Altogether, One at a Time [Hardcover]

E. L. Konigsburg (Author), Gail E. Mercer Mayer and Gary Parker Haley (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Atheneum (1979)
• ASIN: B0012B4QFQ
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,407,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E. L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and be runner-up in the same year. In 1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again for The View From Saturday. She has also written and illustrated three picture books: Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors, Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions, and Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdale's. In 2000 she wrote Silent to the Bone, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, among many other honors.

After completing her degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Konigsburg did graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. For several years she taught science at a private girls' school. When the third of her three children started kindergarten, she began to write. She now lives on the beach in North Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Altogether, April 7, 2000

By 

Heather Jones (Charlottesville,VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altogether, One At a Time (Paperback)

Using curt language complemented by black and white illustrations, Konigsburg presents four short stories for the young reader. Yet, the simple story lines hide a deep message about life. Each of the four children in Konigsburg's stories endures a difficult situation while growing up and realizes how our world is filled with both good and bad. When Lewis visits a meteor shower with his grandmother, he begins to understand the duel emotions older people face. At Camp Fat, Miss Natasha teaches chubby Clara issues about her weight. The reader also meets a young African American child through a story told by her daughter and young Jason who debates inviting Stanley to his birthday party.

This book provides an excellent example of a short story collection. The teacher can use the stories to show how plot development for short stories is similar to that of novels, the difference is just in length.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Camp Fat, November 29, 2008

By 

Rebecca Rollyson "Booklover Librarian" (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altogether, One at a Time (Paperback)

Short stories written with the flair for supernatural of Konigsburg, I found the selection, Camp Fat the most intriguing. Along with a visit from a ghost comes a lesson of the psychological reasons children are fat. Those issues must be acknowledged before they can lose weight.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good!, July 6, 2004

By 

Rosy "rose" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altogether, One At a Time (Paperback)

I love this book very much. What exquisite stories and beautiful illustrations! I have discovered a lot of things through these five short stories. Each story has a truth of life.