HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
Loading...

The Willoughbys (original 2008; edition 2008)

by Lois Lowry

Series: The Willoughbys (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,7441059,822 (3.8)80
In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.
Member:frances.fab
Title:The Willoughbys
Authors:Lois Lowry
Info:Houghton Mifflin Company (2008), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 176 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

Work Information

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (2008)

  1. 30
    The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (jbarry, CurrerBell)
    jbarry: old-timey fun
  2. 30
    Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (avatiakh)
    avatiakh: Included in The Willoughbys bibliography of books with appealing orphans, stingy relatives, winsome children, generous benefactors etc etc
  3. 30
    James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (avatiakh)
    avatiakh: Included in The Willoughbys bibliography of books with appealing orphans, stingy relatives, winsome children, generous benefactors etc etc
  4. 20
    The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (_Zoe_)
    _Zoe_: Both books play with the idea of the "old-fashioned" children's story and are a lot of fun.
  5. 10
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (avatiakh)
    avatiakh: Included in The Willoughbys bibliography of books with appealing orphans, stingy relatives, winsome children, generous benefactors etc etc
  6. 00
    A House Called Awful End by Philip Ardagh (Rubbah)
  7. 00
    Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori (Rubbah)
    Rubbah: gothic fun for children
  8. 00
    The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter (foggidawn)
  9. 01
    From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (jbarry)
    jbarry: clever children abound
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 80 mentions

English (104)  Spanish (1)  All languages (105)
Showing 1-5 of 104 (next | show all)
AR: 5.2
  ASSG.Library | Mar 15, 2024 |
An amazing audio book! So funny! So charming! So shocking! Lowry manages to satirize "old fashioned" stories while simultaneously capitalizing on all the strengths of the old fashioned story. I love classics, I love comedy, I loved this. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
Tim was a total dickface in the beginning of the book, and I almost tossed the book because of it. But I was reading the book not for the story but for the German practice, so I kept reading and things got much better. Overall it's an odd but fine book. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
Adventures of a most horrid couple and their horrid offspring reminiscent of Charles Addams or Edward Gorey although Lowry's own hand-drawn illustrations lack the macabre bleakness of either. Very dark humour delivered with a light hand, great fun for twisted adults and very weird children. ( )
  NurseBob | Jul 10, 2023 |
This was a great send-up of the old-fashioned orphan novel. The glossary at the end is not to be missed. ( )
  readingjag | Nov 29, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 104 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Lowry, Loisprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bender, Ruthsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Johnson, ArteNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kerline, FrancisTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Belongs to Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
fur meine deutschen Madchen, Nadine und Annika
First words
Once upon a time there was a family named Willoughby: an old-fashioned type of family, with four children.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Four annoying children work hard at becoming orphaned by their odious parents. Eventually, the parents abandon them to a capable nanny, and finally the children find their Happily Ever After.
I didn't look at the copyright date before starting the text, something I usually do. I was surprised to find the book was published so recently - it uses many themes and cliches of "classic" or "old fashioned" children's literature. There was far more snarking and silliness than I'd expected as well - not as much snarking and gloom-&-doom, perhaps, as in the Lemony Snicket books, but certainly enough to evoke a comparison to Roald Dahl here and there. This book definitely plays more to the parody though.
I'd be careful to which class or individuals I'd assign this book. This is a great book for fluent readers and good decoders of sarcasm and silliness. However, I think this could be a disastrous assignment for a less-fluent reader or a reader with more difficulty decoding for meaning, be it etymological or emotional.
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.8)
0.5
1 7
1.5 3
2 18
2.5 5
3 93
3.5 31
4 161
4.5 22
5 84

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,215,085 books! | Top bar: Always visible