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Journey to an 800 Number
THE CAMEL-KEEPER'S SON Maxmilian (also known as Bo) Stubbs's mother has just married a very rich man. Bo is looking forward to moving into his stepfather's big house and attending the snooty Fortnum School in the fall. Everything about Bo's new life is going to be first class, just like his new navy blazer with the Fortnum crest on the pocket.
But while his mother is on her...more
But while his mother is on her...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
June 1st 1999
by Aladdin Paperbacks
(first published 1982)
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As with all of E.L. Konigsburg's stories, this one is populated with strong, fiercely independent characters that, regardless of their few years of life, stand up well on their own two feet and are possessed of a formidable intellect to analyze the happenings and the people around them with wit, honesty, and a high level of smarts.
There was a lot of good material in Journey to an 800 Number, lined with sapient insights that ornament the text beautifully and make me appreciate the masterful ski...more
There was a lot of good material in Journey to an 800 Number, lined with sapient insights that ornament the text beautifully and make me appreciate the masterful ski...more
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was very cute and a fast read. I thought the main character was drawn very well and his awkwardness really added to the story without being too uncomfortable. I'm a big fan of Konisberg! I've yet to read something by her I didn't like.
Not my favorite of the E.L. Konigsburg books. (I love Father's Arcane Daughter.) But a fun read. My favorite paragraph?
narrated by a pre-teen boy:
"I had to go to four trailers [because he's lost and looking for directions] before I found one lady-of-the house at home. She had a small baby and was actually nursing the baby when she answered the door. I had never seen anything like that in my life and I must say that it didn't give me a very high opinion of the trailer park class of people. To nu...more
narrated by a pre-teen boy:
"I had to go to four trailers [because he's lost and looking for directions] before I found one lady-of-the house at home. She had a small baby and was actually nursing the baby when she answered the door. I had never seen anything like that in my life and I must say that it didn't give me a very high opinion of the trailer park class of people. To nu...more
Maxmillian(also known as Bo)Stubbs has a mother who recently married a rather rich man. he is very much looking forward to moving into his new stepfathers huge house and going to a snotty kids school called, Fortnum, in the fall. everything in his life will be first class, just like the new navy Fortnum school blazer. but when his mom is on her honeymoon he spends a month with his father, Woody, a camel-keeper who entertains at malls and many conventions around the continental states. woody is o...more
Not so much a journey to an 800 number, but more coincidentally bumping into an 800 number. Another story of a stuck up preppy kid being brought down to earth, which would have been tiring had it not been told with the humor of E.L. Konigsburg.
The theme of this book is that we all pretend to be something else throughout the course of our lives. Which is very similar of the theme of secrets in From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler, but not quite.
The theme of this book is that we all pretend to be something else throughout the course of our lives. Which is very similar of the theme of secrets in From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler, but not quite.
I'm sure this review is completely unecessary because your library probably doesn't even have a copy, but this book is NOT recommended. It's a shame to have to deal with this in fourth grade, but Mary's reading group was supposed to read it. When she came home with concerns about bad words, I checked it out, and it has much more than just bad words. Nothing an elementary school student should be reading, anyway.
Update: Mary's teacher wasn't aware of the content, so she's changed their book and t...more
Update: Mary's teacher wasn't aware of the content, so she's changed their book and t...more
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First book I've read by this author. Some of the jokes are pretty dated; I think on the whole it feels older than it really is. Sort of like the protagonist, a snotty East-coast preppie type who spends the summer riding around with his itinerant camel-driving father in flyover country. There are some interesting revelations at the end, but the book is so short there's not enough time to build up to them. I liked the message, but the book reads like there are four more chapters that got left out...more
This is a really sophisticated children's book, and the only books I can think to compare it to are adult books. (Flannery O'Connor is the main author who came to my mind. I also kept thinking about Fight Club.) I don't even know who I'd recommend this book to. It's as old as I am, and thanks to references to parents who were hippies, parts of it are dated, and some of the slang didn't even really make sense to me. The main character also acts much older than his intended age, to the point of ma...more
Entertaining, but definitely on a different level than her award-winning books (which are some of my favorites, like _Mixed-Up Files_). Perhaps the characters needed to be more fully fleshed out, and some of the situations seemed rushed - one of the things I enjoyed best about Mixed-Up is that things were really well-thought out and the story helped develop the characters.
This book had the greatest description of the Texas summer sun I have ever read:
"It didn't look like ordinary light. It looked as though if you touched it, it would punch you back."
Accurate.
"It didn't look like ordinary light. It looked as though if you touched it, it would punch you back."
Accurate.
My son continues to read us through E. L. Konigsburg.. This time it is a tale of self-discovery by an early teen-aged boy who meets up with an intriguing daughter-mother duo.
boring characters and events. Somewhat predictable. IT's a J book, but just didn't pull me in. I skimmed over part of it and didn't finish
Open ending without much explanation, contemporary realistic fiction. Boys father sells camel rides.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Boring. Dull. Same old story.
I am a big fan of the author, but found this book to be the weakest of any of hers.
Meant to be a bit of an epic journey between father and son, it felt a bit flat and predictable. I was disappointed
Meant to be a bit of an epic journey between father and son, it felt a bit flat and predictable. I was disappointed
This is the kind of book I would probably write, if someone commissioned me to write a middle-grade novel. From what I can remember of this book from the one time I read it a little over three years ago, it was quirky and slight with engaging characters and Konigsburg's usual wonderful writing. The plot itself wasn't much--laden with tropes, serviced with generalizations, generally predictable--but it worked well enough. Three stars.
more kids than YA, but good for a younger YA pick. while i love Konigsburg (the two other books i've read by her), this was not my favorite, though quite fine. though i find it's quite nice to find an author enamoured of eccentric characters.
E.L. Konigsburg is under-read and under-appreciated, for sure. If you like From the Mixed-Up Files... then you should try this coming-of-age-in-a-camper story.
What a quirky book! It was a quick, intriguing read, but there was swearing, and that always turns me off, esp in a children's book!
pretty good. you cant just skim it. you have to actually read it otherwise things wont make sense.
A weird book. I didn't like the main character, or really the plot for that matter...
reeally hard to get into , but an okay story
May 14, 2013
Author
marked it as to-read
Apr 25, 2013
Igraine
marked it as auf-gar-keinen-fall
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Elaine Lobl Konigsburg was an American author and illustrator of children's books and young adult fiction. She was the only author to win the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor in the same year (1968), with her second and first books respectively: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. Kongisburg won a second Newbery...more
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