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Children of the Streets
When he's down, kick for the head and groin. Avoid cops. Play it cool. There aren't many rules in the primer for gang kids, but they all count. They're all easily understood, because they use a simple and sound philosophy-it's a stinking life, so get your kicks while you can. The gang is home, take what you want, tell them nothing-and don't get caught. Two gangs of juvenile delinquents run riot in New York City. They constantly try to outdo each other with their clothes, weapons, language and lack of morals. They are not just kids playing at war-they mean business. The only person who can infiltrate the gang is someone they can trust, someone like themselves. Someone who knows how to handle a knife and a gun...
194 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1956
About the author
Harlan Ellison
1,098 books2,947 followersHarlan Jay Ellison (1934-2018) was a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism.
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 20, 2026
Pretty good early Ellison collection! The stories in this span from 1956-1960, with the intro being written in 1961. They all focus on kids street gangs in 50s New York. Personally, I think I prefer Harlan's science fiction/speculative fiction, but I don't mind these, different genre. Lots of 50s slang that takes a bit of getting used to, but its nothing egregious. I feel some of the things that happen in the stories may be exaggeration, but what do I know, I wasn't around in the 50s lol. The writing is solid overall. Each story begins with a short paragraph intro giving some context to the stories, a lot shorter than most Ellison intros lol. The shining stars of this collection are "No Way Out," 'School for Killers," and "Matinee Idyll." Below are all the individual reviews for the stories:
Introduction: Ten Weeks in Hell (1961): Introduction goes into Harlan's background on how he joined a kid gang at 21. He's got first hand experience with this stuff! I mean, they do say to write whatcha know lol. It definitely helps bring context to the horror of the gangs, seeing what he got up to with them. Some of the nicknames were the same from the real life experience to the stories, I thought that was cool.
No Way Out (1957) ***** : This was the original short story for "Web of the City" which I read before this collection. It is slightly different from the longer version, as . There are also slight difference in word choice. Considering how much Rusty wants to leave the gang, this shows how tough it really is. I'm glad this one got expanded upon, Rusty is such a great character.
Matinee Idyll (1958) ***** : This was another short story that was turned into a longer novel, titled "Rockabilly"/"Spider Kiss." I have not read the longer one yet, but I am curious to! Stag is a terrible, typical misogynistic rock star type. I hate the character, but I like how he is written, makes me uncomfortable. Definitely a 'don't meet your idols' type lol. His assistant, Neal, is the narrator here, and he is compliant in Stag's terrible dealings, basically only here for the money/only thinking of himself. He literally says at one point "my conscience has been dead for years." He's not a great character either. . After the incident, Stag still only cares for himself, and Neal still wants to help him. However, Stag's fan club takes their revenge THANK GOD. Gotta watch out for girly fan clubs, man, they can be vicious! Def want to read the longer version, see more of these terrible, but well written, characters!
No Game for Children (1959) *** : A classic "new school" vs "old school" type story. Kinda reminds me of two people I work with, if the younger one cared and it escalated! The foil between Frenchie (new school) and Herbert (old school) was well set up. It was like classical music vs rock and roll, like I could almost hear the music lol! Frenchie is a bad boy, pretty much teetering on psychotic with what he does the Herbert . The ending with the chicken car game was solid, reminded me of the book Panic by Lauren Oliver, which also used a similar game. !
The Rough Boys (1956) *** : The main characters in this kinda reminded me of the main characters in Pulp Fiction. They are top dog assassins hiding out after a job. They get antsy, go outside, and hire a kid to get them food, who ends up being in a gang. . Moral of the story is don't mess with gang kids!
A Tiger at Nightfall (1960) *** : The main character in this story Piddy seems like a decent kid. He tries to do the right thing by helping a blind man in the soup line. Poor kid does end up dragged into something after being offered $5 for the job. All he has to do is find someone, doesn't seem to bad right? However, things do take a violent turn, and Piddy could now be an accessory to murder. He was trying to do the right thing, like he wasn't even a gang kid! I do like how the spear cane came into play. Considering how much it was mentioned, I knew something was going to happen with it, good Chekov’s gun set up.
School for Killers (1956) ***** : This was a favorite for sure, also one of the longer ones in the collection. Its all about an inner city gang called The Organization that took over a school. The kids are completely out of control, have the school in the palm of their hands. The main character Softy is a good kid with strong morals. He's a leader type, wants to stand up for what’s right. He stands up for his friend Flip, a crippled kid who is always beat up by the gang. Flip's a great side character. . I am glad that Softy beat the crap out of Flip's assailants, thank god. Softy did not give up the main gang members in the principals office out of fear, but he ends up in a court orchestrated by the gang. There was a moment here that shows how they are just kids, wanting to let him go after his beat down so he could still play basketball. However we (and the other gang members) get to see how crazy Porky and Shark (the leaders) really are, their true colors come out! And it is VIOLENT. I love how this one ended, with ! Such a nice happy ending!! I wish this one had a longer version, this was great! I would love to see more with Softy and his friends. He kinda reminded me of a football player I knew in high school named Gage, probably the nicest jock I knew.
Memory of a Muted Trumpet (1960) ** : Bohemians, Hippies, and drugs, very 60s. Very dead end, nothing major happens, nothing changes. Shows the downsides of drugs. That one scenes though OMG that was terrible! Very shocked at that, but she ended up still back at the house, doing the same things. Also there was I believe a gay character, or at least a bi character. Number One was with a woman at the beginning, then ended up with Stanley at the end. That was cool to see in something from the 60s. That was probably the only highlight, this one was just boring and pretty forgettable to me.
Stand Still and Die! (1956) **** : A cab driver tries to do the right thing by helping a man being beat up by a street gang, ends up in the hospital himself and the cops think he's in on it. The cab driver takes things into his own hands to go after the gang and the big man on top of it all. I love how determined Neal was, and how the action was written in this story. Also the threat "I was so goddam mad I was ready to yank their large colons out and tie them together" is something I never heard before!
Gang Girl (1956) **** : We get a gang story from the perspective of a girl, something we have not seen in the collection! Julie just wants to belong somewhere and naively joins a gang, not quite understanding what it is. Considering how young she is, I wonder if this happened to a lot of the kids in the gangs, they just wanted a place to belong. She does seem to really love the guy, Puff, who got her in, and he seems to love her too. After her violent initiation, Puff respects her wishes and does not force himself on her thank god. There was a dance they went to together, where it was unfortunately ! I liked the quote "There can't be anything right with gangs who kill nice guys like him" and that she "felt sorry for every kid in every gang."
The last statements of the story were a solid ending to the book as a whole, none of these kids should have to go through this amount of death and violence and hate. It’s no place for them, but maybe they just wanted a place to belong. This is why we need more third spaces for kids to hang out.
Introduction: Ten Weeks in Hell (1961): Introduction goes into Harlan's background on how he joined a kid gang at 21. He's got first hand experience with this stuff! I mean, they do say to write whatcha know lol. It definitely helps bring context to the horror of the gangs, seeing what he got up to with them. Some of the nicknames were the same from the real life experience to the stories, I thought that was cool.
No Way Out (1957) ***** : This was the original short story for "Web of the City" which I read before this collection. It is slightly different from the longer version, as . There are also slight difference in word choice. Considering how much Rusty wants to leave the gang, this shows how tough it really is. I'm glad this one got expanded upon, Rusty is such a great character.
Matinee Idyll (1958) ***** : This was another short story that was turned into a longer novel, titled "Rockabilly"/"Spider Kiss." I have not read the longer one yet, but I am curious to! Stag is a terrible, typical misogynistic rock star type. I hate the character, but I like how he is written, makes me uncomfortable. Definitely a 'don't meet your idols' type lol. His assistant, Neal, is the narrator here, and he is compliant in Stag's terrible dealings, basically only here for the money/only thinking of himself. He literally says at one point "my conscience has been dead for years." He's not a great character either. . After the incident, Stag still only cares for himself, and Neal still wants to help him. However, Stag's fan club takes their revenge THANK GOD. Gotta watch out for girly fan clubs, man, they can be vicious! Def want to read the longer version, see more of these terrible, but well written, characters!
No Game for Children (1959) *** : A classic "new school" vs "old school" type story. Kinda reminds me of two people I work with, if the younger one cared and it escalated! The foil between Frenchie (new school) and Herbert (old school) was well set up. It was like classical music vs rock and roll, like I could almost hear the music lol! Frenchie is a bad boy, pretty much teetering on psychotic with what he does the Herbert . The ending with the chicken car game was solid, reminded me of the book Panic by Lauren Oliver, which also used a similar game. !
The Rough Boys (1956) *** : The main characters in this kinda reminded me of the main characters in Pulp Fiction. They are top dog assassins hiding out after a job. They get antsy, go outside, and hire a kid to get them food, who ends up being in a gang. . Moral of the story is don't mess with gang kids!
A Tiger at Nightfall (1960) *** : The main character in this story Piddy seems like a decent kid. He tries to do the right thing by helping a blind man in the soup line. Poor kid does end up dragged into something after being offered $5 for the job. All he has to do is find someone, doesn't seem to bad right? However, things do take a violent turn, and Piddy could now be an accessory to murder. He was trying to do the right thing, like he wasn't even a gang kid! I do like how the spear cane came into play. Considering how much it was mentioned, I knew something was going to happen with it, good Chekov’s gun set up.
School for Killers (1956) ***** : This was a favorite for sure, also one of the longer ones in the collection. Its all about an inner city gang called The Organization that took over a school. The kids are completely out of control, have the school in the palm of their hands. The main character Softy is a good kid with strong morals. He's a leader type, wants to stand up for what’s right. He stands up for his friend Flip, a crippled kid who is always beat up by the gang. Flip's a great side character. . I am glad that Softy beat the crap out of Flip's assailants, thank god. Softy did not give up the main gang members in the principals office out of fear, but he ends up in a court orchestrated by the gang. There was a moment here that shows how they are just kids, wanting to let him go after his beat down so he could still play basketball. However we (and the other gang members) get to see how crazy Porky and Shark (the leaders) really are, their true colors come out! And it is VIOLENT. I love how this one ended, with ! Such a nice happy ending!! I wish this one had a longer version, this was great! I would love to see more with Softy and his friends. He kinda reminded me of a football player I knew in high school named Gage, probably the nicest jock I knew.
Memory of a Muted Trumpet (1960) ** : Bohemians, Hippies, and drugs, very 60s. Very dead end, nothing major happens, nothing changes. Shows the downsides of drugs. That one scenes though OMG that was terrible! Very shocked at that, but she ended up still back at the house, doing the same things. Also there was I believe a gay character, or at least a bi character. Number One was with a woman at the beginning, then ended up with Stanley at the end. That was cool to see in something from the 60s. That was probably the only highlight, this one was just boring and pretty forgettable to me.
Stand Still and Die! (1956) **** : A cab driver tries to do the right thing by helping a man being beat up by a street gang, ends up in the hospital himself and the cops think he's in on it. The cab driver takes things into his own hands to go after the gang and the big man on top of it all. I love how determined Neal was, and how the action was written in this story. Also the threat "I was so goddam mad I was ready to yank their large colons out and tie them together" is something I never heard before!
Gang Girl (1956) **** : We get a gang story from the perspective of a girl, something we have not seen in the collection! Julie just wants to belong somewhere and naively joins a gang, not quite understanding what it is. Considering how young she is, I wonder if this happened to a lot of the kids in the gangs, they just wanted a place to belong. She does seem to really love the guy, Puff, who got her in, and he seems to love her too. After her violent initiation, Puff respects her wishes and does not force himself on her thank god. There was a dance they went to together, where it was unfortunately ! I liked the quote "There can't be anything right with gangs who kill nice guys like him" and that she "felt sorry for every kid in every gang."
The last statements of the story were a solid ending to the book as a whole, none of these kids should have to go through this amount of death and violence and hate. It’s no place for them, but maybe they just wanted a place to belong. This is why we need more third spaces for kids to hang out.
June 28, 2017
Children of the Streets
By Harlan Ellison
This is a collection of juvenile delinquency stories from the 1950s.
They are all set in NYC where Ellison grew up.
High school didn’t work then for many teens and still doesn’t work now, 60 years later. Well, that’s my opinion because I’m generally anti-school. It’s just basically a place to put people, to condition them to be productive and obedient workers in a complicated society that separates people into categories of age when they might be better off intermixing more organically. I don’t think children should be separated from adults all the time as schools do. Some of us even when very young can feel that it is not right, and certainly not nurturing. Most find ways to more or less cope. The ways some find to get through it are not helpful to the community at large.
There is a lot of gang stuff in the stories. Much of it rather extreme with deaths occurring at “rumbles”, even a principal assassinated with a zip gun. That stuff gives the book a feeling of unbelievability, but who knows maybe things like that actually happened. After all Tony did get killed in a knife fight at a rumble in West Side Story.
Anyway, the book provides a view of a system that doesn’t work.
I don’t think high school is much better now. The book has stories of bullying of a gang type and the feeling that high school is almost like prison.
But that’s OK. If school doesn’t work, just bring in more cops, or, as I have been hearing in the news, just arm teachers and other school workers.
Great, good luck, but I’m telling you that isn’t going to work either.
This is the first Ellison I have read. It’s a good read with action and conflict filled pulp fiction type stories. The 1950s gang jargon is fun to decode.
By Harlan Ellison
This is a collection of juvenile delinquency stories from the 1950s.
They are all set in NYC where Ellison grew up.
High school didn’t work then for many teens and still doesn’t work now, 60 years later. Well, that’s my opinion because I’m generally anti-school. It’s just basically a place to put people, to condition them to be productive and obedient workers in a complicated society that separates people into categories of age when they might be better off intermixing more organically. I don’t think children should be separated from adults all the time as schools do. Some of us even when very young can feel that it is not right, and certainly not nurturing. Most find ways to more or less cope. The ways some find to get through it are not helpful to the community at large.
There is a lot of gang stuff in the stories. Much of it rather extreme with deaths occurring at “rumbles”, even a principal assassinated with a zip gun. That stuff gives the book a feeling of unbelievability, but who knows maybe things like that actually happened. After all Tony did get killed in a knife fight at a rumble in West Side Story.
Anyway, the book provides a view of a system that doesn’t work.
I don’t think high school is much better now. The book has stories of bullying of a gang type and the feeling that high school is almost like prison.
But that’s OK. If school doesn’t work, just bring in more cops, or, as I have been hearing in the news, just arm teachers and other school workers.
Great, good luck, but I’m telling you that isn’t going to work either.
This is the first Ellison I have read. It’s a good read with action and conflict filled pulp fiction type stories. The 1950s gang jargon is fun to decode.
November 8, 2012
Trent very much enjoy.
March 11, 2024
Ellison is one of my favorite writers. I have a massive collection of his books.
February 11, 2024
This collection of crime stories was first released in 1961 as a paperback original with the title The Juvies and the tag line: "Life and Death of the Gutter Kids".
It is Ellison's fourth collection of juvenile delinquent stories, following on the heels of Web of the City (1958), The Deadly Streets (1958), and Sex Gang (1959). It is a cut above those earlier efforts. Most of these stories pop with the same verve that marks classic early Ellison stories like "Life Hutch" and "The Sky is Burning".
This unabridged audiobook edition was published in 2020 and follows the table of contents from the previous 2004 Severn House hardcover. It does not include the bonus material from the print on demand 2020 Edgeworks Abbey Archive edition.
Ellison kicks off the collection with the introduction "10 Weeks in Hell" which summarizes his experiences infiltrating a Manhattan street gang. This material is explored at greater length in his nonfiction book Memos from Purgatory.
Here are my individual story reviews:
"No Way Out" (1957) -- Rusty is trying to leave the Cougars, but the new gang president Candle wants to prove his mettle in a stand… The climactic face-off with switchblades later formed the basis for the most memorable scene in the novel Web of the City.
"Matinee Idyll" (1958) -- The press agent for rockabilly star Stag Preston arranges the musician's trysts with underage fans. This tale of fame, rape, and murder is Ellison's first take on the Elvis Presley phenomenon. Later expanded into the novel Spider's Kiss.
"No Game for Children" (1959) -- Delinquent teen Bruce terrorizes the meek professor who lives next door. He tries to wreck the older man's car. He peeps into windows while the man's wife is undressing. He kills the family cat. He will learn even worn-down academics can strike back when they are pushed too far…
"The Rough Boys" (1956) – Two mob hit men get more than they can handle when they face off against a teenage street gang. Ellison’s first published crime story. Even though the surprise ending is painfully telegraphed, this is still fun to read.
"A Tiger at Nightfall" (1961) -- A derelict teenager at the Salvation Army befriends a blind ex-boxer who desperately wants to track down an old manager who owes him money.
"School for Killers" (1957) -- Softy decides to fight back when a street gang takes over his inner city high school. The plot of this story is far-fetched--in truth, John Adams High School makes the schools in Lean on Me and Dangerous Minds seem tolerable--but the rumble killings and the torture scene are memorable.
"Memory of a Muted Trumpet" (1960) -- The story of a failed romance--and a murdered newborn baby in a burlap sack--is related during two Bohemian parties in Greenwich Village. This story is the spiritual antecedent to the author's more well-known "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin".
"Stand Still and Die!" (1956) -- Neil is a good Samaritan cabbie who tries to stop members of the Falcons from mugging a man in a business suit. He is shocked to wake up in the hospital and find the cops accusing him of stealing the man's uncut diamonds…
"Gang Girl" (1957) -- Julie wants nothing to do with street gangs, until she falls in love with Puff. Now she is an initiate to the Cavaliers Debs auxiliary, but will they survive their feud with the crosstown Eagles?
I listened to the audiobook read by Graham Halstead and Mia Barron.
It is Ellison's fourth collection of juvenile delinquent stories, following on the heels of Web of the City (1958), The Deadly Streets (1958), and Sex Gang (1959). It is a cut above those earlier efforts. Most of these stories pop with the same verve that marks classic early Ellison stories like "Life Hutch" and "The Sky is Burning".
This unabridged audiobook edition was published in 2020 and follows the table of contents from the previous 2004 Severn House hardcover. It does not include the bonus material from the print on demand 2020 Edgeworks Abbey Archive edition.
Ellison kicks off the collection with the introduction "10 Weeks in Hell" which summarizes his experiences infiltrating a Manhattan street gang. This material is explored at greater length in his nonfiction book Memos from Purgatory.
Here are my individual story reviews:
"No Way Out" (1957) -- Rusty is trying to leave the Cougars, but the new gang president Candle wants to prove his mettle in a stand… The climactic face-off with switchblades later formed the basis for the most memorable scene in the novel Web of the City.
"Matinee Idyll" (1958) -- The press agent for rockabilly star Stag Preston arranges the musician's trysts with underage fans. This tale of fame, rape, and murder is Ellison's first take on the Elvis Presley phenomenon. Later expanded into the novel Spider's Kiss.
"No Game for Children" (1959) -- Delinquent teen Bruce terrorizes the meek professor who lives next door. He tries to wreck the older man's car. He peeps into windows while the man's wife is undressing. He kills the family cat. He will learn even worn-down academics can strike back when they are pushed too far…
"The Rough Boys" (1956) – Two mob hit men get more than they can handle when they face off against a teenage street gang. Ellison’s first published crime story. Even though the surprise ending is painfully telegraphed, this is still fun to read.
"A Tiger at Nightfall" (1961) -- A derelict teenager at the Salvation Army befriends a blind ex-boxer who desperately wants to track down an old manager who owes him money.
"School for Killers" (1957) -- Softy decides to fight back when a street gang takes over his inner city high school. The plot of this story is far-fetched--in truth, John Adams High School makes the schools in Lean on Me and Dangerous Minds seem tolerable--but the rumble killings and the torture scene are memorable.
"Memory of a Muted Trumpet" (1960) -- The story of a failed romance--and a murdered newborn baby in a burlap sack--is related during two Bohemian parties in Greenwich Village. This story is the spiritual antecedent to the author's more well-known "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin".
"Stand Still and Die!" (1956) -- Neil is a good Samaritan cabbie who tries to stop members of the Falcons from mugging a man in a business suit. He is shocked to wake up in the hospital and find the cops accusing him of stealing the man's uncut diamonds…
"Gang Girl" (1957) -- Julie wants nothing to do with street gangs, until she falls in love with Puff. Now she is an initiate to the Cavaliers Debs auxiliary, but will they survive their feud with the crosstown Eagles?
I listened to the audiobook read by Graham Halstead and Mia Barron.
Read
February 18, 2020I thought the book was very exaggerated and the stories pretty redundant. I only liked a couple of the stories such as "no Way Out" and No Game For Children". I was born in 1947 and grew up in a very rough housing project in South Philly. I saw a lot of fights and got in a few myself although I tried to avoid them whenever possible as I wasn't that good at it. In South Philly the gangs were identified by the corner they mainly hung out at like "30th & Tasker". Some corners had big reps for being tough and you stayed away from them. There were also the young Italian Mafia wannabees who hung out around 9th Street. I was a teenager in the early 60's and rarely saw or heard about the type of rumbles and extreme violence Ellison portrays. Of course things may have been a lot different in NY 10 years earlier but I still think he exaggerates the amount and severity of JD violence using a lot of artistic license. My milder group of teenagers hung out at at "29th & Morris", a block south and a block east of the very tough ""30th & Tasker" gang. We knew a lot of them and vice versa and knowing we were no threat they didn't bother us most of the time. I did get "jumped" and beaten up twice, once by "30th street" and once by "the Hill" the gang that dominated the Tasker housing project I lived in. Both times I was told they didn't recognize us as being from the project and one guy actually apologized for a case of mistaken identity. In high school the big weapon was thick heavy belts with big belt buckles that were used more than knives in gang fights. I wore one to be "cool" but never used it.
March 17, 2021
"If you haven't read Harlan Ellison, you haven't read." ~ Richard Halasz
May 22, 2022
I don’t think, in this day and age, a collection of ‘juvenile gang’ fiction works very well. Aside from the historical wishes of Ellison, it is probably best to have them scattered through various (wide-themed) collections, as the storylines here generally do not have much range. One of the street punks knew who Kafka was, though….
No Way Out ***oo
Matinee Idyll ***oo
No Game for Children ***oo
The Rough Boys **ooo
A Tiger at Nightfall **ooo
School for Killers **ooo
Memory of a Muted Trumpet **ooo
Stand Still and Die! **ooo
Gang Girl **ooo
--------
Black Money
Blind Date
No Way Out ***oo
Matinee Idyll ***oo
No Game for Children ***oo
The Rough Boys **ooo
A Tiger at Nightfall **ooo
School for Killers **ooo
Memory of a Muted Trumpet **ooo
Stand Still and Die! **ooo
Gang Girl **ooo
--------
Black Money
Blind Date
June 5, 2012
Straddling the line between exploitation and intervention, this 1961 collection of stories about juvenile delinquents (by the writer better known for his SF) now seems almost quaint, as he admits in the introduction to this 2004 reissue. The stories, which now evoke a vanished era of zip guns, malt shops and razor-studded potatoes, still pack a sleazy, sincere punch.
August 10, 2015
Cool and gritty.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews