Comments on: flat

By: Parmenator-X

Parmenator-X — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:58:47 +0000

Another thumbs-up for The Pushcart War. I think I first read it in 4th or 5th grade and I probably haven’t seen a copy of it in 3 decades, but I still remember it quite well and can even visualize some of the illustrations. I agree that it seems like a kind of handbook of direct action. And I further agree that the “target age” is a bit of a mystery.

If I find another copy I’ll put it next to “The 100 Dresses” by Eleanor Estes.

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:52:25 +0000

M and I love The Pushcart War. I reread it a few years ago and realized it was much more than a whimsical, folkloric kids’ book — it’s really about the strategies and tactics of direct action. And that’s not all.

By: Lenore

Lenore — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:41:33 +0000

Another enthusiastic reader of The Pushcart War here! I hope that you will tell your new landladies of all their fans. When I was in Grade 6 my family moved to a suburb of Philadelphia for a year and lived in the house of a family that was going to live in Austria for a year. It was in this house that I found The Pushcart War. It was here, also, that I found Cress Delahanty which led me to be a fan of the other Jessamyn West, which of course eventually led me to you! PS: I’m also a fan of The Soul of a New Machine.

By: j

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:48:26 +0000

THE PUSHCART WAR? obsessed. obsessed with that book. i am envious.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:55:30 +0000

I first discovered The Pushcart War as an older teenager, and absolutely adored it– but now I’m scratching my head trying to remember what the “target age” really is– in other words, should I pick up a copy for Astrid (10), or wait a few years?

By: elswhere

elswhere — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:54:34 +0000

Get out!! I have loved The Pushcart War from a young bookish child, when I saw it reviewed in Cricket Magazine (I think). So funny to think that the author & illustrator are real people who live in a house that someone I know will be renting–when I read the book I didn’t quite understand that books were written by actual humans, and I guess have retained a little of that belief about my childhood books ever since.

By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:49:56 +0000

Funny - The Pushcart War is honestly the first pleasure book I remember reading in school. It must have been around fifth grade, and the teacher had a shelf of books in the classroom. I picked this one because it had the word “war” in the title, and liked it so much I read it twice (my favorite parts were coming up with the idea to use peas and straws, and the person who did it by hand). I had this book so long the teacher made me give it up so someone else could read it, and she gave me The Pigman instead. But I never forgot how the little guy can fight back and win. I think it’s time to reread it - thanks for reminding me of it.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:43:56 +0000

The Pushcart War!

Now I’m going to have to search for a copy…