This book is the story of a girl named Enid, who is just like a regualr kid the way kids actually are, and not the way that they are usually portrayed by adults. She and her babysitting charge (he wants ot be called Terrific) go everyday to the park and meet and befriend a variety of real life people. The characters, setting, and situation are just like real life, but not so ordinary that it gets boring. Many ages would like this book, but I think the reader will appreciate it more if they are older (around 9 or 10) and have a larger view and better understanding of the way life is for different kinds of people.

The book I read was Taking Care of Terrific and the Author is Lois Lowry. This book is a wonderful book to read. It all starts out with a 14 year old girl named Enid. Enid is a wonderful girl who has a mother, father and a housekeeper, Mrs. Kolodny. Mrs. Kolodny gave Enid a message about babysitting for the Cameron's family. Enid went to the Cameron Family and the boy she had to look after was Joshua but his nickname is Tom Terrific. So Enid and Tom Terrific go to the Public Garden together and when they get their they meet a guy named Hawk. Hawk plays the saxophone. Also in the Public Garden are bag ladies. These bag ladies are homeless people who have no where to go. Enid asked Hawk why the bag ladies were so sad. They then started a discussion about why the bag ladies are upset and Hawk said probably because they had no root beer popsicles. So right then Enid had an idea to go on strike for rootbeer popsicles and that is what at Enid and Tom sit in the Public garden and draw pictures together of trees. Also Enid broke most of the rules that Joshua's mom made for him to follow. Enid also taught Joshua how to make prank phone calls. The next time Enid babysat she took Tom Terrific to the Public Park, Hawk was there too. They wondered if the bag ladies would like to ride on the swan boats that floated in the lake in the middle of the Public Garden. Hawk asked all the bag ladies if they would like to have a ride on the swan boats and they all said yes. My friend Seth Sandroff helped us with it. We drew out our plan and got all the bag ladies loaded up into swan boats and gave them a ride. They showed the homeless all a great time. I liked this book because it was entertaining. I liked the fact that Enid was interested in making people happy and having them experience new things. I liked that she took a chance of getting into trouble to make a little boys life brighter and more exciting. I would recommend this book to anyone.

At age 24, I often find myself thinking back about the books I read and loved as a child. I could never remember the title of one of my favorites, a story of a babysitter who took her charge to the Boston Common and eventually hijacked the swan boats in the park lagoon. After at least two years of asking my peers if they remembered that book (most of them did not) I decided to hunt it down with the only keyword I remembered from the title -- Terrific -- and to my delight I found it! That the book has kept with me this long proves what a great read it really is. A must for city children, but also for midwestern kids like myself looking for a window to an entirely different world.

This book did not have a great story line, but it was well written. The characters were interesting and the dialogue was fun to read. Over all I enjoyed the book and went on to read the others in this series.

This book is very good! I think it is quite humerous! Anastaisia goes to a modeling shcool and has a run-in with an old enemy and meets some new frends! I really enjoyed this book, you will to!

I've read other Lois Lowry books, all of which are stronger than The Silent Boy. It's a nice story, with a thoughtful twist ending, but pretty slow through most of the chapters. We don't see enough of the title character to justify the book being named after him. I would like to have gotten to know him better. And there are segments of description of the setting that weigh the story down rather than enhancing it. It was a nice, light read, but pretty weak overall, especially in the characterization of the silent boy himself. Great ending though. Really nicely played out.

Silent Boy reminds me of stories my mother or grandmother could have told me. I especially liked the beginning in which Katy tells the story as an old woman, but remembered from a child's perspective. The main character, Katy, wants to tell this story to her great-grandchildren, however, the parents would send warning looks over the children's heads saying, Don't! This is why I feel the plot could have been developed on a more adult level. I'm not really sure to whom Katy is speaking-to children or adults. Silent Boy kind of gives me feeling of A Painted House or To Kill a Mockingbird combined with a little of The Other. I'm not sure Silent Boy will hold the interest of the intended audience, but it is a story that any grandmother could and should tell.

can build a whole world of the early 1900's in just 178 pages, create characters you remember long after you've closed the book, and say all kinds of important things while gently telling a story?
I loved the relationship eight-year-old Katie had with her father. We never doubt that Katie will become a doctor one day because of his patient and gentle teaching. Of course the new baby will not be found in the garden patch! It is because of his kindness and openess that Katie is able to befriend the silent Jacob.
Everything seems innocent through Katie's eyes. Taking the new hired girl from her family, the hard lesson her sister Nell, who wants to be a film star, has to learn, the fire at the mill. Even the tragic misunderstanding that puts Jacob into the asylum. Katie has taken the harsh edge from all, and left us to ponder.
But that is how I know it's a great book... How long afterward I am still pondering.

I think that this book was very boring because all it talks about is Anastasia going to modeling school and interviewing a bookstore owner in Downtown Boston for a school project. Characters in this book are Anastasia Krupnik and Henry Peabody. They both went to modeling school and became best friends. I do not recommend this book to anyone unless you want to be seriously bored.

This book is written in a fun, readable manner and is totally enjoyable.Though if I had to complain about something it is this....In any novel,even if the characters are having a hard time,you like to feel,"Yes I could like living in THEIR world for a while."..However,Anastasia's town seems boring,and her modelling school is utterly tacky and cheap and dull and,like,gave me the feeling of "Oh I would never go there." and a novel should always do the opposite to that.And they usually do.But all that aside,it was very good!!!!!!!

Have you ever thought about what you would like to be when you grow up? Anastasia Krupnik is a 13-year girl (the main character in this story) who wants to be a fashion model. Her dad, Dr. Krupnik wants her to own her own bookstore. If you read this book, you will learn that Anastasia has many funny adventures and meets new friends. Like riding the bus into the city by herself and meeting Henry Peabody. To find out if Anastasia will be a model or a bookstore owner you should read this book. Take my word for it this book is funny, but you make the decision.

"Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry is an engrossing book. A young crippled, orphan named Kira is chosen to live in the Council Edifice because she is a very gifted embroiderer. Kira is appointed to restore a robe that is worn every year at the Ruin Song gathering. This task will take months, and on the way to completion, Kira has to learn how to dye thread and next she will need to fill in the blank space on the robe with her own work.

There are two other artists featured in the novel. Thomas the Carver and a young girl named Jo who is being trained to become the next Singer. Kira discovers a terrifying yet important secret about the lives the three artists are leading.

A friend of Kira's, named Matt, with the help of his dog discovers a secret of Kira's past and of the community they are living in. Do the rulers of this world keep things so tightly controlled that the people cannot even control their own lives? "Gathering Blue" takes place in a village where all technology has been destroyed and people rely on their own skills to get through everyday life. This is a story of loyalty and friendship. Lois Lowry does an excellent job of telling the story in a third person, limited point of view. She also has a way of making the reader feel connected to the story through the sad and almost piteous tone.

I enjoyed reading this book because it was interesting to read about the other extreme of technology--when it has completely wiped out everything. This novel was also filled with interesting characters, each with different personalities and characteristics. All of the children are very diverse but all of their qualities link to one another in some way.

Gathering Blue is a very enjoyable novel. It was very interesting and was a very good adventure book, and one of the best I ever read. I learned a lot from the characters in the book especially Kira, on how she overcame her disability even though she was looked down on.
The book is about a 12-year-old girl Kira, who was orphaned by the recent death of her mother, Kira has been cursed by a deformed leg and blessed by unsurpassed artistic talent. In her village people wit disabilities and looked down upon and treated unequal. Facing the Council of Guardians, she pleads her case and finds an important role that plunges her deep into the heart of this mysterious civilization. Kira is forced to turn to her wonderful weaving talent to save her during a trial over her life. With the help of a cheerful orphan called Matt and his little dog, Kira at last finds the way to the plant that will allow her to create the missing color--blue--and, symbolically, to find the courage to shape the future by following her art wherever it may lead. So Kira fight all the obstacles in her life and excels to the best of her ability at the end, even though she had it very difficult, and harder than most people.
So overall I like Gathering Blue a lot and would recommend for all ages as a got book to read. The book really made you think and had a kind of mysterious effect in it, which made it a lot better.

Gathering Blue is a great book, and like the Giver, it shows us an alternative future with it's own mysteries and horrible secrets. But instead of a high tech society (the Giver), we are shown a primitive one where individuality is feared and strange people called elders rule. The girl Kira who has a deformed leg should of been killed at birth, but was not due to her mother's protests. Now that her mother is dead she is on her own. Her father was taken by the beasts long ago. The elders unexpectedly give her shelter and she begins a life of luxury. All because of her mysterious (and even magical!?) gift that allows her to make beautiful and intricate designs out of threads. Kira must repair the singer's robe, a robe that has Kira's world's history embroidered on it. First, though she must learn the art of dyes and dyeing threads from the old woman Anabella. As she works on the robe Kira and her friends Thomas the Carver ; Jo the Singer ; and Matt the tyke with his little dog, must unravel the terible truth of their future. I enjoyed Gathering Blue, but it did not earn 5 stars because it was extremely weak on some points. 1) After the story reached it's climax it went all downhill. The ending was rushed to the extreme leaving tons of things up in the air. 2)Alot of things are left unexplained. For example, Lois Lowry hints (and it even Kira suspects) that Anabella's death was no accident, and that she was killed for what she told Kira. But in the mad rush to the ending this is not mentioned at all. 3) The ending was NOT logical. The major secret in the book is not even explained that much. Still....its a good book.

The 100th Thing About Caroline is a great book. You will really like it if you have ever mixed up something real with an idea from your imagination. You will also like it if you think some people look like dinosaurs. The number one reason I liked this book is because of the funny ending.

Caroline Tate is an overly imaginative 11 year old that finds herself investigating a possible murder. The only thing is is that she and her brother are the potential victims. The story takes place in a small apartment building in New York City which is where Caroline found a letter. The letter was written to the " Mystery Man", Frederick Fiske who just happens to be dating Caroline's mother. The letter said that Joanna Tate ( Caroline's mother) is terrific, but the kids MUST be eliminated. The rest of the story is suspenseful as Caroline, J.P. and Caroline's friend Stacy investigate Frederick Fiske is really a cold - blooded killer. I enjoyed reading this book reading this & I recommend it because it keeps you guessing until the very end.

The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline is about a girl named Caroline Tate. Caroline is eleven years old. She is determined about being a paleontologist when she grows up. She lives in an apartment with, her mom and her annoying older brother James Priestly Tate (J.P.). Caroline's mom & dad are divorced so her dad lives somewhere else. J.P., Caroline and her friend Stacy Bauritcher who wants to be a detective, find a letter in the trash for Fredrick Fiske. It says to eliminate the kids, so he can marry the mother. Stacy finds out that Caroline and J.P. are the kids that will be eliminated. If you like mysteries PLUS adventure stories you should probably read this book!

Hi! this is another one of my favorite books. it is about a youg girl and her broter who are sent to live in the country durng world war two. this book does not talk about the outside war, but the personal war that carrie faces. she lives (presently) with a broher an sister, one of which is like a mouse, the outher like a lion. she makes frends, larns about crulitly, hadships, and fairnes. ths story is a wounderful book about the wounders and harships one has to go through.

This book was given to me (in 1973) when I was 11 by my favorite aunt. I kept meaning to read it, but never did. Thank goodness I found it in the attic. I enjoyed it very much. It may appeal to an adult more than a child, which is probably why I didn't read it when it was given to me.

I'd read Nina Bawden's "The Peppermint Pig" when I was in elementary school, but our library didn't have any other titles by her. The book listed all of Bawden's other titles, but I didn't get to read "Carrie's War" until I was in high school. It's a wonderful story, and a fascinating look into the world of one of the many children sent to stay in the rural British countryside during World War II.