Scan barcode
rebroxannape's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of a wonderful single (widowed) mother raising her four children around the turn of the century. Because they are in very straitened circumstances they have to downsize. Nancy, the oldest daughter, remembers a yellow house they saw on a vacation to Maine when their father was alive where the family can live much more cheaply. Sound familiar? It was made into a Disney movie, Summer Magic.
For a while, this book is quite similar in tone and content to many other children’s books I have read from the turn of the century. It noticeably picks up around chapter 20, however. A neighbor family, The Lords, are introduced. This family is a piece of work. Henry Lord, especially, being a seriously messed up parent, to the point of tragedy. The two children are the bitter but brilliant Olive and the nerdy Cyril, who has tons of potential. As with her more famous Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, I would kill to read a sequel. Unfortunately, once again, Kate Douglas Wiggin did not oblige. The Lords are surely one of the most unique and non-stereotypical families in any literature of the time and genre.
There are several quite slapstick and delightful comedy scenes. I found myself pausing with delight and saying to myself, “Hey, this is really funny!” Among them, the resurrection of “You dirty boy”, a much-hated to the point of being a family joke, statue. Despite the family's best efforts, it refuses to be broken so it can be disposed of. The deed is finally accomplished after they move into the yellow house, by a fall from a loft, after the initial move, despite supremely careless packing, failed to destroy it. However, Osh Popham, their friend and landlord, glues the whole mess together from “a thousand” pieces much to the family's chagrin, and presents it to them during a solemn housewarming ceremony. The description of Nancy teaching her brothers and sisters how to pretend- faint on command and en-masse creates a hilarious picture in the mind’s eye. At her signal, this performance turned a serious and possibly weepy cliché moment into laughter instead of tears.
Mother Carey is a beautiful widow who is universally admired at first sight by all who meet her acquaintance. Here is a rather poignant glimpse into her secret thoughts and emotions:
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/
For a while, this book is quite similar in tone and content to many other children’s books I have read from the turn of the century. It noticeably picks up around chapter 20, however. A neighbor family, The Lords, are introduced. This family is a piece of work. Henry Lord, especially, being a seriously messed up parent, to the point of tragedy. The two children are the bitter but brilliant Olive and the nerdy Cyril, who has tons of potential. As with her more famous Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, I would kill to read a sequel. Unfortunately, once again, Kate Douglas Wiggin did not oblige. The Lords are surely one of the most unique and non-stereotypical families in any literature of the time and genre.
There are several quite slapstick and delightful comedy scenes. I found myself pausing with delight and saying to myself, “Hey, this is really funny!” Among them, the resurrection of “You dirty boy”, a much-hated to the point of being a family joke, statue. Despite the family's best efforts, it refuses to be broken so it can be disposed of. The deed is finally accomplished after they move into the yellow house, by a fall from a loft, after the initial move, despite supremely careless packing, failed to destroy it. However, Osh Popham, their friend and landlord, glues the whole mess together from “a thousand” pieces much to the family's chagrin, and presents it to them during a solemn housewarming ceremony. The description of Nancy teaching her brothers and sisters how to pretend- faint on command and en-masse creates a hilarious picture in the mind’s eye. At her signal, this performance turned a serious and possibly weepy cliché moment into laughter instead of tears.
Mother Carey is a beautiful widow who is universally admired at first sight by all who meet her acquaintance. Here is a rather poignant glimpse into her secret thoughts and emotions:
Was she doing all that she could, she wondered as her stepsSummer Magic is my number one comfort movie, and it was amazing to read so many passages and scenes and dialogue that Sally Benson incorporated into the film. The book is considerably fleshed out with more characters and plots, but regrettably, only a bit where Nancy meets her future love, Tom Hamilton. Miss Benson obviously read the book very carefully and loved it.
flew over the Yellow House, from attic to cellar. She could play
The piano and sing; she could speak three languages and read
Four; she had made her curtsy at two foreign courts; admiration and
Love had followed her ever since she could remember, and here
She was, a widow at forty, living in a half-deserted New England
Village, making parsnip stews for her children’s dinner. Well,
it was a time of preparation, and its rigors and self-denials must be cheerfully faced.
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/
lgpiper's review against another edition
4.0
My spouse got a weird crossword puzzle clue: "Mother Carey's Chickens". The answer, apparently, was "petrel", a flying water bird. It seems that the "stormy petrels fly out over the seas to show the good birds the way home". Who knew? Well, I Googled and found this book, which dates from 1911. Given that most people who are still living weren't kids until several decades after 1911, I'm surprised that the reference still appears to some to be in common usage.
Anyway, it turns out that, while this book hits on the topic of the petrels repeatedly, the actual reference comes from a book written some 50+ years further in the past, The Water Babies. I didn't learn this until I'd tackled quite a bit of this particular book. Later on, I read the predecessor so as to help me figure things out better.
I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning. It seemed a bit too much goody-two-shoes even for my elderly, repressed Calvinist tastes. But then I got into the book, and rather liked it.
Mother Carey is a young(-ish) woman who has four children, Nancy, Gilbert, Kathleen, and Peter. Her husband is a sea captain and is visited by an admiral, who is the one who named the children "Mother Carey's Chickens". Anyway, Capt. Carey gets sick and dies. So, to cut down on expenses, Mother Carey and her children move to Beulah, Maine, a place where they fondly remember a lovely, yellow house from one of their earlier travels. The lovely, yellow house is up for rent, so they rent it. They make friends in the town, they make friends with the yellow house's owner, a diplomat named Mr. Hamilton. So, anyway, in all these interactions, they help the people around themselves become better people...or something. And, of course, it's all hearts and flowers, or is trending that way at any rate, in the end.
If you like old stuff and heartwarming stuff, this is a lovely book to pick up.
Anyway, it turns out that, while this book hits on the topic of the petrels repeatedly, the actual reference comes from a book written some 50+ years further in the past, The Water Babies. I didn't learn this until I'd tackled quite a bit of this particular book. Later on, I read the predecessor so as to help me figure things out better.
I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning. It seemed a bit too much goody-two-shoes even for my elderly, repressed Calvinist tastes. But then I got into the book, and rather liked it.
Mother Carey is a young(-ish) woman who has four children, Nancy, Gilbert, Kathleen, and Peter. Her husband is a sea captain and is visited by an admiral, who is the one who named the children "Mother Carey's Chickens". Anyway, Capt. Carey gets sick and dies. So, to cut down on expenses, Mother Carey and her children move to Beulah, Maine, a place where they fondly remember a lovely, yellow house from one of their earlier travels. The lovely, yellow house is up for rent, so they rent it. They make friends in the town, they make friends with the yellow house's owner, a diplomat named Mr. Hamilton. So, anyway, in all these interactions, they help the people around themselves become better people...or something. And, of course, it's all hearts and flowers, or is trending that way at any rate, in the end.
If you like old stuff and heartwarming stuff, this is a lovely book to pick up.
zusy's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
cooeeaus's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderful book set in the early 1900’s and about a family reduced in circumstances due to the death of the father. Mrs Carey had four children and her niece, to care for and with the encouragement of her eldest, takes The Little Yellow House as the families new home. Thus begins the sojourn in Beulah, the little village the house resides in. You meet fun and warm characters who become part of the families lives, get to know the four children and have a prime position to see how the family struggles and grows with the changes they’re forced to make.
The narrator did a marvellous job and read the story very well.
The narrator did a marvellous job and read the story very well.
vcmc's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. The portrayal of a strong, wise, creative mother navigating the loss of her husband and supporting her children through their grief is adelightfrom start to finish.
skittles0313's review against another edition
5.0
i've read it several times and i still love it as much as ever but come on, the ending is somewhat abrupt.......
acrasie's review against another edition
3.0
A nice light read set in the early 20th century about a widowed mother and her children (who seem to multiply as strays wonder by). Kate Douglas Wiggin has a taste for the florid while describing things, but she's got a sharp wit and a great admiration for women that shines in a bright proto-feminist manner. I liked it but I don't know if I'd pick the book up again. Maybe I'd watch the movie.
More...