The Elevator Family
-
- $6.99
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
WHAT’S THE STRANGEST HOTEL ROOM YOU’VE EVER STAYED IN? WHATEVER IT IS, THE WILSON FAMILY CAN TOP IT. BECAUSE FOR THREE DAYS, THEY LIVE IN AN ELEVATOR.
For the Wilson family, only the best will do! So when they arrive at the San Francisco Hotel and discover that there are no available rooms, they decide to stay in the place that suits them best of all: a room that has its ups . . . and its downs—a room called Otis, the hotel elevator.
Staying in the elevator is absolutely “fantabulous!” After all, where else would Mr. Walter Wilson, Mrs. Winona Wilson, 10-year-old Winslow Wilson, and his twin sister, Whitney Wilson get to meet:
· A weary traveling salesman of kids' fads
· A British rock group with a funny name
· A lovesick bellhop
· A society lady and her pampered poodle
· And a slew of other surprising visitors!
For fans of middle-grade giants like Andrew Clements, Jerry Spinelli, Louis Sachar, and Judy Blume, The Elevator Family is a funny and heartwarming story about an eccentric family who’ll be remembered long after they check out of Otis. Drop in on them for an elevator ride filled with adventure and zany humor!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his characteristically quirky style, Evans (The Classroom at the End of the Hall; Apple Island) here makes the most of perhaps the most constricted setting in modern memory. After the "kind woman at the front desk" of a San Francisco hotel informs the Wilson family that there are no vacancies, they step into the elevator and discover this "first-rate room. And it appears to be vacant." They are thrilled with its amenities: a full-length mirror, a phone, wall-to-wall carpeting, piped-in music and a panel of buttons to play with. Their vertically mobile home even has a name--Otis. The author squeezes in some diverting action: the family of four host a catered dinner party for the hotel guests they have come to know (en route to their respective floors), and manage to foil a kidnapping attempt without leaving their quarters. Forgivably, Evans descends to some predictable puns (Wilson pater announces that his family has been in "many tight spots") and comes up with some over-the-top wordplay ("If I don't fit in time to keep fit at the hotel's fitness center, I have a fit") and alliteration ("On the twentieth floor, Tom and Tia Twiddle, two tourists from Texas, entered Otis toting trucks")--all in good fun. Like the Wilsons' living space, readers' imaginations will expand to accommodate this blithe narrative. Fittingly sporting a vertical format, this clever tall tale will give kids' spirits a lift. Ages 8-12.
