Apt. 3

I purchased this book as a donation to a book collection drive for young children. Along with their engaging story lines, one of the things that I love about the Ezra Jack Keats books is the artwork. That is probably what attracts most people to the books. The vivid, beautiful colors and stylish designs always catch the eye of both children and adults. Then, they fall in love with the charming stories of children's adventures in life. Apt. 3 does not disappoint. I definitely appreciate the fact that the main characters are black children because it is not easy to find storybooks that include them or feature them prominently and positively.

This book is a wonderful read aloud to share with any grade in school as it can be adapted to suit different age groups & their comprehension abilities. Along with Keats' other books, it has an urban theme & great to use as a mentor text or author study.

I first read this book to my daughter when she was 4-years-old. The New York tenement setting was such a foreign world in contrast to her suburban Dallas upbringing that she was immediately enthralled with the fact that so many families of diverse ethnic backgrounds would all live in one building. Keats paints such a vivid word picture that a child as young as she could easily be drawn into the story line. The characters and events became real to her, to the extent that she could literally hear the harmonica playing. My daughter begged to revisit this story and consequently every trip to the library for the next year included Apartment 3. To this day, at age 29 and expecting her first child, she still recalls this book and wants a copy of her own.