The Willoughby’s are a truly old fashioned family. They even find a baby on their doorstep. The children – Tim, Barnaby A, Barnaby B, and Jane – all decide that they should be orphans. They begin conducting a malevolent plan to get rid of their parents. The plan included sea voyages and pirates. Little do they know that their parents are also conducting a truly diabolical plan to get rid of them that includes an odious nanny, and a real estate agent.



Manny classic stories, including Mary Poppins, Huckleberry Finn, and Polyanna, make an appearance in this story. Things including villains, odious nannies, abandoned infants, long lost relatives, and late –life romance declare this story an “old-fashion” parody.

Didn't love this book which made me sad and Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors. If you are a fan of Lemmony Snicket you will love this book ( )

Four children dream of being proper orphans. Like the good orphans in old-fashioned stories. They don't like their parents too terribly much (their parents don't like them either), so they decide to send them on a dangerous vacation hoping that they will meet an ill fate. They receive a nanny but are disheartened when they get good news from their parents. They meet a hermit that they gave a baby to and they all become good friends and who knows maybe even more.

This book was laugh out loud funny. I love how this was written, so proper sounding, yet ridiculously fun. I definitely recommend you pick this up and read it. It will only take you a very short time and you will be giggling about it until the end. I can't say too much about it without giving it all away. I love the glossary in the back and the Bibliography of all the "old-fashioned" books the kids wanted to style themselves after. The writing was very thorough and correct as we have come to expect from this writer. Definitely not the Lois we know from The Giver or Number the Stars, I quite like how outrageously delicious this novel is. READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT! Thank you and good day.

P.S. this book may put you in a silly mood for quite some time.

First Line:
"Once upon a time there was a family named Willoughby: an old-fashioned type of family, with four children. "

Favorite Line"
"They forgot you , dear. I was actually quite surprised after they left and I settled in and found four children. They had told me they had three." ( )

Reviewed by Katie Hayes for TeensReadToo.com

Lois Lowry, winner of two Newbery medals, is not only one of the most beloved modern authors of children's fiction, but also one of the most versatile. She's done comedy (the ANASTASIA KRUPNIK series), drama (A DUMMER TO DIE), historical fiction (NUMBER THE STARS), and even dystopian fantasy (THE GIVER). In her latest book, THE WILLOUGHBYS, she proves her mastery at yet another genre: parody.

The object of parody here is old-fashioned children's books. Accordingly, the titular Willoughbys are “an old-fashioned family,” and constantly refer to themselves as such. The Willoughby children are Timothy, the bossy oldest child; indistinguishable twins who are both named Barnaby (referred to as “A” and “B”); and the overlooked youngest child, Jane.

“Shouldn't we be orphans?” Timothy asks one day. While they're not, Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby, unbeknownst to them, are about to abandon their children in a plot inspired by HANSEL AND GRETEL. But the Willoughby children are too busy doing all the things that an old-fashioned family should do to care very much. All the elements of old-fashioned children's literature are included in the plot. Abandoned baby in a basket? Check. Mysterious nanny? Check. Reclusive tycoon living in squalor? Check. Really bad fake German? Well…that might be a new one.

It's impressive how effectively Lowry pokes fun at literary clichés so widespread that most of us have never even thought about them. It had never occurred to me how prevalent some of the elements of classic children's literature are until I read THE WILLOUGHBYS, but once it did, I wondered why I'd never read a similar parody. Lowry gets plenty of jokes in while still keeping the plot moving, and the result is a fast, funny read. Adding to the fun are the glossary and bibliography at the end of the book. Here's a sample glossary entry: “Tycoon means somebody who has amassed great wealth and power in business. Usually a tycoon is a man, for some reason. Maybe Oprah Winfrey is a tycooness.” The bibliography consists of a list of “books of the past that are heavy on piteous but appealing orphans, ill-tempered and stingy relatives, magnanimous benefactors, and transformations wrought by winsome children,” which include MARY POPPINS, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, and the BOBBSEY TWINS series.

While teens and adults will also find this book hilarious, it's appropriate for even those younger readers in elementary school. Readers will laugh out loud - and they might even be moved to pick up one of the books that inspired it. ( )

Readers who enjoyed Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events will enjoy this tale, full of allusions the such childhood classics as Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and Mary Poppins. ( )