Three Day Traffic Jam [Hardcover]

Keefauver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1992 | Age Level: 8 and up

Responding to charges that he is a wimp, Henry Littlefield ventures out into the traffic-clogged streets of 1999 America with his friend Tillie-Jean on the Fourth of July.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Los Angeles traffic jam described in this farcical novel is shorter than the one in 1999 that "lasted eleven months and was two hundred miles long and eighty miles wide." But it seems like an eternity to 11-year-old Henry and his friend TJ, who not only get stuck in the middle of this melee, they're actually responsible for it. Jealous of the attention his father pays to his car, Henry decides to take the vehicle for a spin. When TJ goads Henry into driving on the freeway, a madcap ride ensues, and their car ends up heading against the traffic, causing countless crashes and--eventually--the gargantuan gridlock. Though this reckless drive seems a rather warped premise for middle-grade fiction, at least this part of the story moves along at as swift a pace as the frenzied freeway traffic. The remaining chapters, however, in which the two kids try to escape from the traffic jam, are relatively slow going. Yet youngsters will be regaled by the details of Keefauver's creative, if sardonic, vision of a frighteningly near future. Ages 9-13.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-- This slight, humorous story takes place in a not-too-distant future Los Angeles plagued by traffic jams of unimaginable dimensions--miles wide and long, and days, weeks, even months in duration. Many Californians have adapted by investing in expensive motor homes equipped with telephones, microwaves, television, and more. Henry Littlefinger, 11, becomes involved in all of the highway hazards when he takes his father's snazzy new car, Sweetie Pie, for a freeway joyride to impress his friend Tillie Jean and perhaps also to work off some frustrations about his parents' recent divorce. Several hair-raising fender benders later, he and Tillie Jean find themselves in the midst of a mammoth jam of their own creation. In the course of escaping from it, (without Sweetie Pie), Henry has time to reflect on his jealousy of the car and his relationship with his dad and realize that maybe both are worth saving. His father's reaction when he finally gets home confirms that. The sci-fi setting acts as a backdrop, rather than as a focus, to what is basically a one-dimensional family/problem story. Henry's wild ride provides some slapstick hilarity that, along with a reassuring solution to a familiar problem, makes this a fast, easy read. --Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 89 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; First Edition edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671755994
• ISBN-13: 978-0671755997
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,868,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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