Pushcart War

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Summary: The Pushcarts Won't Be Pushed Around
Review: I read Jean Merrill's The Pushcart War when I was in the fifth grade and loved it. I remember it as one of the books that started me to reading, and so, I wanted to reread it now, years later. It hasn't diminished a bit. In fact, I may like it more.

It's an absurd story, saturated with humor. The trucks have decided to take over the streets of New York, and the first target is the motley crew of pushcart drivers. The pushcarts won't be pushed around, though. These eccentrics such as General Anna, Morris the Florist, Frank the Flower, and Maxie Hammerman, the Pushcart King, fight back with every means possible with hilarious results.

The books is so entertaining, but there is some depth to it. At its base, it reveals the absurdity of humanity and our petty drives and acts of selfishness that escalate even into war. There is a lot here for adults. There is also a lot of lessonse to be learned by children. It's truly a book for everyone to laugh at and learn from.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just For Kids!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge a Book by its Cover
Review: I read this book thirty years ago, when I was twelve. It was the first book that told me that big business wasn't looking out for my best interests, and that I might do well to question orthodoxy and authority. I became an attorney and now do my part in the fight for justice.

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I remember reading & liking this back in 1992 when I was in 5th grade. It still is one of my favorite books now. It is about a bunch of Pushcart peddlers selling things on the street and they wage a war with the big truck drivers because in the beginning one of the truckers needed to make a delivery and couldn't wait a minute for the pushcart to finish his sale so he ran him over and it was actually photographed and put on the front page of the paper enraging both the truckers and pushcarters. The pushcarters then began to shoot tacks into the tires of all trucks in the city causing great chaos, and a small "war" ensued. That's all I'll tell you you'll have to see how it ends but a great book for younger children & it has some good oictures and character descriptions in it as well.

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Summary: A Rare Combination
Review: Perhaps the most relaxing book that I have ever read. Despite that, it still has a twist that makes interesting in addition to relaxing. I purchased this book as a break from my usual reading, which is the opposite of this. Every penny was worth it.

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Summary: Chinchilla's review of PUSHCART WAR
Review: PUSHCART WAR takes place in New York around 1985. The streets of New York are getting more and more crowded becaue the number and size of the trucks are increasing. It took about 4 hours to go 2 blocks. All of the taxis, cars and pushcart peddlers know that we need less trucks. But the truckers dont like that idea. They know they cant get rid of cars or taxis, so they decide to get rid of the pushcarts. Now the pushcarts have to bravely fight for their rights on the streets of New York.

PUSHCART WAR is a definate can't-put-it-down book. I actually woke up early so I could read it! I liked it alot, but it wasn't what I thought it would be like. I thought that there wasn't enough action. Everything creeped by so slowly and smoothly. I've heard that it's supposed to be very funny. It was funny, but not hilarius like the cover said. But still, this book made my top-ten-favorates list. I would reccomend it to anyone in need of a cheery, laughable book.

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Summary: Subversive Reading For Elementary Kids
Review: Shortly before I made the jump from young adult books to adult novels and college texts, I read The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill and I've never been the same since. It was the late-60's/early-70's and I was attending elementary school in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. The area was politically to the right of moderate. This little volume was in the library of the school. I've never been able to get the story out of my head. People protesting perceived injustices. People destroying property to make a point. Sounds like monkeywrenching to me! The story of the war between the pushcarts and the trucks in NY City is as relevant now as it was 30 years ago. Lot's of elementary school kids around our fine nation would benefit from reading this fine book. Donate a copy to your local school library. Gift suggestion for a family that reads: get the pre-teens in the family a copy of The Pushcart War and get the adults a copy of Ed Abbey's The Monkeywrench Gang.

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Summary: yo
Review: The Pushcart War offers a humorous account of a social and economic dispute in New York City. As a 6th grade teacher, I am going to use this book in my lessons. The story had good humor but also good facts. It takes a very casual tone with the reader. I couldn't put it down!

Rating:
Summary: yo
Review: This book's setting is in New York. The book is about a bunch of pushcarts and their drivers. The relationship between the pushcart drivers is very close and the pushcart drivers get mad at the truckers for running over a flower pushcart driver and start ordering pins to puncture truck tiers so they can get back at the truck drivers for what they have done Business couldn't have been better because the trucks are blocking the way of traffic. The story didn't really make sense in some spots. I didn't really like it that much. It gets kinda lame after the first 56 pages because he keeps rambling on about something completely off the subject like truck sizes. But I will give it 3 out of 5 stars because that the author can put more action in to it, way more action, if you read this story, I think you will agree.

Rating:
Summary: Placing the push before the cart
Review: 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.