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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Love love love.
Such a nice book. I read it at night before bed to my 5th grade (10 yr old) daughter. She wanted to me to keep reading. She and I both enjoyed the book so much.
The book is about a family of 7 that live in this house and are asked to move. The kids together plot to get the landlord to let them stay. The landlord is a grouchy man, who we later find out has suffered a traumatic tragedy.
Such a nice book. I read it at night before bed to my 5th grade (10 yr old) daughter. She wanted to me to keep reading. She and I both enjoyed the book so much.
The book is about a family of 7 that live in this house and are asked to move. The kids together plot to get the landlord to let them stay. The landlord is a grouchy man, who we later find out has suffered a traumatic tragedy.
This book wrapped my soul in a fuzzy blanket.
What a wholesome little Christmas read !
I have nothing negative to say about this one. I loved that the story took place on 20-25th December and that the days of the week and dates matched this year, which made for an immersive experience as I read each part during the corresponding day.
This is about a family with 5 children : Isa & Jessie (the twins), Oliver, Hyacinth and little Laney (the most precious bean) and their dog, cat and rabbit, who is about to lose their apartment as their grouchy landlord is about to evict them, and they have no idea why. The kids then decide to team up to try to win over their landlord by giving him gifts so that they can keep living in their precious New York brownstone, and let me say they are very resourceful.
This was heartwarming, I have never read a Middle Grade with multiple povs and characters who were so young. They learned lessons in this adventure, about kindness and compassion. There was such a cozy feeling as I was reading this, the apartment sometimes felt like a character in itself. I will gladly read another book in this series.
What a wholesome little Christmas read !
I have nothing negative to say about this one. I loved that the story took place on 20-25th December and that the days of the week and dates matched this year, which made for an immersive experience as I read each part during the corresponding day.
This is about a family with 5 children : Isa & Jessie (the twins), Oliver, Hyacinth and little Laney (the most precious bean) and their dog, cat and rabbit, who is about to lose their apartment as their grouchy landlord is about to evict them, and they have no idea why. The kids then decide to team up to try to win over their landlord by giving him gifts so that they can keep living in their precious New York brownstone, and let me say they are very resourceful.
This was heartwarming, I have never read a Middle Grade with multiple povs and characters who were so young. They learned lessons in this adventure, about kindness and compassion. There was such a cozy feeling as I was reading this, the apartment sometimes felt like a character in itself. I will gladly read another book in this series.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
So sweet, so wholesome! Had my 7yo and me laughing out loud, exclaiming in indignation, and cheering along with the characters.
Pros: relationships between siblings; village- like neighborhood
Strong vocabulary for lower and upper elementary. Healthy depictions of conflict and loss. Super humanizing.
Cons: not a clear naming of Black and non-Black characters, which feels ignorant for this age group.
Strong vocabulary for lower and upper elementary. Healthy depictions of conflict and loss. Super humanizing.
Cons: not a clear naming of Black and non-Black characters, which feels ignorant for this age group.
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LOVED doing this as a read-aloud with the kids! So so sweet, with such a satisfying ending. Definitely one of the coziest books we've read together.
emotional
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Fun book about family.
It's been a long time since I've read a simple book that is so emotionally impactful.
A great series to introduce to children.
They managed to be impactful without the use of violence or end of the world scenarios. Infact I think it's more impactful because the challenges the Vanderbeeker children face are everyday challenges.
It's been a long time since I've read a simple book that is so emotionally impactful.
A great series to introduce to children.
They managed to be impactful without the use of violence or end of the world scenarios. Infact I think it's more impactful because the challenges the Vanderbeeker children face are everyday challenges.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Grief
funny
medium-paced
This was a cute, heartwarming middle grade novel, narrated by the incomparable Robin Miles on audiobook. The five Vanderbeeker children try valiantly to convince their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord to renew their lease after finding out 11 days from the end of the year that their lease won't be renewed. (It's unclear how that's legal, unless the parents actually got more notice and were trying to fight it before giving up and telling the kids they'd be moving.) We see how entwined they are with their community of neighbors and friends and how devastating it would be for everyone to have to move, but the attempts the kids make to win over their landlord just seem to make everything worse. Of course, this is a middle grade book, so I knew there would likely be a happy ending, but it wasn't clear if it was a "we win over the landlord" ending or a "we find an even better living situation" ending or a "we learn the true meaning of _____ despite having to move" ending. I won't spoil what it ends up being except to say that I think the author pulled off a mostly realistic turn of events, which I wasn't sure would be possible with how bleak things were looking for most of the book. That bleakness was part of the reason I struggled to get through the book, as things start out bad and then everything that happens seems to make things worse. It's not dark, exactly, but it is sad, and while there are sweet and silly moments between the kids, there's also a lot of realistic sibling drama on top of a stressful situation. I liked the characters a lot and thought the author did a great job pulling the plot together, but it was a bit challenging to get through.