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Coney Island Summer Reading: Dreamland Social Club

Posted in Books, Reading & Writing, tagged book review, Coney Island, Dreamland Social Club, fiction, novel, Tara Altebrando on June 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

The quirky characters and Coney Island setting of Tara Altebrando’s new novel were so engaging that I read it on the subway to and from Coney, and then in a car on the road, in an effort to keep the story from ending.

Who wouldn’t want to belong to the Dreamland Social Club? In this novel for teenage readers, the club is an unofficial group frequented by a freaky clique at Coney Island High School. Among its members is Babette, a goth dwarf who befriends the novel’s 16-year-old heroine Jane with the explanation: “You seem cool. And you’ve got carny blood, even if it’s highly diluted.”

Jane is cool, though it takes most of the book for her to develop a sense of belonging and join the club. She and her brother Marcus have lived a nomadic life with their dad, who has designed roller coasters from Tokyo to Paris. The carny blood that Babette refers to comes from their mom’s side of the family, who were genuine Coney Island characters. But Jane and Marcus have never met their late grandparents and can hardly remember their mother, who died when they were little kids.

As a carny kid and Coney Island devotee, I felt drawn to the story of Jane’s life in Coney, where her family moves after inheriting her grandfather’s house. There’s lots of fun stuff in the attic. Jane soon learns that her grandfather “Preemie” Porcelli got his start in Coney as one of the premature babies on exhibit in Dreamland’s Baby Incubator Show. Her new friends remember him as the operator of a water race game on the Boardwalk calling them in to win prizes.

There’s also Jane’s tantalizing flirtation with Leo aka Tattoo Boy, whose father owns a Boardwalk dive bar that’s being evicted by a real estate developer who has bought up Coney Island. Does the last part sound familiar? The author has done a remarkable job of weaving Coney history and current events—both real and imagined– into a marvelous coming-of-age story.

Among the novel’s memorable details are a carousel horse from the fictional equivalent of Coney’s “B & B Carousell” chained to a radiator, vintage films of Jane’s grandmother who was a “Birdwoman” in the sideshow, and keys hidden away by her mother that still unlock long-vanished attractions. Jane’s family home gives up all of its secrets and Coney Island becomes her real home.

Tara Altebrando will appear at “Great Summer Reads for Teens” with a few other teen authors on Thursday, June 16, from 6-8 pm at Books of Wonder, 18 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011. Ph 212- 989-3270.

Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando. Ages 14 and up. 389 pages. Published by Dutton Books, 2011. Hardcover, $16.99.

Children’s Book Tells Coney Island Carousel Carver’s Story

Posted in Books, Reading & Writing, tagged book review, carousel, Children's Story, immigrant experience, New Book, woodcarver on December 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

During the golden age of the carousel, Coney Island had as many as 12 or 15 hand-carved carousels spinning at the same time and many of them were manufactured here in Brooklyn. Master carousel builders and carvers included Charles Looff on Bedford Avenue, M.C. Illions and Sons Carousell Works on Ocean Parkway, and Stein & Goldstein and William F. Mangels in Coney Island.

Feivel’s Flying Horses, written by Heidi Smith Hyde with illustrations by Johanna van der Sterre, is a work of historical fiction that pays homage to Jewish immigrant woodcarvers like Marcus Illions, Solomon Stein, Harry Goldstein and Charles Carmel. The picture book takes its inspiration from the American Folk Art Museum exhibition “Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel,” which explored the previously unexamined association between Jewish immigrant woodcarvers and the American carousel industry.

The hero of Feivel’s Flying Horses journeys to America with five dollars in his pocket in search of a better life. Having made his living in the old country carving the reading desks that held the Torah scrolls and other ornate objects, he finds work as a furniture maker on the Lower East Side and then as a carousel carver in Coney Island. Memories of the family he left behind fire his imagination. Feivel dedicates a carousel horse to his wife and goes on to create horses for each of his four children. He carves their names into the saddles. By the time the carousel is finished, Feivel has earned enough money to send for his family. It’s touching how he declines to go for a first spin until his wife and children arrive in America and can join him for a celebratory ride on their Coney Island carousel.

Carousels remain the classic children’s ride and are a delightful subject for a children’s picture book. Feivel’s Flying Horses adds ethnic and cultural interest by telling the story of the making of a carousel through the immigrant experience. The folk art-inspired illustrations are warm and nostalgic. At the same time, the details convey the resplendence of the Coney Island style carousel. Author and illustrator previously teamed up on Mendel’s Accordion, the winner of the 2008 Sugarman Family Award for Best Jewish Children’s Book. The publisher specializes in books with Jewish themes, including other works of historical fiction such as Annie Shapiro and the Clothing Workers Strike and Zishe, the Strongman, based on the life of circus strong man.

Feivel’s Flying Horses by Heidi Smith Hyde with illustrations by Johanna van der Sterre. Ages 5-9, Grades K-3. 32 pages. Published by Kar-Ben Publishing, 2010. Hardcover, $17.95. Paperback, $7.95.

21st Century Bars: Coney Island’s Freak Bar Featured in New Book

Posted in Books, Food & Drink, historic preservation, tagged 21st Century Bars, book review, Childs Restaurant, Coney Island USA, Freak Bar, Philip Tusa, Photography, Surf Avenue on May 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Coney Island USA New Freak Bar & Museum Gift Shop designed by Philip Tusa, Architect and photographed by Paul Warchol; Freak Bar View. Photo via Philip Tusa Architect’s flickr

We’re not surprised to find Coney Island USA’s Freak Bar among the more than 60 architecturally interesting new bars profiled in a coffee table art book. Editor Andrew Hall describes 21st Century Bars, published this month by Images Publishing, as a globe-trotting “journey to some of this century’s most interesting bars.”

Designed by architect Philip Tusa and completed in October 2008, the Freak Bar has been a shining oasis on Surf Avenue amid the desecration of swaths of Coney Island by real estate speculation. What a pleasure it has been to meet our freaky friends at the bar on Mermaid Day and New Year’s Day!

Of the 1917 Childs Restaurant Building, which is owned by Coney Island USA and currently under consideration for New York City landmark designation, Tusa has this to say in the book…

Of historical note, hidden underneath aged plywood signs were the beautiful arches that were part of the historic facade; these are now revealed and incorporated in all their splendor. Decoratively, the ‘Coney-esque’ style has been successfully employed. Historically, Coney Island USA has sought to evoke an atmosphere that signifies the nostalgia that Coney is to all people worldwide, whether they remember it personally or have just heard of it.

Cheers to Coney Island and Coney Island USA!

The Freak Bar, Coney Island USA, 1208 Surf Avenue, Coney Island, 718-372-5159

Coney Island USA says: “Currently the Freak Bar hours are Thursdays and Fridays 8pm to ?? (1am-ish) for Burlesque At The Beach. Saturdays and Sundays 12pm to ?? (10 pm or later depending on customer flow.) The hours will change after Memorial Day, and we will be open seven days a week. The earliest we will open any given day is Noon, and the closing time will depend on the typical factors of a Coney Island day.”

21st Century Bars, edited by Andrew Hall, Published by Images Publishing, 2010. Hardcover, $50

Coney Island USA New Freak Bar & Museum Gift Shop designed by Philip Tusa, Architect and photographed by Paul Warchol; Exterior View looking toward the Coney Island Wonder Wheel amusement ride. Photo via Philip Tusa Architect’s flickr