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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
This was a cute read that I picked up while working the crisis line over night shift in my 20s. What I like is it is not some weird religious breeder manifesto but a family during a different time with a great deal of education in the parents at the time period too, both college graduates with advanced degrees and study.
Skip the shit movie that is just a breeder manifesto and read the book
Skip the shit movie that is just a breeder manifesto and read the book
medium-paced
As a child, I LOVED this hilarious tale of a family with 12 children! However, rereading it as an adult revealed that it has not aged entirely well. It is dated and there are some interactions involving women and ethnicity that are clearly products of the time period. That being said, it is an enjoyable and entertaining story! And, the mother is clearly a strong female character. 5 stars based on my nostalgia, but I dropped it down a bit based on the racism and sexism of the time.
Husband and I have been reading this together over the last few months, here a little, there a little. And we finally finished it. I enjoyed this book immensely. Often it had me laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. Some of it is dated, for sure. But some of it is timeless, hilarious, and relatable. I took off one star because I didn’t like the ending.
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Read this to my kids, it was a fun book, we all enjoyed it. There were some parts I skipped over as they were a bit inappropriate, including some profanity. The father of the story definitely had his problems, but he was smart man and a real leader, someone who could inspire his family and bring them together, even if unwillingly. It was touching when it's revealed at the end that he had real meaningful purpose behind some of the eccentricities. Unfortunately it seemed that he did have real principles behind a lot of his standards, and he would would eventually fold when pushed. (But that is the story of whole generations.....)
This book has NOTHING to do with the terrible Steve Martin movie that came out. This book and its sequel (Belles on their Toes) are the true story of a family with 12 children. It's written for young adults but I reread them both at 22 and still loved them.
I'm not certain if I have read this before or not. The one thing I didn't remember/know is that it is a true story. The movie follows the book quite well. The chapters just had me laughing out loud. This is a true gem of a book.
Wow, I read this sooooo long ago. I remember that I really did like it a lot at the time. What a special set of parents.