Rating: 
Summary: I LOVE IT!!!
Review: I finished this book on a plane, and immediately wanted to read it again. Zippy is a wonderful child, a little girl so full of spunk. The characters as described by Zippy are so colorful. The whole book is just darling. I grew up in the 60's and could relate to so much in the book. I have been telling everyone about it. It is a book I will read over and over and over again!
Rating: 
Summary: Funny and sweet but not without sadness too
Review: I enjoyed this memoir of the life of a small town girl growing up in the 70's. It was certainly funny, poignant, and sharply witty. I did however come away with a fairly pervasive sense of underlying sadness. While I believe the author's childhood to be basically a happy one, there were certainly some elements of major dysfunction going on in this family (she devotes an entire section to the things her father has won and lost through gambling). It would also appear that her mother suffered from rather chronic depression (she spends most of the book on the couch reading). That being said it was obvious that the author was well loved by her family, and it's a pleasant change to read a memoir about childhood that isn't filled with pain and abuse.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best memoirs ever...
Review: I just read the last page in A Girl Named Zippy, and now I'm at a loss. I want Zippy back! Normally, I'm not a fan of memoirs or non-fiction in general, but I had heard nothing but praise about this book. Thankfully I listened...Haven Kimmel, or Zippy as she's come to be known due to the fact she used to zip around the house as a toddler, has opened her life to us. The laughter begins on page 2 when Zippy's sister comments on the type of people who would be willing to read a book about life in teeny Mooreland, Indiana. Well, count me in! Reading this book was such pure, emphatic joy. Zippy reminds me a bit of a female Dennis the Menace -- little bit of a pest, but sweet, mostly innocent, and a lot curious. The stories inside are told with a poignant tone, a wistfullness for the days when life was simple, despite how big it all seemed when you were only 3-feet-tall. A happy childhood -- a breath of fresh air if you ask me. Stories like this make me grateful I grew up in a small town, and that if I thought hard enough I could come up with some stories of my own. A Girl Named Zippy has something for everybody, and a book that I will forever hold in high regard. Wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Hearing a novel hyped to no end often makes me nervous about purchasing it. However, once the hype turned into endless praise from friends in my book clubs, I knew I had to pick this one up. Haven Kimmel's memoir of growing up in Indiana is a pleasant, intriguing read. Her use of lyrical description, at once sounds like a child's description, and is entirely beautiful. Ms. Kimmel's memoir evokes feelings of sheer happiness. While complex enough, when examined closely, it is also a truly simple and enjoyable read. It doesn't have complex tragedies, depressing overtones. It is a simple memoir of real life growing up in the Midwest. The characters will warm your heart, leave you ducking behind bushes, or misty-eyed, and they will all be real. It is hard to think that Ms. Kimmel wasn't jotting down notes on her thoughts, like a journalist, as her life carried on, because of the detail of every circumstance. This novel will not dissappoint. I recommend picking it up as soon as you get the chance. It is a heart-warming, enjoyable read and lives up to its hype. Enjoy!
20 Nov 2002
Rating:
Summary: Sweet
Review: A Girl Named Zippy is a sweet little memoir. Reading it is like talking to a precocious 10 year old. Haven Kimmel recounts her childhood in a small town in Indiana during the 60s and 70s. The memoir is told with innocence, without a hint of irony and is nothing if not charming. Zippy is a typical child of suburban America and this memoir is very evocative of those times. This is an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Yippy for Zippy
Review: This is by far one of the best books I have read in a long time. It's almost as is Haven was writing about me as a small child..a little hyper and a little too inquisitive. Loved it!!
Rating:
Summary: Three Cheers for Zippy
Review: I think everyone should read this book. Travel back to your childhood. This girl encountered one wild ride after another in hers, and it's a wonder she survived through it all. I can learn a lot from Zippy. She experienced so many life-lessons at such a young age. Zippy as well as the other characters are very vivid and real. Although, not all of them are completely realistic, but their appealing personalities really reeled me in. Another reason I liked this book was the small town setting. So, if small town life appeals to you, then you should read this book. Now, hop to it!
Rating: 
Summary: Far fetched...
Review: I thought that this was supposed to be a true story(I may be wrong) but if it is supposed to be true it is rather far fetched. One example is that Kimmel tells how her dog would pick her up by her diaper and put her back it the yard. Sure,maybe in a Disney story! And how she didn't say a single word until she was three and then she said an entire precocious sentence where she strikes a deal with her father. I don't know what it was but something just turned me off to this book. I must be honest, I never even finished it because I was so unimpressed. I grew up in a very small midwest town similar to Mooreland and I just don't feel that her story rings true. I don't know what else to say aside from read the first couple of pages before buying the book (especially in hard cover)and see what you think. If you decide to purchase this book based on the other reviews I hope that you will find pleasure in this book (unlike myself) and prove my review wrong.
Rating:
Summary: I'd bet my bippy on you loving Zippy!
Review: This has to be one of the funniest books I've ever read!
To see things from a child's point of view, but to have it articulated through a well spoken adult is a rare thing.
Zippy's experience's weren't always funny, but her perspective on them usually was.
It just goes to show you that a persons life may not always be picture perfect, but unless you tell this to that person, they may not ever find out that it's not "normal".
The tunnel vision kids have when they are intent on getting something or when they want to talk about something is so well depicted here, that you can actually see it in your mind! When Zippy wants to know "what's wrong with that girl"? or how she was so hungry she would just die if she didn't get something to eat, I laughed right out loud!
This book took me back to my childhood & made me think of things I haven't thought of in years (my bike was a stallion too)! It also helped me to see that even though my Son may not always be P.C in his opinions of someone or something, and that may cause me great embarrassment at times, it's obviously the way he sees thing from his point of view.
I loved this book & I can see myself reading it over & over again when I need a good chuckle.
I hope Zippy one day will write about her teens!
Rating:
Summary: Zippy-di-do-dah, what a delightful read!
Review: A sarcastic, cynical, deceitful, grumpy little girl. Or at least that's what she thought she was. This book is hilarious at (many) times, sad, cute, sweet, and touching. I don't know how this girl survived her childhood riding such an emotional rollercoaster. Well, that's just the thing, when you're small EVERYTHING is a plunge down an emotional rollercoaster. Haven Kimmel has you riding along shotgun on that delightful coaster with her, with your arms in the air and smile stretched ear to ear. She has a real gift of storytelling from a childs perspective. Everyone you meet is as a child sees them, from the mangy foster kids to the old lady with her skin trying to leave her body and piling up around her ankles. This is one to read and pass along for others to enjoy. Everyone will recognize some aspect of their childhood. And that's the funny thing, most of us could tell stories like these if we could recall them as vividly as Kimmel.
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