Going to Peco, Florida, for the summer to stay with Bernadette is not Chloe's first choice. Or her second or her third. It's her only choice. She has to leave town because of the hair contract. If she didn't sign it, her friends would shun her; if she did sign it, anytime any one of them had a bad hair day it would mean total immersion in the local pool for all of them, Chloe included. Chloe not only hates total immersion, she fears it.
So it's off to Bernadette's for the summer. "Help Bernadette," Nick, Chloe's stepfather, says. Bernadette is his sister. "And give the unexpected a chance." Just what that means Chloe discovers right away. Everything about Bernadette is unexpected: her dog; her job driving a commissary van that serves sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, and junk food to shipyard and dock workers; her way of teaching Chloe to swim; her ability to skate on Rollerblades; her adventures in the commune where she and Nick had lived for a year; and especially the fact that the unexpected is never unexpected to her, not even the events that follow when some commissary drivers begin wearing T-back swimsuits to work (a way of increasing business) and other groups in Peco decide T-backs should be banned forever.
Bernadette, who will not wear T-backs but will not oppose them either, is caught in the middle. And no matter what Chloe does, the results are unexpected. Unexpected, it seems, is all you can really count on, unless, like Bernadette, you know enough about the past to have an idea of what the future might bring. And even then, well, maybe Bernadette doesn't always know everything.
So it's off to Bernadette's for the summer. "Help Bernadette," Nick, Chloe's stepfather, says. Bernadette is his sister. "And give the unexpected a chance." Just what that means Chloe discovers right away. Everything about Bernadette is unexpected: her dog; her job driving a commissary van that serves sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, and junk food to shipyard and dock workers; her way of teaching Chloe to swim; her ability to skate on Rollerblades; her adventures in the commune where she and Nick had lived for a year; and especially the fact that the unexpected is never unexpected to her, not even the events that follow when some commissary drivers begin wearing T-back swimsuits to work (a way of increasing business) and other groups in Peco decide T-backs should be banned forever.
Bernadette, who will not wear T-backs but will not oppose them either, is caught in the middle. And no matter what Chloe does, the results are unexpected. Unexpected, it seems, is all you can really count on, unless, like Bernadette, you know enough about the past to have an idea of what the future might bring. And even then, well, maybe Bernadette doesn't always know everything.
Used availability for E L Konigsburg's T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
August 2008 : Library Binding
| Title: T-backs, T-shirts, Coat and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg ISBN: 1-4395-2888-8 / 978-1-4395-2888-4 Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
July 2003 : Library Binding
| Title: T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E.L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-613-61661-8 / 978-0-613-61661-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Econo-Clad Books, Div. of American Cos., Inc. Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
February 2003 : Hardback
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-7807-5401-8 / 978-0-7807-5401-0 (USA edition) Publisher: Perfection Learning Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
October 1999 : Library Binding
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg, Facaros ISBN: 0-7857-6684-7 / 978-0-7857-6684-1 (USA edition) Publisher: Econo-Clad Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
October 1993 : Hardback
| Title: T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E.L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-689-31855-3 / 978-0-689-31855-9 (USA edition) Publisher: Atheneum Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
June 2008 : Paperback
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, COAT, and Suit Author(s): E.L. Konigsburg ISBN: 1-4169-5877-0 / 978-1-4169-5877-2 (USA edition) Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
February 2003 : Paperback
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-689-85682-2 / 978-0-689-85682-2 (USA edition) Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
April 1999 : Paperback
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E.L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-7868-1359-8 / 978-0-7868-1359-9 (USA edition) Publisher: Hyperion Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
March 1995 : Paperback
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg, E.L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-7868-1027-0 / 978-0-7868-1027-7 (USA edition) Publisher: Hyperion (Juv) Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
1995 : Paperback
| Title: T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E.L. KONIGSBURG ISBN: 0-590-26238-6 / 978-0-590-26238-5 (USA edition) Availability: Amazon More details... |
Other Editions
January 2011 : Kindle edition
| Title: T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E.L. Konigsburg Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
January 2011 : Kindle edition
| Title: T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E.L. Konigsburg Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
March 2003 : Turtleback
| Title: T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-606-27482-0 / 978-0-606-27482-1 (USA edition) Publisher: Demco Media Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
December 1995 : Turtleback
| Title: T-Backs, t-Shirts, Coat, and Suit Author(s): E. L. Konigsburg ISBN: 0-606-08260-3 / 978-0-606-08260-0 (USA edition) Publisher: Demco Media Inc Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
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