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Summary: Sally learns and teaches
Review: Aunt Sally brings family history to the Anderson children, something that their father has neglected to do. She gives them humorous accounts of her brothers and sister as they grew up in a place that she describes in beautiful, loving prose. The children are enchanted. Best of all, however, is the way she treats Melissa, Amanda and Frank with respect. The children learn to enjoy Aunt Sally, and she leaves them with a lot of food for thought. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I could relate it to my father's family, to my brothers, and also to my own children. It's thought-provoking and humorous at the same time . . . not an easy thing to do. I found it a gentle reminder to value one's family.
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Summary: The Trolls by: Polly Horvath
Review: Because their parents have gone to Paris for a week and their usual sitter is not feeling well,Melissa,Amanda,and Pee Wee are being taken care of by their father's sister from Canada.It turns
out that Aunt Sally is full of fascinating stories all about her and their father growing up on Vancouver Island PeeWee,Amanda, and Melissa are kept in thrall by the eccentric characters Aunt Sallybrings to life, particularly the trolls, who changed Aunt Sally's family forever. . .Hi my name is Cheyenne. When I read this book I thought it was very funny and full of stories. Aunt Sally is a very funny character,the fiddleheads are the funniest part of this book. Great-Uncle Louis is the funniest out of the whole book. I think you should read this book.
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Summary: Funny, sad, bittersweet book
Review: Estranged Aunt Sally comes to babysit for Amanda, Melissa and Pee-Wee while their parents are in Paris, and then relates their hilarious, sometimes sad family history. A funny, bittersweet book about family and the good things, funny things, and sad things that can often happen. Horvath doesn't pull any punches when it comes to such topics as death or family feuds, and while not all the stories work, some transcend into something warm and wonderful. If you only read one story in this book, make sure it's the one about Fat Little Mean Girl -- her name alone makes the story worth reading!
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Summary: Not happy
Review: I bought this book for my grandchildren, but decided to read it first. There are many good things in this book, and it has a good moral to the story, but I am not sure that all will understand the moral, (teaching the two older children to appreciate their younger brother). And the discordance between the children's father and Aunt Sally is sad, and never resolved, even though the parents did ask Aunt Sally to babysit so they could go on vacation. The worst thing about this book is Chapter 11 "Fat Little Mean Girl". The name really turned me off the whole book. To use the word 'fat' to describe a mean little girl encourages the readers to believe that fat is synonymous with mean. It is difficult enough for an overweight child in this world. To name a character this, and use it as a name through the complete chapter is cruel. I'm going to try and return the book and will let the store know why I am returning it. I was extremely disappointed that an adult would use a name like this in a book, and am extremely disappointed that the book was a finalist for the National Book Award and as a "Boston Globe-Horn Award Honor Book". There are adults out there who weren't paying attention, or who don't think there's anything wrong with prejudice against fat people...and passing that prejudice along to children.
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Summary: I just couldnt put it down
Review: I read this book in 6th grade and I never liked to read. When i got htis book from the library i thought it would be just another book but i just couldnt put it down. Its just one of those heart warming stories that makes you feel good. I recommend this to anyone even adults.
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Summary: Parents and children to enjoy together
Review: I read this book laughing out loud, sometimes with such gusto that tears streamed down my cheeks! Unlike some books targeted toward younger audiences, it doesn't "talk down" to the reader-which can often produce a watered-down and sleepy result. With an engaging, imaginative plot and language rich in flavor and tone, "Aunt Sally" spins a yarn that children and their parents can both enjoy "eavesdropping" into. Parts of the book deal with less carefree issues, but they are presented with such warmth and humor that it makes the moral (kindness) an entirely un-adverse pill to swallow. Don't expect the main focus of the plot to center around magical creatures, though. This is a story about Family, and all the crazy things that make a family what it is.
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Summary: Treat yourself to the audio version--it's a delight!
Review: I was more than pleasantly surprised by Julie Hagerty's perfect reading of "the Trolls", as was my 10 year old daughter, who will hardly listen to anything but the Harry Potter tapes for the 85th time these days(for all three volumes! ) The story is charming, and in this audiobook version is accessible to even younger children. Because the action has some aspects which are more complex, but not necessary to understand to enjoy the narrative, the audio version could be understood by the average seven or eight year old quite easily, but still hold the interest of an adolescent. This greatly expands the range of children who can enjoy listening to the tape, and as a parent I found it held my interest as well. Two little girls, who delight in torturing their little brother, find a curious reflection in the stories their eccentric Aunt Sally tells them during their parents' week away. Aunt Sally is a "long lost" sister of their father's, and hearing the stories of his childhood in the third person is a fascinating and more important experience for them than is first apparent to the girls or to the reader/listener. The humor in the story is nicely captured by Haggerty's reading, and the the voices of the different characters she is able to portray is impressive. Aunt Sally's eccentricity is well-conveyed, as well as not a little regret, though the overall tone of the story is quite upbeat. Aunt Sally is quite an admirable character, and her recounting of childhood adventures demonstrates a healthy respect for children on the part of the author, Polly Horvath. Though nothing particularly frightening happens that would scare a young listener, a refreshing discussion of the darker side of sibling behavior is the somewhat hidden revelation in some of the stories of the children's father's experiences as the youngest child. Such a recognition that children are not all sugar and innocence is quite welcome, especially given the sophistication of many young readers today, and gives this book a weight that is unusual in such an otherwise gentle and humorous story.
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Summary: Audiotape Extraordinaire
Review: I'm an adult who was a huge Mary Poppins (the original books) as a kid. I really thought this would be some dumbed-down, silly, politically correct, mindless pap story for children, but I gave it a try since I received the tape as a gift. WHOA! What a superb surprise and a gift indeed. Horvath's opus is thought-provoking, haunting, deep, funny as heck, and colorful as a smashed fingerpaint factory. Julie Hagerty deserves an Audie Award for her performance. I'm an audiobook expert--a crabby critic who chews up audios and spits them on on nearly a daily basis--and, believe me, almost nobody has this kind of narrative flair and commitment. Plus, this is the kind of book that respects children's intelligence, imagination and intuition. Highly recommended for kids whose parents aren't fearful of allowing them to, duh, THINK or, OOH SCARY, read Grimm's. If you're the sort of adult who revels in excellent children's literature, don't cheat yourself of this audio experience either. You'll have that bright and shiny-eyed wonder going again. And you'll never look at Canada the same!
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Summary: My 7-year old LOVED this book
Review: It's not always easy to get a 7-year old boy to read on his own. Trolls did it. Even though there were some hard words that made this book (perhaps) more appropriate for 8 to 9 year olds. Give it a try.
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Summary: Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover.
Review: My teacher was handing out books and I was like one of the last ones called up. There wasn't a very big selection at all. I looked at all the books and this one looked the newest out of all of them. Most of them were old or I had already read them. So I picked it up and like a week or so later I finished reading "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. So "The Trolls" was out on my computer desk and looked to see if there was a description of the book on the back, and there wasn't but I took it anyway. Instead of reading a description on the back I read the last page and decided to begin reading from the start. I did and loved the book. I HIGHLY SUGGEST THAT EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK, NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE.
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