Journey to an 800 Number [Paperback]

E.L. Konigsburg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1985

Max is furious! His mother has just remarried and is off on a first-class honeymoon, while he's shipped off to visit his father, Woody, a camel-keeper. What a rotten deal!



Max likes the good life, and can't understand why Woody enjoys traveling around the country, living in a trailer and selling camel rides. It's not until Max meets a wild assortment of people on the road -- like taco-stand owners, mother and daughter con artists, and a famous Las Vegas singer--that he starts to realize he doesn't know it all.



After one short summer, Max's journey is just beginning!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The story has [Konigsburg's] usual combination of originality of conception, felicity of style, and suffusion of wit." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"A grand performance, sparkling with humor." - Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Max is furious! His mother has just remarried and is off on a first-class honeymoon, while he's shipped off to visit his father, Woody, a camel-keeper. What a rotten deal!

Max likes the good life, and can't understand why Woody enjoys traveling around the country, living in a trailer and selling camel rides. It's not until Max meets a wild assortment of people on the road -- like taco-stand owners, mother and daughter con artists, and a famous Las Vegas singer--that he starts to realize he doesn't know it all.

After one short summer, Max's journey is just beginning!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (January 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440442648
• ISBN-13: 978-0440442646
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,603,124 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Neat Book with Excellent Theme!, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey to an 800 Number (Paperback)

I loved the book Journey to an 800 Number! It was a very fun read. The author provided an eccentric cast of characters from a camel keeper to a taco seller. The characters made the story fun, and captivated my attention. Also, the theme was great, and makes one ponder and think after finishing the book. I love how the authour tied in the theme with the "800 Number" part. This book is defintitly a page turner and kept me at the edge of my seat throughout this fast-paced book. Also, the author's writing stlye is very interesting, presenting text in a wonderful and new manner. I loved the settings in this book because in several parts I felt I was actually there. I loved this book and I'm sure everyone who reads it will love it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable!!, June 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey to an 800 Number (Paperback)

Though a big fan of Konigsburgs other works (like many of the other reviewers) I thouroughly enjoyed this book (unlike those reviwers)! Maybe it's just my love of characters that made me love this book, but I was increadibly pleased. It's a very strange and out-of-the-blue plot, I'll admit, but Konigsburg, like always, manages to pull it all together into a story of friendship and love between some very different people. I'd recommend this book for just a joy-read rather than using it for any type of book project becuause the deeper meanings are buried way in there. Hope you enjoy!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely touches several issues our children are facing!, July 12, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (youngstown, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to an 800 Number (Paperback)

Max is snaughty young boy who really doesn't know who he is, and this is the quiet essence of the entire book. Max's journey leads him not only to the truth of an 800 number, but the truth about himself. I was surprised at some of the content of this book and seriously considered not suggesting it for my ten year old daughter's book club. After a day of ponderance, I realized that my child and her friends are fully aware of issues like these of the characters in the book and talk about them on a regular basis. I am going to suggest it, without upsetting the other moms hopefully, and look forward to their discussion of this well done title. I hope to see a sequel where Max and his "dad" become closer. I would like to learn about how he finds his maternal grandparents and whether he can bridge the gap between them and his mom. My daughter is adopted, so Max finding his birth dad would be interesting also. Get to the computer Konigsburg!!!