasa, juga jadi "kisah lampau" buat anak-anak zaman now yang mungkin nggak pernah membayangkan untuk menelepon saja kudu antre 😁

Cerita yang menarik dan ternyata based on true story. Saat ini masih ada 4 phone booth di kota New York, keempatnya ada di West End Avenue hanya berbeda jalan. Yang diceritakan dalam buku ini adalah phonebooth di 100st street 👇



3,5 stars deh.

[svm · Rating 5 out of 5]

i stumbled upon this book in a tiny shop in the west village that my friend steered us towards as we were rambling about the area. i didn't have to read it in the shop to know that i would enjoy it. although it was an impulse buy, i do not regret it one bit. of course, it speaks deeply to me, ms. no cell phone, but it's also just a really lovely story about community, something that i think we are destroying in this age of too much technology. i haven't been to visit the phone booth (yet) but we did look it up via google maps (yes, some technology is good!) and there it rests. so, please check this book out either from your local library or hunt it down at a tiny bookshop. this book's titular subject goes hand in hand with those other sadly dying breeds!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure that kids will actually enjoy it, but I thought it was a cute story with modern yet nostalgic-y feeling illustrations.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the concept and execution of this sweet picture book about the value in older technology. I suspect it will appeal slightly more to the adults reading aloud than to the kids, but it's still just wonderful!

[Chrisanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a unique affection for phone booths. It may have tainted my opinion.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A phone booth gets lonely in NYC after the invention of cell phones. After a storm people lose their connections on their phones and are forced to use the phone booth.

[Emil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little repetitive but really sweet, but I love that this is a true story. The illustrations were really cute too. -Emil’s Mom

[Godine Publisher & Black Sparrow Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

"'The Lonely Phone Booth,' the first children's book by Peter Ackerman, a screenwriter and playwright, takes a more intimate look at a slice of life in a New York City neighborhood. In a happenstance befitting this warm, quirky story, it turns out that the author and I reside in the same building just a few blocks from the real phone booth, at 100th Street and West End Avenue, that inspired his book. Scene-stealing illustrations by Max Dalton convey the story's nostalgic sensibility. His saturated colors and cartoonish faces suggest Miroslav Sasek's 1960 tribute "This Is New York," and other books in that series . . . a [cozy] story celebrating the fabric of a neighborhood, that intangible quality New Yorkers treasure."
— The New York Times Book Review

"Evoking the same kind of New York charm as favorites like The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge and The House on East 88th Street, screenwriter Ackerman celebrates a humble phone booth (still standing at 100th Street and West End Avenue) that saves the Upper West Side--and vice versa. Fellow newcomer Dalton's retro vignettes set the scene with square-jawed men in skinny ties, Girl Scouts in braids, and assorted neighborhood clowns, ballerinas, and secret agents while Ackerman explains how things used to be. 'Each week, phone company workers came to clean and polish the Phone Booth, to collect the deposited coins, and to make sure that its buttons were working properly.' The booth has plenty of customers until people start holding 'shiny silver objects' to their ears, puzzling the phone booth and eradicating the long lines of callers waiting 'just to wish their grandmas a happy birthday.' An electrical storm reveals the vulnerability of the cellphone network ('Hey, does this old thing work?' a construction foreman asks, eyeing the dilapidated booth), causing the locals to reevaluate its worth. Cultural history of the best sort."
— Publishers Weekly

[Lissa Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an age where everyone seems to have a cell phone, there remains a phone booth in New York City on the corner of West End Ave. and 100th St. In the beginning, the Phone Booth is well used, with everyone from girl scouts to businessmen to secret agents using it daily. One day, however, the businessman goes right by the Phone Booth with a ‘shiny thing’ to his ear. The Phone Booth becomes dirty, unkempt and unused. Is it time for it to be recycled...or ‘gasp’ trashed??? An electrical storm provides the opportunity for the Lonely Phone Booth to save the day for the neighborhood, and the neighborhood responds by saving the Lonely Phone Booth.


In this nostalgic and quirky book, Ackerman and Dalton show how the development of technology has changed the face of our cities and towns. A good read to use when discussing community changes. Grades K-3

[Readersaurus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet and enjoyable picture book about the passing of city telephone booths. I loved it! Honestly, though, I think it will appeal much more to grown-ups who remember ducking into phone booths (perhaps for a first kiss!) than to younger children who don't know what they are and do not miss them.

P.S. There's something about the feel of this (and the storyline) that reminds me a lot of Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, and that's a good thing, too.

[Christiane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Phone Booth on the corner of West End Ave and 100th St in New York City is busy all the time...until one day...what are those shiny objects everyone is suddenly carrying around? Will the phone booth ever be needed again? (This is a picture book, so yes, of course.) The best part of this book is the illustrations of all the different people who come to the phone booth, covering all the diversity of New York City.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A once-busy phone booth is depressed when his customers turn to cell phones. However, in the aftermath of an electrical storm, people realize the value of the phone booth, and prevent it from being destroyed.

Although the ending is predictable and weak, the humorous characters and illustrations won me over. The personification of the lonely phone booth tugs at your heartstrings, much like the Ikea lamp commercial.

Recommended for primary readers, as both independent reading and a read-aloud.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book shows there are times and places where the cellphone isn't sufficient nor reliable. In the city it can be during a blackout. Where I live, there are pay phones at trail heads because the cell signals don't reach into the foothills and canyons reliably.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations (look closely for extra silly stuff) and imaginative text - I'm impressed that this is Ackerman's first book for kids. Adults will enjoy it as much or even more (THAT's how it's done Bruce Eric Kaplan). Probably not great for story time.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to another review, I looked up that corner on google maps and saw the phonebooth! Fun!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of ridiculous but cute in a way. LOVED the illustrations (which pushed it up to three stars for me.)

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I thought, this might be a historical fiction picture book, it sort of is. But I think the moral of the story is... keep your land line folks.

[Sarah Stumphf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of long and drawn out for a bedtime story, but cute and informative.

[Ned · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute book about a telephone booth in Manhattan that was saved from the axe by local citizens who loved its reminder of tradition.

[Amanda Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic, but I wasn't a big fan of the illustrations and some parts of the book didn't quite make all that much sense.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 year old says: I like it because the phone booth stopped being lonely

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of the last remaining people on the planet who does not own a cell phone and has no desire to ever acquire one, I suppose I have a unique appreciation for this story.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The funny cast of characters won me over, as the story itself was pretty predictable. What was up with that clown's eyes, though? Creepy.

[Mollie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for storytime!