Literary Landmark: Yorkville Community School - Bernard Waber

New York, N.Y.
Dedicated May 14, 2014
Partners: Empire State Center for the Book, the Children’s Book Council, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Yorkville Community School PTA

From left: Virginia Stanley, board member, United for Libraries; Rocco Staino, director, Empire State Center for the Book; Betsy Groban, SVP and publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; Gary Gentel, president, HMH Trade and Consumer Publishing; Lyle the Crocodile; Mary Wilcox, VP and editorial director, HMH Books for Young Readers; Paulis Waber, daughter of Bernard Waber and illustrator of "Lyle Walks the Dogs"; librarian Margaret Tice, and Samantha Kaplan, principal, Yorkville Community School. Photo credit: Mason Cash.Yorkville Community School on East 88th Street in New York City was dedicated a Literary Landmark in honor of children's book author Bernard Waber (1921-2003).

Waber  used East 88th Street as a setting for his cherished Lyle the Crocodile picture books, starting with The House on East 88th Street in 1962. Lyle, a lovable and entertaining crocodile, lives in a typical brownstone on East 88th Street with the Primm family, and the Primm children attend a school much like Yorkville Community School.

The ceremony, which took place during Children’s Book Week, featured music by the Yorkville Community School Second Grade Chorus and a reading by Waber’s grandchildren. Speakers included Rocco Staino, director, Empire State Center for the Book; Betsy Groban, senior vice president and publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; Paulis Waber, author of “Lyle Walks the Dogs” and Waber’s daughter; Robin Adelson, executive director, the Children’s Book Council; Samantha Kaplan, principal, Yorkville Community School, and Virginia Stanley, board member, United for Libraries. 

Resources:

School Library Journal: "Children’s Book Week Celebrated with Literary Landmark for Lyle the Crocodile’s E. 88th Street"

Publisher's Weekly: "Lyle the Crocodile's Official Home Sweet Home"

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Bernard Waber

Pennsylvania Center for the Book: Bernard Waber