The Great Interactive Dream Machine - Hardcover

Peck, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803719892 ISBN 13: 9780803719897

Publisher: Dial, 1996

Synopsis

When Aaron devises a way to turn his computer into a wish-granting machine, he and Josh are discouraged by the program's bugs, which include its unpredictable way of granting the wishes of the family poodle.

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.

From Publishers Weekly:

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.

About this edition

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