The Pushcart War

The streets of New York are crowded – pedestrians, cars and the pushcarts – the mobile stalls selling anything from doorknobs to pretzels – and trucks. That’s the problem. There are too many trucks (lorries) that are getting bigger and bigger. There just is not room for everyone. The situation is ripe for war – The Pushcart War

Originally published in 1964, this is a welcome reprint. Cunningly set in the future, the author sets out to show young readers imaginatively how a war starts – surely a message that is never out of date. Her purpose may be serious, her weapon is humour. Nothing could be more ridiculous than the pushcart owners declaring – and executing war – on the mighty lorries and their owners. And yet… young readers should be able to draw their own conclusions from the world around them. Dressed up as journalistic report, young readers will find a lively story filled with colourful adult characters – Frank the Flower, Maxie Hammerman, who if he has not built the pushcart, his father or his grandfather will have done, the feisty General Anna and others. It is the serious yet tongue-in- cheek approach taken that will enchant and bring a whole new readership to the author’s work.