Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0-440-49603-9 Publisher: Yearling Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (45 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Terrific and engaging children's adventure
Comment: As a young girl, I probably read "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" about fifty times. This tells the story of Bonnie Greene and her cousin Sylvia who are left in charge of the evil governess Miss Slighcarp when Bonnie's parents go abroad. Miss Slighcarp's evil machinations, the girls' resourcefulness and actions (particularly feisty Bonnie), and the suspenseful story kept me on the edge of my seat.
For those who enjoyed this book, Ms. Aiken wrote several other stories set in the "alternate England" of the nineteenth century, including "Black Hearts in Battersea."
Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful Wolves!
Comment: Well, alright, so the wolves aren't so wonderful, but the book *is*. I'm nineteen now and it's *still* one of my favourites. My copy is on my "Favourite Books Shelf", and of course I'm gradually buying the whole series.
I'm not sure what I can add to the reviews that have already been posted. A summary could only tell you what the book's *about* not why it's so wonderful...
I think that the first book I read was "Black Hearts..." and I decided that I needed to read the preceding book, and then I was hooked. Joan Aiken is one of the best children's authors of all time! I read the books to my younger siblings and, when the time comes, I'll read them to my own children.
Unlike a lot of books that are out there, these books give children (and adults) heros and heroines who are both good and believable. I find myself at times wondering "What would Dido do in that situation?" when reading other books.
I know this is not much of a review, but I honestly don't know how to explain *how* it is that the Wolves of Willoughby Chase managed to bespell me so completely.
Rating: 5
Summary: Baby it's cold outside
Comment: Have a child that loves Lemony Snicket? Read them this book. Have a child interested in dark gothic tales involving secret passages and cruel hungry wolves? Read them this book. Have a child? Read them this book.
An admission: When I was a child I avoided this book like the plague. Why? Because I grew up in a time when books about girls and lovable wolves/dolphins/ponies (etc.) were what all the young ladies were reading. In a kind of rebellion against my sex I steadfastly decided not to read anything girly. Looking at "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" I simply saw the word "wolves" and moved on. I probably thought it was something akin to the pandering "Julie of the Wolves". Had I been a little more vigilant in my cover perusal, I might have notices that the aforementioned wolves are pictured slathering and drooling in anticipation of eating two young girls dressed all in furs. This is not one of those I-Love-Wolves books you hear so much about. It is rather, an old fashioned anti-wolf tale that delves into the seamy underbelly of class and corruption. And it is remarkably good.
Young Sylvia is being sent to live with her cousin Bonnie. Sylvia is an orphan, raised only by her elderly Aunt Jane and she is a frail lonely child. Bonnie, by contrast, is a rich boisterous young girl with a house full of pretty things and kind servants. When Bonnie's parents leave for several months, the girls are placed in the care of the vile Miss Slighcarp and her partner in crime, Mr. Grimshaw. Soon enough the children are packed off to a horrendous boarding school and must find a way back to their house and home using their wits and a couple faithful friends. The tale is rife with all the aspects of a Dickensian style novel made palatable to younger children. There are caricatured men and women with over-stylized names. There are moments of dire peril (without ever becoming too too dire) and lovely descriptions of pretty clothes and delicious food.
The book does rely on a couple old-fashioned stereotypes, but this is not particularly surprising. Like many a Victorian novel, the true villains of this piece are members of the lower classes that wish to use any means to be above their stations. Hence, a governess that goes about wearing the clothes of her employer is considered the height of evil itself. But if the book is a flashback to the past, it's a flashback we've all needed for some time. Pat Marriott's original illustrations in pen and ink deftly create the atmosphere so needed for this kind of a story. Elements of this tale will remind children of other famous books they may have read in the past. The thin Miss Slighcarp and her overweight boarding school friend Mrs. Brisket (could it BE any more Oliver Twist?) are not too dissimilar to the evil aunts in "James and the Giant Peach". And the plucky young lad Simon who lives alone and on his own is not much different from Dickens in "The Secret Garden". But just because these elements seem similar, this is not to say that the book feels repetitive or overdone. Instead, it's an interesting story that contains just enough danger to make the plot interesting without scaring younger kid readers too much. A success as a book and a wonderful tale.
 |
Title: Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0395971284 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 25 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
 |
Title: Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0395971853 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 25 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
 |
Title: The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0618070230 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 25 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
 |
Title: Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0618196234 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 28 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
 |
Title: The Stolen Lake by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0618070214 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 25 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
