The Pushcart War The Pushcart War

The Pushcart War

50th Anniversary Edition

    • 4.8 • 21 Ratings
    • $9.99

Publisher Description

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.

GENRE
Kids
RELEASED
2014
September 16
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
232
Pages
PUBLISHER
New York Review Books
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
19
MB

Customer Reviews

fshepinc ,

A Classic For Today

Nearly fifty years ago my teacher read this book aloud to my class, and I’ve reread it many times over the years. Reading it in eBook form has brought back wonderful memories. But it is amazing to see how much meaning is embedded in this sweet, simple story of pushcart street vendors standing up for themselves against tyranical truckers.

The student of fifty years ago knew nothing about history, but the present-day man does, and this book reseonates with its tale of innocent people being scapegoated by greedy thugs who want to take over and will do anything to keep their powerful position. There are many parallels to today’s news headlines. But children will read the story blissfully ignorant of much of its deeper meaning, enjoying the characters and their adventures. It’s a great bedtime read-aloud!

For General Anna, and my wonderful teacher, this review was lovingly written By Hand.

revenant ananias ,

Simply great

I read this as a youth and just did again in my mid thirties. I am bringing this into my classroom as it has so many great examples of literary devices that are easy to notice which will help my students. And it is rather silly but also riveting at the same time.

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