Tomorrowland: Ten Stories about the Future - Softcover

In homage to the new millennium, young adult literature critic and author Michael Cart (My Father's Scar) invites nine well-known writers to join him in crafting a story about the future. "Since we are what we were," he notes, "retrospection might also be in order." Historical fiction writer James Cross Giblin takes him at his word with "Night of the Plague," a story harking back to the terrors the coming of the first millennium wrought, and Jon Scieszka plays it for laughs at a Neanderthal-bashing New Year's Eve party in 33001 B.C. Katherine Paterson writes a story about the last dog, Jacqueline Woodson explores single motherhood, and Ron Koertge employs his amusing style in a tale of socially awkward young men that affirms that, in spite of robots, "there are two things that are never gonna change. There's always gonna be a spring dance, and guys are always gonna play ball." Tor Seidler echoes the sentiment, but this time it's football, rather than baseball. Lois Lowry soars with her poignant portrayal of an old man's rage at betrayal and change. Surprisingly, only two of the authors shape their stories as science fiction: Gloria Skurzynski, with a Martian Cain and Abel adventure, and Rodman Philbrick, with a brief but terrifying glimpse of a future without compassion reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange. Teens will find something for every taste in this wide-ranging sampler. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

Grade 6-10-An exceptional collection. Despite their different writing styles, the 10 stories pull together as a cohesive whole with not a lightweight selection in the bunch. In his introduction, Cart writes, "For a writer's imagination the future is especially tantalizing," but Jon Scieszka takes readers back in time to eavesdrop on a humorous millennium party-one that might have occurred on the evening of December 31, 33001 B.C.E. Rodman Philbrick jumps ahead in "The Last Book in the Universe" to a future that is a cross between A Clockwork Orange and Fahrenheit 451, to show readers an affirmation of life amid the harsh reality of a time when brutality rules, no one reads, and no one remembers. Gloria Skurzynski's allegory of Cain and Abel demonstrates that teenage siblings can suffer from horrible envy, even while living on Mars. Other authors represented include Katherine Paterson, James Cross Giblin, Ron Koertge, Lois Lowry, Tor Seidler, and Jacqueline Woodson. A brief author's commentary follows each story, and an appendix presents biographical information. The attractive (well, to teens) cover art of a spaceship shoulder tattoo will reel readers in, and the stories will net them, hook, line, and sinker.
Susan R. Farber, Greenburgh Public Library, Elmsford, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.