The Great Interactive Dream Machine - Hardcover

Peck, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803719892 ISBN 13: 9780803719897

Publisher: Dial, 1996

Synopsis

Josh Lewis is unwillingly drawn into the computer experiments of Aaron, his friend and fellow classmate at an exclusive New York private school, and the two find themselves uncontrollably transported through space and time

About this title

About the Author

Richard Peck has written more than thirty novels, and in the process has become one of the country’s most highly respected writers for children. In fact The Washington Post called him “America’s best living author for young adults.” A versatile writer, he is beloved by middle-graders as well as young adults for his historical and contemporary comedies and coming-of-age novels. He lives in New York City, and spends a great deal of time traveling around the country to speaking engagements at conferences, schools, and libraries.

Mr. Peck is the first children’s book author to have received a National Humanities Medal. He is a Newbery Medal winner (for A Year Down Yonder), a Newbery Honor winner (for A Long Way from Chicago), a two-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Edgar Award winner. In addition, he has won a number of major honors for the body of his work, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the ALAN Award, and the Medallion from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Reviews

Grade 4-6?The continuing adventures through time, space, and middle school of Josh Lewis and Aaron Zimmer, first introduced in Lost in Cyberspace (Dial, 1995). Techno-nerd Aaron has found a formula that allows cyberspace travel through cellular reorganization. Unfortunately, there are bugs in the program that turn the computer into an uncontrollable wish-granting time-travel machine. The boys shun soccer camp, instead attending summer school for history at their exclusive New York City private school. Their study of World War II has surprising results for their 80-year-old lonesome neighbor, Miss Mathers. Humor, fantasy, science fiction, and even a touch of mystery all cleverly combine to make this book a guaranteed fun, fast-paced adventure.?Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When New York City prep-schooler Josh meddles with his best friend Aaron's computer project, a dinosaur presentation becomes a wish-granting program. The boys, first seen in Peck's Lost in Cyberspace, tap into the wishes of those around them: Josh's airhead sister wants to go to the Hamptons, a grumpy old spinster wants to go back in time, and the shih tzu downstairs just wants to go out. Josh and Aaron's wish, to be bigger and stronger than the class bully, yields wildly funny results. Individual episodes will provoke laughter and even thought, but a predictable plot involving a threatening cyber-spy fails to provide dramatic tension. Aaron's technical jargon sheds no light on the logic of the "dream machine" and his lengthy discourses may bore some readers: "Josh," he says, "the past, the present and the future are a multiple program running concurrently, with peripherals." Although the sentimental conclusion carries little emotional weight, the story's fast pace and clever one-liners make it an enjoyable light read for science fiction fans. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Great Interactive Dream Machine ($14.99; Oct. 1996; 149 pp.; 0- 8037-1989-2): In this sequel to Lost in Cyberspace (1995), computer-whiz Aaron Zimmer has accidentally given his computer the ability to grant wishes. A bug in the formula makes it grant the most emotionally powerful wishes of any creature in the area, including poodles. Peck's book may not ``rank right up there with the discovery of radium and call waiting,'' and the intriguing premise gives way to a story that is over before it really gets going. Still, some biting prose, larded up with enough technobabble to fuel a starship, should keep computer geeks chortling in the chat-rooms. (Fiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4^-6. In a sequel to Lost in Cyberspace (1995), Josh discovers that his friend Aaron has been tinkering with the programming of his computer/time machine. Soon the two begin a new series of adventures as they experiment with travel through time and space. The day-to-day talk of private school bullies and family troubles is more involving than the many techno-speak and culture-of-the-nineties references. Still, fast-paced action and witty conversations ensure that readers who enjoyed the combination of SF and humor in the first novel will find this one equally entertaining. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803719892
• ISBN 13: 9780803719897
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160