The Story Collector--A New York Public Library Book by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

Author:Kristin O'Donnell Tubb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Cameras,

Dewey Decimal 770

SEE ALSO: photography, photography—technique

It was show-and-tell day in Viviani’s class. Many of her classmates thought they were too old for show-and-tell, but Viviani still loved this day, for it was story-sharing at its core.

“And that’s the story of the Inverted Jenny,” Viviani said, snapping shut the book she’d borrowed from the library. It had a picture of the stamp inside. Viviani had a library card just like everyone else, but she rarely remembered to use it before borrowing a book, much to Miss O’Conner’s dismay.

“Wow,” Merit breathed from her desk. “So interesting. It’s valuable because it was a mistake.”

Viviani beamed and was, admittedly, a tiny bit surprised. “Exactly!”

“Thank you, Miss Fedeler,” her teacher said. Her classmates applauded. “Let’s see. Miss Mubarak. How about you go next?”

Merit strolled to the front of the class, clutching a small black box. She flipped a silver handle on the front of it, and out popped a lens and a tiny eyepiece.

“This is our camera,” Merit said proudly. The class all leaned forward in their seats, causing the desks and chairs to make a collective screech across the cold linoleum floor.

“Wow!”

“Wouldja lookit that!”

“Nifty!”

Viviani felt a surge of jealousy; only Merit had thought her stamp was all that nifty.

“My father bought it back in Giza so we could take pictures of my home before we left.”

Here, Viviani noticed a small pause in Merit’s story, a slight shake in her voice. But Merit swallowed and continued:

“I took pictures of our journey here. The ship, the water. I even have photographs of us at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty!”

The classmates oohed and aahed.

“But I don’t take many pictures, of course. It costs a lot of money to buy film and develop the photographs. Ten dollars per roll.”

Wow. That was gobs of money.

“How does it work?” Ruth O’Donnell shouted.

Miss Hutch cleared her throat. “Raise your hand if you have a question, please.”

Ruth shot her hand in the air and shouted, “How does it work?”

Merit laughed, and Viviani noticed how it changed her: her shoulders relaxed, her face lit up, her stance softened. Much like the stamp collector Mr. Smyth. Merit had found the hobby that made her melty.

“Well, you focus it here,” she said, pointing to the small lens. “And then you push this button here.” She turned the camera and showed the class the silver button on top. “The film goes in here.” She flipped the case and pointed to the back. “I want to be a newspaper photographer someday, like Christina Broom, who took a lot of photos of soldiers in Britain in the war.”

Jake Joseph shot his hand in the air, and Merit nodded at him. “Did you borrow that from your brother?”

Merit’s forehead crinkled. “No. I don’t have a brother.”

“But cameras are for boys. My Boy Scout manual has a section all about photography.”

Merit folded the accordion-like lens back into the hard-shell box and closed the case with a click. “I hardly think this camera knows if it’s a boy or a girl pushing the button.

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