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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
The pastor of our local Methodist church recently had a baby girl whom she named Harriet. So, naturally, it got me thinking about "Harriet" books. I'd already read Harriet and the Piper, so had to move on. I believe that my kids, back in the day, read some books about Harriet the Spy. So, I hunted up that series.
Harriet M. Welsch—the 'M' is important—is an 11-year-old girl who wants to grow up to be a spy. So, she spends her days outside school spying on people. She has a regular route around her neighborhood. She carries a notebook and writes down what she sees and her impressions of the people on which she is spying. Occasionally, she hangs out with her two best friends, Sport, aka. Simon Rocque, and Janie Gibbs.
Sport wants to be a ball player, but much of his time is spent caring for his father, who is a writer. Sport has to do the housework, cooking and cleaning, for his father. Janie wants to be a chemist, so she spends a lot of her time doing experiments in her "lab"—her bedroom—and hopes to concoct chemicals which will blow things up. Ah, I remember days with my own chemistry set and trying to make explosives.
Anyway, we have Harriet mostly spying on people and writing down her observations. Her parents seem to be too busy to give her much of their time, so Harriet has a sort of nanny, named Ole Golly (Catherine, actually). It seems that Ole Golly does a good job of keeping Harriet out of trouble. But, Old Golly has a boyfriend, George Waldenstein, and they decide to get married. Thus, Ole Golly is out of Harriet's life. Things begin to unravel for Harriet.
One of the kids in her class managed to steal Harriet's notebook and starts reading out all the things Harriet has written about her classmates. That doesn't sit well with them, and the class ostracises her. Harriet falls into a funk. Eventually, Harriet gets a letter from Ole Golly that more-or-less straightens her out. Also, a rather strange visit to a shrink.
I dunno, I had a hard time getting into the book, and it never really worked for me. I can see that I might have liked it better were I 11 years old, rather than seven times that number. I do, however, read a lot of books for kids, and mostly still can enjoy them. This was ok, but nothing special to me.
Harriet M. Welsch—the 'M' is important—is an 11-year-old girl who wants to grow up to be a spy. So, she spends her days outside school spying on people. She has a regular route around her neighborhood. She carries a notebook and writes down what she sees and her impressions of the people on which she is spying. Occasionally, she hangs out with her two best friends, Sport, aka. Simon Rocque, and Janie Gibbs.
Sport wants to be a ball player, but much of his time is spent caring for his father, who is a writer. Sport has to do the housework, cooking and cleaning, for his father. Janie wants to be a chemist, so she spends a lot of her time doing experiments in her "lab"—her bedroom—and hopes to concoct chemicals which will blow things up. Ah, I remember days with my own chemistry set and trying to make explosives.
Anyway, we have Harriet mostly spying on people and writing down her observations. Her parents seem to be too busy to give her much of their time, so Harriet has a sort of nanny, named Ole Golly (Catherine, actually). It seems that Ole Golly does a good job of keeping Harriet out of trouble. But, Old Golly has a boyfriend, George Waldenstein, and they decide to get married. Thus, Ole Golly is out of Harriet's life. Things begin to unravel for Harriet.
One of the kids in her class managed to steal Harriet's notebook and starts reading out all the things Harriet has written about her classmates. That doesn't sit well with them, and the class ostracises her. Harriet falls into a funk. Eventually, Harriet gets a letter from Ole Golly that more-or-less straightens her out. Also, a rather strange visit to a shrink.
I dunno, I had a hard time getting into the book, and it never really worked for me. I can see that I might have liked it better were I 11 years old, rather than seven times that number. I do, however, read a lot of books for kids, and mostly still can enjoy them. This was ok, but nothing special to me.
“Harriet the Spy” is written with an endearing frankness that captures the world of elementary school children with honesty and humor. The characters are charming, and Harriet’s quirks will resonate with any kid who had a “weird” phase. Her certainty in her routine and the upheaval she experiences when everything goes wrong make this book a great read.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Even as an adult, I still love this book, especially how well Fitzhugh writes Harriet and captures the voice of late childhood. Harriet M. Welsch wants to be a writer when she grows up, so following the advice of her nanny, Ole Golly, she writes down everything she sees in her spy notebooks. Her classmates, her friends, her family and people on her neighborhood spy route all become subject to Harriet's sharp, funny and brutally honest observations. But when Ole Golly leaves and Harriet's friends discover her spy notebooks, Harriet must deal with their retaliation. I've kept journals all my life, so I always side with Harriet when I read this book. Journals are private and often full of feelings written in the heat of the moment; you learn from your naive observations as you get older. The ending always leaves me wondering what happened to Harriet when she grew up. I hope she became a writer.
Read this one with Charlotte at bedtime. I didn't think she got into it, but she actually really enjoyed it and it spawned some interesting conversations about school and friendships.
A very enjoyable read with strong childhood roots.
Absolutely delightful. A wonderful peek into the life of a slightly odd and totally relatable young person. Having read it as an adult, I can't speak for its appeal to children, but I found it impossible to put down. Fun and thought-provoking.
I never read this as a child. As an adult I wonder how young readers relate to Harriet? She’s wonderful: quirky, misunderstood, at odds with her friends, honest to a fault, figuring it out as she goes along, and always doing the best she can.
Our first antihero. I love a children's character that's morally grey, lots of great conversations about how she failed other and others fail her and how to be human together. I really loved it.
another kids classic I never got around to reading until now. I don't know what I was expecting, but the book surprised me in a good way. there are a few parts that seem a little dated, but otherwise I'd say it's still a must read for girls these days. I listed to it on cd and the reader was pretty good.