E-book
The elevator family
Record details
- ISBN: 9780307484239 (electronic bk. : Adobe Digital Editions)
- ISBN: 0307484238 (electronic bk. : Adobe Digital Editions)
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Physical Description:
electronic resource
remote - Publisher: New York : Yearling, c2000.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | Title from eBook information screen. |
| System Details Note: | Requires OverDrive Media Console Requires Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 1858 KB). |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Elevators -- Juvenile fiction Bars (Drinking establishments) -- Juvenile fiction Hotels -- Juvenile fiction Elevators -- Fiction Hotels, motels, etc -- Fiction |
| Genre: | EBOOK. Electronic books. |
Electronic resources
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 May 2000
Gr. 2^-4. When the Wilson family arrive for a vacation at the San Francisco Hotel, they learn that all the rooms are booked. Nonplused, they opt for the only vacant space--the elevator! They settle into "Otis" right away, bedding down on their trunks, ordering from room service, and making friends with a variety of hotel guests and employees. During their stay, they manage to further the cause of true love for a bellboy and a florist shop employee and solve the mystery of a kidnapped publishing heiress. Evans' lighthearted story is just the sort of realistic fantasy that will appeal to beginning chapter-book readers. The quirky characters (including a British rock group named What, a society matron with a poodle named Oui-Oui, and a traveling salesman who specializes in children's fads) are sure to amuse parents as well. Give this to primary-school teachers searching for a chapter book to read aloud, or to young readers looking for a funny book. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews - Horn Book Guide Reviews : Horn Book Guide Reviews 2000 Fall
When the Wilsons arrive at their vacation hotel and discover it s full, they decide to settle into the elevator. These amusingly oblivious oddballs welcome a series of bewildered hotel guests into their ""mobile room"" as they travel the floors. Evans reaps sly humor from what could have been a one-joke story, and even redeems the contrived ending, which finds the Wilsons cracking a kidnapping case. Copyright 2000 Horn Book Guide Reviews - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2000 May #2
An endearingly eccentric family settles into the elevator and hearts of the patrons and employees at the San Francisco Hotel in this over-the-top tale from Evans. No room at the inn is no problem for the intrepid Wilsons; Mr. and Mrs. and their twin ten-year-olds, Winslow and Whitney, simply set up camp in the hotel's elevator. From their mobile abode, they cheerfully offer advice and hospitality to everyone who "visits" their room. The gregarious Wilsons are true humanitarians, helping out their fellowtravelers; providing insights into the opposite sex for a lovelorn teenager; and offering companionship for a lonely salesman. They are delightfully insouciant about their unusual accommodations, and Evans's campy humor will have readers groaning with glee. When questioned about life in an elevator, the twins reply, "It had its ups. . . . And downs." Evans works out the intricacies of life on board an elevator with aplomb, neatly making the implausible seem possible. Throughout their adventures, the Wilsons maintain their affability. Even the ungrateful attitude of the kidnapped heiress they rescue fails to quell the good nature or good will of the irrepressible Wilsons. Brief chapters loaded with wry humor keep readers' interest high and are a great draw for reluctant ones. A wacky, warm-hearted tale. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright 2000 Kirkus Reviews - Library Media Connection : Library Talk Reviews 2000 November
Vacationing in a hotel elevator presents interesting and unusual situations. The four members of the Wilson family arrive at their hotel and find no vacant rooms. So they take up residence in one of the elevators. As a result, they encounter a variety of people. On one occasion, they are hosting a party in "Otis" the elevator and an earthquake occurs. The electricity goes off, and they are trapped for several hours with their guests. The most exciting adventure occurs when Mr. Wilson notices two suspicious men entering the hotel carrying a large trunk. He manages to connect them with the kidnapping of a young girl named Lizzy Chronicle. Through his efforts, Lizzy is rescued. This short chapter book would be a good starting point for children who are ready to make the transition from an easy reader to something slightly more challenging. Recommended. Kathleen Harrity, Library Media Specialist, Hudson (Massachusetts) Public Schools © 2000 Linworth Publishing, Inc. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2000 June #3
In his characteristically quirky style, Evans (The Classroom at the End of the Hall; Apple Island) here makes the most of perhaps the most constricted setting in modern memory. After the "kind woman at the front desk" of a San Francisco hotel informs the Wilson family that there are no vacancies, they step into the elevator and discover this "first-rate room. And it appears to be vacant." They are thrilled with its amenities: a full-length mirror, a phone, wall-to-wall carpeting, piped-in music and a panel of buttons to play with. Their vertically mobile home even has a name Otis. The author squeezes in some diverting action: the family of four host a catered dinner party for the hotel guests they have come to know (en route to their respective floors), and manage to foil a kidnapping attempt without leaving their quarters. Forgivably, Evans descends to some predictable puns (Wilson pater announces that his family has been in "many tight spots") and comes up with some over-the-top wordplay ("If I don't fit in time to keep fit at the hotel's fitness center, I have a fit") and alliteration ("On the twentieth floor, Tom and Tia Twiddle, two tourists from Texas, entered Otis toting trucks") all in good fun. Like the Wilsons' living space, readers' imaginations will expand to accommodate this blithe narrative. Fittingly sporting a vertical format, this clever tall tale will give kids' spirits a lift. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
