Date: Fri 24-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

schools-Jonathan-Hill-business

Full Text:

Newtown Teens At Work: Tracking Best-Sellers At The Book Review w/ cuts

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Whether he's "reading right through" H.G. Wells, studying a "How-To" manual

about raising chickens in your backyard or poring over a collection of

humorist Dave Barry's columns, Jonathan Hill loves books.

So he couldn't be happier with the part-time job he's had since September at

The Book Review, doing whatever store manager Bill Sullivan needs to help run

the busy bookstore. He is either behind the cashier's counter helping

customers, on the main floor shelving books or unpacking and working in the

stock room in back.

"He's a great worker," said employee Kim Eads, who mentioned that he is also

very good with the customers.

Usually the Newtown High School junior works at the Sand Hill Plaza store

Friday and Sunday afternoons, and it is on Sunday, after The New York Times

Book Review section is published, that he has to update the best-sellers shelf

- a task he looks forward to each week, he said.

Jonathan adds the discount stickers (30 percent off for hard cover books, 10

percent off for paperbacks) and he keeps track of what titles are moving and

how the inventories are holding up. This way, he's got a pretty good idea of

what books Newtown readers are buying.

" Air Frame by Michael Crichton is popular now," Jonathan said, as is Walter

Cronkite's A Reporter's Life and "all the books on Oprah Winfrey's list."

Anything by Stephen King usually sells well, he said, though he admitted he

was not "into horror" himself.

"There are people out there, though, who do like him," Jonathan added.

Getting to and from work is sometimes a challenge, Jonathan said. But for now,

he relies on his mother, Anita Hill, to take him and pick him up.

Like many 16-year olds, he is poised on the brink of getting his driver's

license, but he's not quite there yet.

"I think the new law making kids wait six months is a bit harsh," Jonathan

said, though he passed the written test before January 1, 1997, when the new

law went into effect, so he can take the driving test any time, "as soon as I

learn to drive a stick shift."

Humor At The Workplace

Jonathan has found that working with "the public" has its amusing moments, and

he wasn't shy about sharing a few funny stories during a recent after-school

interview.

First there was the "sweet little old lady" who paid $1.99 each for two pens

on sale by the cash register, and then bought four more at the same price.

Only after she left the store did Jonathan realize that the pens were actually

marked at $2.99 each.

An unforgettable experience was spending one entire afternoon on a "wet and

muggy" Sunday last September dressed in a lizard suit during a book-signing at

The Book Review by Magic School Bus author Joanna Cole and illustrator Bruce

Degen.

While impersonating "Liz the Lizard" at the tenth anniversary party, Jonathan

said he was unable to do anything but grunt in a non-threatening manner

because "the lizard never speaks."

"You'd think I would have at least gotten a little respect from the kids,"

Jonathan said.

Instead, they poked him and wouldn't let him escape to the back room to take a

break every 20 minutes as he was supposed to do, to keep from overheating in

the bulky lizard suit.

"I couldn't take the head off either," he added in disgust.

But Jonathan hastened to say that he was enjoying working at The Book Review a

lot - certainly more than his last job at a pet store where he was in charge

of cleaning out gerbil terrariums.

"Gerbils are desert creatures. That means they're especially active at dawn

and at dusk. And they are very prolific," Jonathan said.

"My boss thought it would be neat to breed more gerbils. She started with five

terrariums and before you knew it she had ten terrariums full... and no end in

sight!" Jonathan laughed.

"Then there was this green parrot that kept escaping. It only liked ladies, so

I had the worst time catching it," he recalled.

School Still A Priority

Despite Jonathan's part time job adventures, he is a serious student, he said,

hoping to major in English and looking into the possibility of taking a few

college courses this summer to sample campus life.

He has also been involved in the Newtown High drama club, working backstage in

set construction and running crew.

This is his second year at the high school, which he entered as a sophomore.

Before that, Jonathan attended Newtown Montessori School and St. Rose School,

then spent his freshman year at Fairfield Prep.

"That was a job in itself, driving there every day," Mrs Hill remarked, adding

she was glad when Jonathan decided to go to Newtown High so he could have a

life outside of school, as well.

"Newtown has a lot to offer," Jonathan said, adding he finds the large student

body to be "more interesting."

He's looking forward to his senior year and seeing the renovations at the high

school completed.

"When I first got to school this fall, it was a shock - seeing the bare floors

and all the construction. But we've gotten used to it," he said.