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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This story is lovely to read and is about found family. I really enjoyed the read. However, I am very put out by the disgusting name of this book, especially as this is a book for children I think it sets a really bad precedent for children in the system. It also focuses on people who are different in a bad light as though they are not deserving of family love. I don't think this is a good book for any children to be reading despite the story being a nice one.
The Little Tulip Orphanage has three simple rules for abandoning a baby:
(1) the baby should be wrapped in a cotton blanket
(2) the baby should be placed in a wicker basket
(3) the baby should be deposited on the topmost step.
Much to the dismay of Elinora Gassbeek, the woman who runs the orphanage, in the final months of 1880 five babies are abandoned at the orphanage, and none of them manage to follow all the rules. The five babies, Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem, and Milou, are still at the orphanage 12 years later, having grown into 5 children who, according to Madame Gassbeek, are unadoptable.
The five children have developed close friendships over the years and while 4 of them have no hope of ever finding parents, Milou is convinced that her parents are out there somewhere, and they will return to collect her as soon as they can. She even keeps a journal, Milou's Book of Theories, in which she keeps track of all the possible reasons that her parents have not done so yet; her theories range from her parents having a phobia of babies and small children to her parents are famous werewolf hunters on an epic quest to kill a werewolf.
Before her parents can come to collect her, though, the five unadoptable children find themselves in trouble and decide to take their chances on their own. Escaping from the orphanage in the middle of the night, they steal away and, following clues that Milou has from the coffin (yes, coffin) she was abandoned in, they begin a search for her parents. Little do they realize just where their search will lead them.
This book was so much fun to read. Each of the children has a characteristic about them that has kept them from being adopted over the years, though each child also leaned into their undesirable characteristics to prevent themselves from being adopted and separated from each other.
Their escape into the night was wonderful start to their story, and these kids were incredibly resourceful. They came up with ways to earn money for food, keep the Kinderbureau away, and even find Milou's parents. And all the while, they did it together as their own little family.
But things weren't easy. Their next-door neighbor was being a little too nosy for Milou's liking, despite how much Lotta seems to like her. And Milou has good reason to not like her, after all. Every time Edda comes around, Milou's Sensing ears tingle like crazy.
Needless to say, things do not go according to the plan the children have set up, and the kinderbureau does come calling. Not only that, but the man they had run from at the orphanage, who wants to use them as slave labor aboard his ship, is not giving up on capturing them. The ingenuity the children show when dealing with Rotter is quite funny, and the solution they devise for dealing with the kinderbureau is just perfect.
My only complaint about this book was that it ended. The story was so good that I would have loved for it to keep going. Yes, the story ended well where it did, but I still want to read more about the hijinks the kids get up to. And we never did find out if Egg was able to learn more about where he came from. I'm hoping the author decides to write (or maybe has already begun writing) a sequel to this book, continuing the children's stories. I would definitely read it.
(1) the baby should be wrapped in a cotton blanket
(2) the baby should be placed in a wicker basket
(3) the baby should be deposited on the topmost step.
Much to the dismay of Elinora Gassbeek, the woman who runs the orphanage, in the final months of 1880 five babies are abandoned at the orphanage, and none of them manage to follow all the rules. The five babies, Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem, and Milou, are still at the orphanage 12 years later, having grown into 5 children who, according to Madame Gassbeek, are unadoptable.
The five children have developed close friendships over the years and while 4 of them have no hope of ever finding parents, Milou is convinced that her parents are out there somewhere, and they will return to collect her as soon as they can. She even keeps a journal, Milou's Book of Theories, in which she keeps track of all the possible reasons that her parents have not done so yet; her theories range from her parents having a phobia of babies and small children to her parents are famous werewolf hunters on an epic quest to kill a werewolf.
Before her parents can come to collect her, though, the five unadoptable children find themselves in trouble and decide to take their chances on their own. Escaping from the orphanage in the middle of the night, they steal away and, following clues that Milou has from the coffin (yes, coffin) she was abandoned in, they begin a search for her parents. Little do they realize just where their search will lead them.
This book was so much fun to read. Each of the children has a characteristic about them that has kept them from being adopted over the years, though each child also leaned into their undesirable characteristics to prevent themselves from being adopted and separated from each other.
Their escape into the night was wonderful start to their story, and these kids were incredibly resourceful. They came up with ways to earn money for food, keep the Kinderbureau away, and even find Milou's parents. And all the while, they did it together as their own little family.
But things weren't easy. Their next-door neighbor was being a little too nosy for Milou's liking, despite how much Lotta seems to like her. And Milou has good reason to not like her, after all. Every time Edda comes around, Milou's Sensing ears tingle like crazy.
Needless to say, things do not go according to the plan the children have set up, and the kinderbureau does come calling. Not only that, but the man they had run from at the orphanage, who wants to use them as slave labor aboard his ship, is not giving up on capturing them. The ingenuity the children show when dealing with Rotter is quite funny, and the solution they devise for dealing with the kinderbureau is just perfect.
My only complaint about this book was that it ended. The story was so good that I would have loved for it to keep going. Yes, the story ended well where it did, but I still want to read more about the hijinks the kids get up to. And we never did find out if Egg was able to learn more about where he came from. I'm hoping the author decides to write (or maybe has already begun writing) a sequel to this book, continuing the children's stories. I would definitely read it.
This book is a great family read! My kids are 9 7 and 5 and all enjoyed it just as much as my husband and I did. Being an orphan isn't easy, which is especially so for the 5 MC's in this book, each of which have something peculiar and unique about them. They manage to go on a crazy adventure with many close calls on a search for their happy endings. With turmoil and trouble around every corner, you won't be bored while reading this book for sure!
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So cute and heartwarming. I enjoyed every page.
3.5 stars rounded up. This book had a lot of potential but honestly it was a bit of a slog for me. I felt like it would have been a much better book if it was half the length, it felt like drawn out scenes were meant to add intrigue but did not serve the plot. I read it aloud to my 7 and 9 year old. The 9 year old enjoyed it the whole way through and the 7 year old complained about it the whole way through but declared when we were finished that he enjoyed it. The first chapter was the best chapter.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes