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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
This is a rather strange subject to introduce to children in a picture book: old age, loneliness and having outlived all the friends. Yet this book grew on me, with its gentle, matter of fact story line. I'm still not sure however what business it has with kids, but it's a lovely book, and I was very sympathetic to the old woman, who with her cowboy boots, the tall bun on top of her head, and a unique, eccentric sense of fashion, must have something of an interesting character. And I liked the faces on her car, her chair, her bed and her house, just like I always imagined those objects having faces when I was a kid. The story didn't entirely make sense to me, like how was it that she didn't know anyone by name anymore? Now, she was living all by herself, but she clearly got out of the house and went for supplies, groceries, the mail on a near daily basis. And she didn't make any friends like that? The old woman really reminded me of my mother, who also lives alone and has outlived many of her friends, yet keeps making new ones all the time. Anyway, I liked the end where she considers how lucky she's been and I loved all the human expressions the illustrator put on the old woman's face. Not a perfect book, put pretty darn memorable ...
I think it would pair nicely with [b:John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat|301460|John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat (Picture Puffin)|Jenny Wagner|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1387663108s/301460.jpg|292524], another story of learning to accept new friends in your life.
I think it would pair nicely with [b:John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat|301460|John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat (Picture Puffin)|Jenny Wagner|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1387663108s/301460.jpg|292524], another story of learning to accept new friends in your life.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
A cute piece of realistic fiction about an old lady who has outlived all of her friends, so she decides to name everything she knows will last longer than her like her house, her car, and her chair. Then, one day, when she is working in her garden a puppy arrives. She can tell the puppy is hungry, so she feeds it and tells it to go back home. This continues every day until the puppy is a dog. Then, one day the dog disappears for several days. The old lady has still never named the dog for fear of outliving it, but she calls the local pound where she finds there are several dogs. She goes to the pound and the worker asks her dog's name. She thinks about how lucky she is for having known so many good people in her life and for having this dog as a companion, so she names her dog, Lucky! From then on, Lucky lives with her and they are happy together.
The story has an unusual premise among picture books (or any book sitting in the juvenile fiction section). However, this isn’t one of those books to help you or your child understand how life can be for the elderly among us. You could use it that way, but the book truly is for anyone who has experienced lonely and outliving some one or thing you find precious to your own existence. Good friends moving away, or pets, or relatives…any one you have to go on living without and must find some new connection, some new name to learn and know.
The old woman still drives, maintains a lovely garden, and has awesome hair (and even awesomer clear rain cap for it). She is independent and so relationships aren’t about relying on someone for anything other than friendship. And yet, Cynthia Rylant and Kathryn Brown capture the old woman’s vulnerability, revealing the depths of it for the reader as the story progresses. While we can get the reason behind the old woman’s philosophy, but we come to feel its ramifications alongside the old woman. It is a smooth transitioning from of course I will only name things that will out-live me to maybe I am denying myself and someone else a meaningful relationship, some joy. The old woman decides to take a risk.
Brown’s watercolors are bright with spring hues. The old woman lives a vivid/active life. I mean, she names things and refers to them by name:
"She told [the puppy] that Betsy always made puppies sick and Fred never allowed puppies to sit on him and Roxanne wasn’t wide enough for a puppy and an old woman to fit on, and besides all this, Franklin couldn’t tolerate dog hair."
The Old Woman Who Names Things comes off with a lot of charm. The story incorporates the naming which is pretty fun while still remaining poignant enough for effect. The colors, the setting, the old woman, are feminine and yet all a bit wild and rebellious (she lives alone, rural, drives, and has fab cowboy boots). The whimsy, the charm, they alleviate the sorrow in the narrative. And the happy ending doesn’t hurt either. And its an ending where anyone or thing with a name find that they can accommodate a shy brown dog—and anyone unnamed for that matter. Yes, the old woman who named things? we never learn her name. I guess she could be anyone.
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/book-the-old-woman-who-named-things/
The old woman still drives, maintains a lovely garden, and has awesome hair (and even awesomer clear rain cap for it). She is independent and so relationships aren’t about relying on someone for anything other than friendship. And yet, Cynthia Rylant and Kathryn Brown capture the old woman’s vulnerability, revealing the depths of it for the reader as the story progresses. While we can get the reason behind the old woman’s philosophy, but we come to feel its ramifications alongside the old woman. It is a smooth transitioning from of course I will only name things that will out-live me to maybe I am denying myself and someone else a meaningful relationship, some joy. The old woman decides to take a risk.
Brown’s watercolors are bright with spring hues. The old woman lives a vivid/active life. I mean, she names things and refers to them by name:
"She told [the puppy] that Betsy always made puppies sick and Fred never allowed puppies to sit on him and Roxanne wasn’t wide enough for a puppy and an old woman to fit on, and besides all this, Franklin couldn’t tolerate dog hair."
The Old Woman Who Names Things comes off with a lot of charm. The story incorporates the naming which is pretty fun while still remaining poignant enough for effect. The colors, the setting, the old woman, are feminine and yet all a bit wild and rebellious (she lives alone, rural, drives, and has fab cowboy boots). The whimsy, the charm, they alleviate the sorrow in the narrative. And the happy ending doesn’t hurt either. And its an ending where anyone or thing with a name find that they can accommodate a shy brown dog—and anyone unnamed for that matter. Yes, the old woman who named things? we never learn her name. I guess she could be anyone.
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/book-the-old-woman-who-named-things/
The old woman's friends have all died and she is lonely. She personalizes all her belonging and gives them names. When a puppy begins coming to here house everyday she doesn't give him a name for fear of getting attached and losing him. One day he doesn't come and she goes looking for him.
Themes -- loneliness, death, new friends
Themes -- loneliness, death, new friends
I love Cynthia Rylant. She strikes just the right chord with her stories, whether through picture or chapter books. "The Old Woman Who Named Things" is the cautionary tale of, you guessed it, an old lady who has outlived all her friends, and so now only gives names to inanimate objects who will survive her (not that rickey fence, for instance). When she meets a sweet puppy, though, she has to reevalute her ways. Is it better to live with no attchments? Lovely illustrations bring this gentle story to life.
Heartwarming story about an old woman who names inanimate objects that will all most definitely outlive her, so that she won't ever be lonely. She finds a stray pup at her gate and doesn't know if she should name it....you have to read this book and look at the amazing illustrations to know what she decides.
Featured in The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books, Endorsed by Kids And Parents.
One of my favorite picture books of all time. This sweet story is about opening up your heart to new friends even after you've lost all your old friends – it would be great for children who move to a new school or town. The text is a little on the long side for a picture book, but for this story it fits. This beautifully told story will warm the hearts of all ages!
One of my favorite picture books of all time. This sweet story is about opening up your heart to new friends even after you've lost all your old friends – it would be great for children who move to a new school or town. The text is a little on the long side for a picture book, but for this story it fits. This beautifully told story will warm the hearts of all ages!