The Pushcart War (New York Review Children's Collection), by Jean Merrill
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The Pushcart War (New York Review Children's Collection), by Jean Merrill
Free Ebook Online The Pushcart War (New York Review Children's Collection), by Jean Merrill
50th Anniversary Edition, now in paperbackDO 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 more than 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.
The Pushcart War (New York Review Children's Collection), by Jean Merrill- Amazon Sales Rank: #84577 in Books
- Published on: 2015-09-29
- Released on: 2015-09-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.60" h x .60" w x 5.50" l, 1.25 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 232 pages
From School Library Journal Gr 4–6—It's war! The battlefields are the streets of New York City, and the weapons are pea shooters. Up in arms because traffic jams slow down their deliveries, the truck owners aim to get the pushcarts out of the picture. But the pushcart peddlers won't go down without a fight. The setting of this 50th-anniversary edition has been updated to 2036 (the book originally was set in 1974, and each edition has updated the year in which it takes place to reflect a not-too-distant future). An unusual children's book—few children actually appear—SLJ included this innovative work on its "One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century" and lauded it as "social satire for children in its finest form." As with many of the late author's books, Merrill tells with dexterity the tale of underdogs who persevere in the face of injustice. This strikingly original work should continue to find fans among children and adults alike.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal
Review “The Pushcart War had a profound impact on me; when I was a kid I devoured it several times, and I’ve carried it deep inside me ever since. The book gave me a point of entrance–my first, I imagine–into the world of resistance to political and economic injustice and chicanery. It made opposition, even nonviolent civil disobedience, seem fun and right and necessary and heroic, and something even someone as powerless as a kid could and should undertake.” —Tony Kushner“Finally, parents can get their hands on new copies of the best book about politics ever written for children. . . . This lively, lovely novel is an argument for staying hopeful about the possibility of bringing about change, even when you are going up against entrenched and powerful interests.” —Alyssa Rosenberg, The Washington Post “A book about friendship and sticking together and sticking up for yourself, especially against The Man. Plus it’ll just make you feel all warm and fuzzy.” —Emily Temple, Flavorwire “This is one of the great children’s classics. . . . Part of its charm is its old–New York quaintness, but the exciting story, set in the pressure-cooker of city traffic, is timeless.” —Sonja Bolle, Newsday “Merrill’s story, full of unexpected reversals and understated witticisms, feels exceptionally modern. And by the end—after the two sides have hammered out a peaceful and deeply reasonable compromise—one can only hope that we’ll catch up to Merrill’s future one day.” —Adam Mansbach, NPR, You Must Read This “This is satire on almost every conceivable aspect of modern urban life. . . .To all it should be funny, and to many it will have the disturbing ring of truth.” —School Library Journal, starred review “The tale of New York’s pushcart peddlers waging war against the monstrous, bullying trucks is droll—as are Ronni Solbert’s illustrations—but its message remains urgent.” —Nicole Rudick, The Paris Review blog “There’s a children’s book that was of great help to me, The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill. It is quite a wonderful description of how to run a campaign.” —Bill McKibben, The Boston Globe
From the Publisher The pushcarts have declared war! New York City's streets are clogged with huge, rude trucks that park where they want, hold up traffic, and bulldoze into anything that is in their way, and the pushcart peddlers are determined to get rid of them. But the trucks are just as determined to get rid of the pushcarts, and chaos results in the city.
The pushcarts have come up with a brilliant strategy that will surely let the hot air out of their enemies. The secret weapon--a peashooter armed with a pin; the target--the vulnerable truck tires. Once the source of the flat tires is discovered, the children of the city joyfully join in with their own pin peashooters. The pushcarts have won one battle, but can they win the war against a corrupt mayor who taxes the pins and prohibits the sale of dried peas?
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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful. Placing the push before the cart By E. R. Bird When I decided to read all the great children's books written in the English language (this project isn't going as quickly as I had hoped it would) I made a list. While writing it, something in the back of my mind reminded me that when I was a kid a book often mentioned was the 1964 title, "The Pushcart War". I had never read it when I was younger, but I had clear memories of people discussing it with vim and vigor. Seeking it out, I decided to read it for my very self. What I discovered was that this book has been unmercifully forgotten. Here we have one of the greatest parables of the 20th century and how many kids today have read it? How many kids will read it in the next 30 years? Ladies and gentlemen, if you know a child, any child, that has the ability to read you must make it your American duty to seek out a copy of this book, purchase it, and thrust it into the hands of your young acquaintance. This is one of the best books I have ever read.Now I'm glad I read a 1964 edition of this book because it gets a little confusing at the beginning. The book begins with a Foreword by Professor Lyman Cumberly of New York University (author of "The Large Object Theory of History"). This Forward, dated 1986, reflects on the events of the New York Pushcart War and offers some insight. Here I am, 26 years of age, and I honestly thought that this was a real professor writing a real preface. Then I saw the copyright date and I figured it out. This was a fictional professor writing some 20 years in the "future" when the town was able to sort out the events as they occurred. Still, the book is written in a somewhat original and scholarly fashion. There are photographs and scripts and letters to editors and all sorts of cool little touches that make it seem like a real historical document. Which of course makes the story itself that much more amusing.The events of the Pushcart War began when trucking companies in New York starting making their trucks bigger and bigger. This, in turn, made traffic far more congested and for the trucking companies there was a definite danger that people would insist that the trucks no longer stay so large. In a sense of misguided self-preservation, the truckers decide to blame the simple pushcart vendors on the streets for the traffic. By carefully spreading misinformation and attacking the pushcarts with a series of "accidents" the pushcart vendors find themselves in trouble. Their only recourse is to fight back, and they do so with a series of clever ideas. As the war escalates, so too do the pushcart vendors' strategies. In the end, not a single person has been killed and for once the little guy has beaten the bigger one.In the Foreword, this sentence sums up the book: "...big wars are caused by the same sort of problems that led to the Pushcart War". True enough, some wars ARE caused by the problems found in this book. There are some wonderful touches in this story that will give adult readers an extra laugh. For example, the mayor of New York is in the pay of the big truckers and gives a speech about them while running for reelection. In it, he explains that big trucks mean bigger business, and hence - progress. If you want to ship a lot of peanut butter, you need a big truck. The candidate then goes on to say, "My opponent, Archie Love, is against trucks. He is, therefore, against progress. Maybe he is even against peanut butter". We've all heard fifty different versions of this speech in our time. Chalk this silly little sentence up to Jean Merrill's sly writing skills.I love the characters in this story and the silly battles that are pitched. Because it was written in 1964 there is the odd reference once to "lady drivers", but it comes off as quaint rather than offensive. This is also definitely a New York creation. The original illustrations by Ronni Solbert look like nothing so much as small New Yorker cartoons turned into illustrations. Honestly, if you want a way of explaining to kids how some wars are begun (recent wars, unfortunately, don't quite fit this mold, but that's okay) this is a great way to do it. I was especially taken with the pushcart vendors' non-violent response, culminating in a honest-to-goodness peace march near the end.Why don't more people know about this book? Why is it slowly but surely being forgotten by the masses? People, if I had my way I'd assign this book to every man, woman, and child living in the United States today. I'd shout its wonders from the rooftops and glorify it in song. I would, in short, force the world to admit that it's a classic tale. Until I'm able to do so, however, I urge you to read it yourself. You'll be delighted by its wit and wisdom as well as author Jean Merrill's great storytelling skills. Never forget it again.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful. Not Just For Kids! By Joe Clifford Faust (jcf@raex.com) I read THE PUSHCART WAR as part of a reading program when I was in fifth grade, and of all the books I read that year, this is the one of only two that stuck with me.In the late eighties I found the book back in print, and I snatched the copy off the shelf to read to my then-seven year-old son. When I did, I made a wonderful discovery... that THE PUSHCART WAR was even more fun to read as an adult... so much so that this book would have an impact on my own writing.THE PUSHCART WAR is not just for kids. I am in my forties now, and I still find myself going back to re-read this one. I have read it to both of my children and they love it, too. And I hope they're eavesdropping when I read it to their children -- and discover the whole subtle world of adult satire that this delightful book conceals.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. More here than on the surface By Greg Brady I read this book because I'm a big fan of Merrill's book THE TOOTHPASTE MILLIONAIRE (ISBN 0395960630) and I wanted to see some of the others she'd written.The book is set in crowded 1960s New York City where a turf war of sorts is evolving between taxis, cars, trucks, and street vendors. A fight for a parking space between one of the huge truck's drivers (Merrill names him "Mack" in a clever injoke) and "Morris the Florist", a pushcart peddler, ends in an accident that launches a witty all-out battle for street supremacy. The writing is fast paced, clever, and doesn't "talk down" to its intended audience of children. (I'd think grades 4 through 7 are the most likely targeted group.)*** Some minor spoilers ahead ***The tale on the surface is clever enough, but this book is multi-layered. Predominantly, it's an allegory for war in general, though I'd not single out any specific skirmish.I see allusions to the Revolutionary War's Boston Tea Party and Stamp Act. When children who've joined the cause shoot tacks at trucks to flatten their tires, the city's mayor, in collusion with the trucking firms, levies a sizable tax on tacks in the hopes kids won't be able to afford them.As far as World War 2 Naziism, the truckers' evil Master Plan would first get rid of pushcarts, then motorcycles, working their way up to taxis and cars so that they can move about on the roads more freely reasoning that the bigger vehicles move more commerce and should get more space. Later on we learn that smaller TRUCKS are also targeted by the "Big Three" behind the plan, an obvious reference to the famous quote about "When they came for the Poles, I didn't speak out because I was not Polish. Then when they came for me, there was no one to speak out for me.."In a more generic reference to propaganda campaigns, the truckers use a giveaway newspaper to badmouth the carts.Besides the war allegory, though, there are larger issues touched upon: civil disobedience (the Peace March), the nature of bullying (many instances), the power of the written word (a "Letters to the Editor" campaign), the idea of unionizing (the fund Maxie establishes to help cart owners repair carts hurt in the "battles" for free), corporations vs. "Mom and Pop" stores, doubletalk and graft in politics (see the "Peanut Butter Speech"), the ability of brains to win over brawn and weapons (Maxie's card game with "the Three" and the police commissioner) and the difficulty in finding the limits between activism and aggression (Harry the Hot Dog shoots a woman who criticizes his sauerkraut and is chided by one of the other vendors for it). I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. Merrill brings up the ideas through the humour of the story but avoids becoming preachy about them, allowing the discerning reader to "get the point" on his or her own.BOTTOM LINE:Highly entertaining for the younger ones just as a "fun story". The older kids should be able to see some of the underlying messages and it would probably be a very good book for class reading...lots of opportunity for quality discussion of the issues raised. Adults will find it a nice afternoon read and probably see themselves (and others they know) in the faces of the warriors for both sides. It will be another of my favourites.
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