The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

Children are naturally more adventurous, creative, and optimistic, giving them a different perspective on life than adults. These discrepancies can lead to humorous moments but can also result in conflict when children and adults struggle to find common ground. In The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, author Karina Yan Glaser uses this discrepancy to highlight the value of childlike enthusiasm, to elevate and show appreciation for a child’s emotional intelligence, and to remind adults that children can have good ideas despite their age. After the family meeting, though their parents appear resolved that the move is inevitable, the Vanderbeeker children refuse to accept defeat. Instead of succumbing to their anxiety, they move into action to change their family’s fate. To an adult, the children’s plan would sound far-fetched and out of touch with reality, but to the children, nothing makes more sense than fighting for their family.

Though adults have dismissed Mr. Beiderman as a lost cause, the Vanderbeeker children are certain they can break through his icy veneer. Armed with comforting food, crafts, and musical inspiration, they attempt to endear themselves to their landlord in the same way they would appreciate feeling loved and cared for. Whereas adults often avoid awkward or complicated encounters with difficult people, the children actively pursue their reclusive neighbor, and even when he rebuffs them, they persist. The children’s relationship with Mr. Jeet also displays their gift to relate to others better than adults. Laney often misunderstands things due to her age, and her misunderstandings and mispronunciations add a humorous element to the text. However, her tender relationship with their upstairs neighbor Mr. Jeet exemplifies the unique way a child perceives the world. Having recently experienced a stroke, Mr. Jeet speaks more slowly. Though the older children knew Mr. Jeet when he was healthy, Laney has only ever known this version of him, and they two make a perfect match, as “she loved the way he talked nice and slow so she could understand all the words” (95). Mr. Jeet doesn’t dismiss Laney for her infantile speech and takes the time to truly listen to her, and though his challenges might frustrate adults, Laney sees them as assets.

Kids see the world with a keen sense of clarity and innocence. From the roof of their brownstone, the Vanderbeeker children think City College looks like a fairy-tale castle, and they assume the institution of higher learning can provide them with knowledge. When the first phase of the children’s plan fails and they learn Mr. Beiderman once taught at the college, in their minds the most logical step is to visit the college and see if they can find any helpful information. However, the moment they arrive at the college campus, their fanciful dreams are crushed as the college not only doesn’t look like a dreamy castle, but the adults they find inside are unkind. The children perceive that the college is an institution of learning and therefore must be a place they can find help, but instead, all they find is a rude secretary who dismisses them as a bother, as their  “illusions about the magic of the castle college [are] lost forever” (188). They leave feeling dejected, alienated, and hopeless. Though the trip to City College represents a loss of innocence for the children, they don’t let their new vision of reality sway their efforts. They feel lost in an adult world they can’t understand, but they hold fast to their child-like optimism, and eventually, their efforts succeed. By seeing their neighbors through the lens of child-like hopefulness and positivity, the Vanderbeeker children preserve their family home and become the hero of their own story.