Chicken Trek - Hardcover

Manes, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525443126 ISBN 13: 9780525443124

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, 1987

Synopsis

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! . . .

How much chicken can one human eat? Oscar Noodleman is about to find out!

Oscar owes his weird inventor cousin $49,462.37--plus tax. His cousin needs the money to avoid a horrible fate. The only way out is for Oscar to win the Bagful o' Cash prize in a coast-to-coast chicken-eating contest.

Trekking across America in his cousin's amazing Picklemobile, Oscar stuffs down more than two hundred chicken meals. But an evil seer with a huge appetite, a grudge against Oscar's cousin, and a taste for fowl play is hot on the drumstick trail herself.

Will Oscar sprout feathers? Will the ChickenSniffer, the RemDem and his cousin's other crazy inventions save the day? Feast on this tale and cackle at the fine-feathered fun!

About this title

From the Author

Cluckworthy praise for Chicken Trek!

"Raucous, ridiculous fun . . . "
--Booklist

". . . a loopy story . . . it'll cause torrents of amusement . . ."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Best middle grade fiction EVER! . . . This is one of my all-time favorite books. . . one of those timeless classics that your children and your children's children will love through the years. A must read for reluctant readers, proficient readers, and everyone in between."
--E & K Family Book Review

"Pure zaniness . . . action both bizarre and unflagging will keep the pages turning and chuckles coming . . ."
--School Library Journal

" . . . fast and furious . . . fun . . . "
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Really, what's the point of reading books that aren't for kids? They're too long, they don't have pictures, and, most of all, they almost never have giant teleporting pickles, especially ones that also function as automobiles."
--The Daily Californian

STEPHEN MANES is the author of more than thirty books for children and young adults. His Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! won kid-voted awards in five states and is a curriculum staple in American and French schools. The sequel, Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday!, quickly became a Publishers Weekly bestseller. His books have been adapted for stage and television productions.

Manes has had a long career making arcane worlds accessible to the uninitiated. His most recent book is the highly acclaimed Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear: Inside the Land of Ballet. He was one of the creators and co-hosts of the weekly public television series "Digital Duo." He co-wrote the bestselling and much-praised biography Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America. He wrote long-running columns on personal technology for The New York Times, Forbes, PC World, PC Magazine, and many other publications.

Manes has a degree in cinema from the University of Southern California. His writing credits for the screen include programs for ABC Television and KCET/Los Angeles, as well as the seventies classic movie Mother, Jugs & Speed. A native of Pittsburgh, he lives in Seattle.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5 Unlike the first strange thing that happened to Oscar Noodleman (That Game from Outer Space 1983 ) when Oscar gets more than a little involved with a video game, or the second (The Oscar J. Noodleman Television Network 1984, both Dutton ) wherein Oscar finds more developing than he expects when using a video camera, this fantasy relies less on high-tech gone wrong and more on pure zaniness. Now Oscar's cousin Dr. Prechtwinkle has turned a regular, dime-a-dozen Picklemobile into the world's only RemDem, which, when it works, is capable of dematerializing and rematerializing seconds later anywhere in the world. Oscar and Prechtwinkle are certain that they can use it to win the prize money offered for eating a Bagful o' Chicken at every one of the 211 franchises in 60 days. But they are being pursued by Madame Gulbenkian, who sees all, knows all, casts magic spells, and can swallow a whole chicken leg in one gulp. There is a lot of Pinkwater silliness here. The short chapters, hip setting, and action both bizarre and unflagging will keep the pages turning and chuckles coming from those who enjoy a contemporary fantasy and from reluctant readers. Lucy Hawley, Wescott School Library, Northbrook, Ill.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0525443126
• ISBN 13: 9780525443124
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 110