The Willoughbys

wanted to read it because i seen the movie on Netflix. i enjoyed the book a little bit more

I haven't read this myself but I want to give it a plug because my 9 y.o. son, who doesn't read much fiction except for graphic novels, read it straight through--which is saying a lot. He often rejects novels because his sister's books are too girly or the books aimed at boys are too intense and scary for him (we had trouble getting him on a plane after listening to the first part of "Hatchet" on tape). Other, lighter, books are insulting to his intelligence or reading level. This book seemed to strike it just right for a boy who usually prefers history and fact-based reading.

On the recommendation of a friend, we got this book to read aloud as a family--we're always looking for ways to bond in the evening other than TV. My 9 year old and jaded 13 year old both loved it, and we all had a great time laughing at the sly, clever humor and absurd, yet somehow emotionally realistic situations, which were rather like the veiled truths about human nature you'd find in old-fashioned stories. The bibliography and glossary were equally amusing (it's never to early to start vocabulary building for the SAT!). My older son had read The Giver and was delighted Lois Lowry could write such a witty parody. My younger son now wants to read the real Mary Poppins. Highly recommended!

Lois Lowry has done it again. In a very different approach to story-telling...that being parody, which she handles with tongue very firmly embedded in cheek...Lois has created a book that kids are going to love reading. Very different in approach to, say, her two Newberry winners, she uses her sense of humor, her sarcasm, her take on "children in peril" stories of long ago, and simply delights with a story that's a pleasure to read. My first contact with Lois Lowry was way back in l986 when, on first sharing several of her books with my fifth grade class, I wrote to her, expressing my good fortune in discovering her books and the fun I had reading them to my kids. She responded to my letter and has done likewise over the years as I established a rapport with not only an author of increasing note (her Newberry Awards were not too distant in the future) but with a friend. Lois has always provided the children for whom she writes the opportunity for a most worthwhile reading experience. It's obvious, in books from the "Anastasia" series to books in the vein of "The Giver" or "Number the Stars," that she has great respect for the youngsters who become her audience. The release of a new book is something, then, for them to eagerly anticipate...and "The Willouby's" is no exception. From start to finish, readers delight in what is not only a "parody" but a story that will have readers eager to read to book's end to see just how this parody will be handled and story resolved. Kids, parody aside, will be anxious to read to book's end to see just what becomes of these children, abandoned by their parents, left in the care of a nanny, making their way into the care of a recluse candy maker, he whose life is radically altered by actions taken by the original four children, eager to dispose of a baby they find on their own doorstep. Parody of stories of old? Yes. But also a story that one eagerly reads for its "happy ending." And might there be any youngster who won't feel that the wonderful glossary at the end of the book is "icing on the cake?" And might readers not fully familiar with the stories and authors of old mentioned through Lois' book be prompted to perhaps pick up "Little Women," "The Secret Garden," and the like and enjoy stories of other children who have been part of "children's literature" for years and years? Yes, Lois' book is a parody, but children love reading of other children, and it will be the lucky youngster who chooses to make him or herself familiar with these characters from "stories of old." Hence, Lois' "bibliography" of sorts at book's end, where these classic stories are all listed, along with a brief description of each book's content, author, date published. Whether you're a teacher anxious to see Lois' new book as part of your school's library of books or added to a classroom's reading list for both enjoyment of reading but, just as important, discussion of the book's elements; whether you're a parent

"Their mother, frowning, opened the door at the end of the long hall. She emerged from the kitchen. 'Whatever is that noise?' she asked. 'I am trying to remember the ingredients for meat loaf and I cannot hear myself think.' "'Oh, someone has left a beastly baby on our front steps,' Tim told her. "'My goodness, we don't want a baby!' their mother said, coming forward to take a look. 'I don't like the feel of this at all.' "'I'd like to keep it,' Jane said in a small voice. 'I think it's cute.' "'No, it's not cute,' Barnaby A said, looking down at it. "'Not cute at all,' Barnaby B agreed. "'It has curls,' Jane pointed out. "Their mother peered at the baby and then reached toward the basket of beige knitting that she kept on a hall table. She removed a small pair of gold-plated scissors and snipped them open and closed several times, thoughtfully. Then she leaned over the basket and used the scissors. "'Now it doesn't have curls,' she pointed out, and put the scissors away. "Jane stared at the baby. Suddenly it stopped crying and stared back at her with wide eyes. 'Oh dear, it isn't cute without curls,' Jane said. 'I guess I don't want it anymore.'" At the conclusion of THE WILLOUGHBYS, author Lois Lowry provides an annotated bibliography of thirteen "books of the past that are heavy on piteous but appealing orphans, ill-tempered and stingy relatives, magnanimous benefactors, and transformations wrought by winsome children." These thirteen books possess an average publication date of 1913. Lowry aludes to and parodies them to great effect in this mischievous tale of four parentally-challenged siblings who seek to become orphans and end up in the care of a nanny when they succeed in their scheme to hook up their parents with an extended and danger-filled itinerary from the Reprehensible Travel Agency. A second story line that repeatedly merges with the first involves the wealthy benefactor on whose rotted front porch the four Willoughby children have deposited the basket containing that now curl-less baby who had been first dumped on their own front steps: "Squalor has nothing to do with money. Squalor happens when people are sad. And Commander Melanoff was very sad. "He had made a vast fortune by manufacturing candy bars. His factory still existed, and the money kept coming in because people bought his hugely successful confections by the millions. But Commander Melanoff never went to his office anymore. He stayed in his squalorous mansion, where he moped and sulked. "He scowled as he ate his stale toast each morning, and he whimpered into his unheated canned soup at lunch. Each evening he dropped tears onto the pizza that was delivered to his porch by prearrangement, and each night he went to bed between his unwashed sheets and sobbed into his stained pillow. His mustache, once bristly and important-looking, was now dingy from grime and stiff from dried-up nose drippings." After finishing THE WILLOUGHBYS, I found myself contemplating why it

Lois Lowry, winner of two Newbery medals, is not only one of the most beloved modern authors of children's fiction, but also one of the most versatile. She's done comedy (the ANASTASIA KRUPNIK series), drama (A SUMMER TO DIE), historical fiction (NUMBER THE STARS), and even dystopian fantasy (THE GIVER). In her latest book, THE WILLOUGHBYS, she proves her mastery at yet another genre: parody. The object of parody here is old-fashioned children's books. Accordingly, the titular Willoughbys are "an old-fashioned family," and constantly refer to themselves as such. The Willoughby children are Timothy, the bossy oldest child; indistinguishable twins who are both named Barnaby (referred to as "A" and "B"); and the overlooked youngest child, Jane. "Shouldn't we be orphans?" Timothy asks one day. While they're not, Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby, unbeknownst to them, are about to abandon their children in a plot inspired by HANSEL AND GRETEL. But the Willoughby children are too busy doing all the things that an old-fashioned family should do to care very much. All the elements of old-fashioned children's literature are included in the plot. Abandoned baby in a basket? Check. Mysterious nanny? Check. Reclusive tycoon living in squalor? Check. Really bad fake German? Well...that might be a new one. It's impressive how effectively Lowry pokes fun at literary clichés so widespread that most of us have never even thought about them. It had never occurred to me how prevalent some of the elements of classic children's literature are until I read THE WILLOUGHBYS, but once it did, I wondered why I'd never read a similar parody. Lowry gets plenty of jokes in while still keeping the plot moving, and the result is a fast, funny read. Adding to the fun are the glossary and bibliography at the end of the book. Here's a sample glossary entry: "Tycoon means somebody who has amassed great wealth and power in business. Usually a tycoon is a man, for some reason. Maybe Oprah Winfrey is a tycooness." The bibliography consists of a list of "books of the past that are heavy on piteous but appealing orphans, ill-tempered and stingy relatives, magnanimous benefactors, and transformations wrought by winsome children," which include MARY POPPINS, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, and the BOBBSEY TWINS series. While teens and adults will also find this book hilarious, it's appropriate for even those younger readers in elementary school. Readers will laugh out loud--and they might even be moved to pick up one of the books that inspired it. Reviewed by: Katie Hayes