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Series: none
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN-13: 978-0-618-97974-5
Genre: Fiction / Parody
Format: hardcover
Pages: 176
from 2008
Rating: *****
>>>> THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE READING
this book does contain parents who are trying to get rid of their children and children who are trying to get rid of their parents. some of their wishing might seem a bit evil... okay, it is evil... also realize that though the book is very humorous, the humor is a bit on the dark side, especially in the beginning.
>>>> THIS BOOK CONTAINS
four children, two uncaring parents, a very bossy older brother, a small feminist {who doesn't know she is a feminist}, a pair of twins, only one sweater, people with the same name, plots based on books, children who want to be orphans, an actual orphan, a nanny, a lonely millionaire {who turns out to be a billionaire}, an over-extended and life-threatening vacation, a very dirty mansion, a lost wife and son, a bachelor postmaster, a partially made-up language, a house on sale, a wedding, very strange and lucky {or maybe unlucky depending on your view} tourists, a step-father, overly tidy tendencies {possibly a bad case of ocd}, a walking tour, house-less children, a candy maker, the making of candy, the many secret and things people don't realize about souffles and their making, a candy-making lab, cats, a large, tall pile of unopened letters, a candy named after a baby, a very bad word {riddance}, a long-lost child, and a glossary.
>>>>SUMMARY
meet tim, barnaby a, barnaby b, and jane willoughby. these four children desperately wish
that they were orphans. unfortunately, they still posses both parents. inspired by the old-fashioned books that they read, the children decide that if they are to live the kind of old-fashioned lives that they, especially tim, want, they need to do away with their parents.
unbeknownst to them, their parents, who obviously dislike their children, decide after reading the fairy tale of hansel and gretal to do away with their parents like the parents of those two unlucky children. with some hints from their children, the duo set out on a dangerous, long vacation, hoping to rid themselves of their children when they return.
and so begins the adventures of the willoughby children as they deal with their pseudo-orphan-hood.
to sum it up, this is an old-fashioned story based heavily "on piteous but appealing orphans, ill-tempered and stingy relatives, magnanimous benefactors, and transformations wrought by winsome children" (pg. 169).
>>>>MAIN CHARACTERS
➳tim willoughby - a very bossy, belittling, and ruthless older brother who loves his siblings in an odd sort of way. being the oldest, he gets to decide everything for his younger siblings, including what type of food that they ought to like. he is the mastermind behind the plan to rid the children of their parents. tim also has devised a point system in which everyone but him loses points; he gains an abundant number of points with added benefits. towards the end of the book, tim learns that he ought not to be so bossy; he is also "picked" on by nanny.
➳barnaby a and barnaby b - the willoughby twins who share the same name. they are referred to as a and b respectively, especially since some forget that they have real names. the two are noted for their one horrendous sweater which they both share, each on separate days of the week since their mother is too lazy to knit another one (though she doesn't mind knitting one for the cat). they are a strong supporter of tim's plans but do join nanny's side. towards the end of the book, the two choose new names for themselves; their middle names are based on italian dishes since their parents had just had italian food before having them.
➳jane willoughby - the youngest child of the willoughby is a timid girl who wears both glasses and bangs. she despises her one syllable name and believes that babies, especially girls, should have names with at least three syllables; she ends up naming her 3 daughters with three syllable names. she is usually "picked" on or discriminated by tim and the twins (mostly because they are following tim's example) for being a girl. she is the first to rally with nanny and becomes a professor of feminist literature (take that tim).
➳baby ruth - a baby that was originally left on the willoughby's doorstep. though the boys did not really want her while ruth did, the children were told to get rid of the child by their mother. they end up leaving the baby on the doorstep of commander melanoff. because of her presence, the candy maker changes his melancholic lifestyle to raise her.
➳commander melanoff - a candy maker and the creator of "lickety twist". his wife and son were lost in a avalanche that stranded their train. unfortunately, though he held out hope in the beginning that they would survive, he has since given up ever seeing his beloved son. before baby ruth comes into his life, he is living in his mansion which is filthy and unclean. after meeting the baby, he decides to clean up and raise the baby.
➳nanny - a nanny that the willoughbys hire to take care of their children while they are on vacation. nanny is a no-nonsense type of gal who not only is a great cook and cleaner, but can deal with tim. she eradicates the point system and bans the word dolt from their vocabulary.
>>>>REASON FOR PICKING UP AND READING
i actually would have never picked this book up on my own. then i discovered librarything, which has a certain early readers' program. one of the books that they were offering was "the incorrigible children of ashton place: the mysterious howling". i became overly fascinated with the small summary and, when i didn't get the book, did an amazon search for it. deciding to buy the book at a latter date, i looked at all the suggestions that amazon gave in its "customers who bought this item also bought" section. and there, lo and behold, i found "the willoughbys". after a quick search in the online catalog for the local library, i checked out the book and fell in love with the book. {plus it has a pretty cover... to be exact, an old-fashioned looking cover...}
>>>>GRAMMAR AND PLOT DESIGN
i really didn't find any spelling/grammatical mistakes {always happy when i can read a book without having to mentally correct it}.
the plot starts out with the words "once upon a time" which reflects on the "old-fashioned story" theme that is present throughout the book. it even ends with an epilogue; i was a bit surprised that there was no "happily ever after", though there is a "the end". there is also a glossary with definitions by the author and a bibliography that contains the old-fashion stories she refers to in the story.
>>>>WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS
➳for children - this book is not only funny but a good story. join the willoughby children as they set out to make their lives better. though their method should not be used in real life, this story will make the majority of children appreciate their parents better. also the author has included a glossary to help make the reading easier. a list of books at the end of the book also gives recommendations for other books to read.
➳for teens to adults - this story will bring back memories of all those childhood classics that one read when little. the story is humorous and some of the jokes might be understood better with the knowledge of the old classics.
➳for parents / parental figures - this book is funny, but do let your children realize that it is supposed to be a humorous story and that they are not supposed to act like the children in this book. i doubt you want your children to do away with you or start a point system.
>>>>THOUGHTS
to begin with, this book is immensely funny. unfortunately, the beginning is filled with humor that dives way off the dark side. however, as the reader reads onwards, the story features lighter humor.
i love this old-fashioned styled story. it is not only brilliantly done, but a good read. i wouldn't recommend it for very young children since the children, particularly tim, seem mean at times. however, i will recommend this for older children, especially those that have read books featuring old-fashioned orphans and the like. not only will they be able to recognize the references the children make in the book, but they will enjoy the story better.
the book is "nefariously written and ignominiously illustrated by the author" lois lowry, the writer of the books "the giver" and "number the stars"; the latter of which i have read as a child and absolutely recommend to anyone as a "classic". though the drawings are not the type that one might hang in a museum, they are charming in their own way; though lowry herself states that they are ignominious.
after the main part of the book, there is a glossary in which lowry features some "big" words that are found throughout the book. each word features a brief definition and at least one example that is funny. there is also a bibliography that features some books about orphans, relatives who might not be so kind, nannies, and children who end up being good.
this is the kind of story that people who want some humor should pick up. this parody of old-fashioned stories will not only make you laugh, but also remember the old-fashioned stories you read as a child.
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