Customer Reviews

The Elevator Man

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
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This book is sweet and funny and my kids (ages 3 and 6) love it. Much of what passes for children's literature today I find to be inane and unreadable, written as if the audience has the intellectual understanding of a mud puddle (they're children, but they're not stupid). By contrast, The Elevator Man is a real story with interesting and compelling characters. Nathan, the central figure, displays a curiosity and thoughtfulness that any child can identify with. And what kid doesn't love elevators?

The Elevator Man takes us back a simpler and more elegant time and is a joy to read. It is beautifully illustrated and is bound to become a classic of childrens' literature. Nathan is a cute little boy who learns a lesson about change and the march of time as a result of his daily journeys in the elevator.

Nathan lives on the fifth floor of a building with an elevator that fascinates him. Not only does he enjoy riding the elevator and watching the various gadgets, he also looks forward to greeting the elevator operator and learning from him the tricks of the trade. When the superintendent announces that the building will undergo an upgrade with a new electrical elevator, Nathan wonders how their elevator service will change and where the elevator man will go. This whimsical book presents a good example of how modernization brings changes in the types of goods and services we enjoy as consumers, while it also leads people to find new jobs as their old jobs become obsolete.