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Title details for The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill - Available

The Pushcart War

by Jean Merrill
Ronni Solbert
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
50th Anniversary Edition
Do you know the history of the pushcart war? The REAL history? it’s a story of how regular people banded together and, armed with little more than their brains and good aim defeated a mighty foe.
Not long ago the streets of New York City were smelly, smoggy, sooty, and loud. There were so many trucks making deliveries that it might take an hour for a car to travel a few blocks. People blamed the truck owners and the truck owners blamed the little wooden pushcarts that traveled the city selling everything from flowers to hot dogs. Behind closed doors the truck owners declared war on the pushcart peddlers. Carts were smashed from Chinatown to Chelsea. The peddlers didn’t have money or the mayor on their side, but that didn’t stop them from fighting back. They used pea shooters to blow tacks into the tires of trucks, they outwitted the police, and they marched right up to the grilles of those giant trucks and dared them to drive down their streets. Today, thanks to the ingenuity of the pushcart peddlers, the streets belong to the people—and to the pushcarts.
The Pushcart War was first published fifty years ago. It has inspired generations of children and been adapted for television, radio, and the stage around the world. It was included on School Library Journal’s list of “One Hundred Books That Shaped the Twentieth Century,” and its assertion that a committed group of men and women can prevail against a powerful force is as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was in 1964.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 16, 2014

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781590178201

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781590178201
      • File size: 17760 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 6.5
    • Lexile® Measure: 1020
    • Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
    • Text Difficulty: 5-8

  • Reviews

    • The Horn Book

      January 1, 2015
      This fiftieth-anniversary edition of Merrill's classic looking-backward satire has been updated from the year 1976 to 2026. While pushcarts and pickle barrels (not to mention the idea of developing photographs) may be foreign concepts to contemporary kids, disagreeing grownups still squabble over every little thing, and the arch wit and hilarious story should still resonate with readers today.

      (Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

    • The Horn Book

      November 1, 2014
      This fiftieth-anniversary edition of Merrill's classic looking-backward satire -- "the definitive history of New York's war between the pushcarts and the trucks" (from The Horn Book Magazine, rev. 8/64) -- has been updated from the year 1976 to 2026. Sure, pushcarts and pickle barrels (not to mention the idea of having to actually develop photographs) may be foreign concepts to contemporary kids. But disagreeing grownups still squabble over every little last thing, and the story's arch wit (combined with its just plain silliness) and hilarious story should still resonate with readers today. elissa gershowitz

      (Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:6.5
  • Lexile® Measure:1020
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:5-8

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