By: Louise Fitzhugh Publisher: Yearling Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: May 08, 2001 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Release Date: May 08, 2001 Studio: Yearling
Amazon.com Review: Ages 8-12. Thirty-two years before it was made into a movie, Harriet the Spy was a groundbreaking book: its unflinchingly honest portrayal of childhood problems and emotions changed children's literature forever. Happily, it has neither dated nor become obsolete and remains one of the best children's novels ever written. The fascinating story is about an intensely curious and intelligent girl, who literally spies on people and writes about them in her secret notebook, trying to make sense of life's absurdities. When her classmates find her notebook and read her painfully blunt comments about them, Harriet finds herself a lonely outcast. Fitzhugh's writing is astonishingly vivid, real and engaging, and Harriet, by no means a typical, loveable heroine, is one of literature's most unforgettable characters. School Library Journal wrote, "a tour de force... bursts with life." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called it "a very, very funny story." And The Chicago Tribune raved, "brilliantly written... a superb portrait of an extraordinary child."
Product Description: Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things sheâs written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?
So your thinking about reading Harriet the Spy? ^ Harriet the Spy is about a 11 year old girl who wants to become a spy. She has a spy route that she follows every day. Since she is in fifth grade she starts encountering problems with her family and friends. See, she has a spy notebook and that is what gives her the most problems. She writes in school, about other people and also at home. Soon her mother realizes this and takes away her notebook. Will Harriet get her friends back? Will her family still be mean to her? Can Harriet survive without her notebook? Find out in one of my favorite books, Harriet the Spy.
So your thinking about reading Harriet the Spy? ^ Harriet the Spy is about a 11 year old girl who wants to become a spy. She has a spy route that she follows every day. Since she is in fifth grade she starts encountering problems with her family and friends. See, she has a spy notebook and that is what gives her the most problems. She writes in school, about other people and also at home. Soon her mother realizes this and takes away her notebook. Will Harriet get her friends back? Will her family still be mean to her? Can Harriet survive without her notebook? Find out in one of my favorite books, Harriet the Spy.
I am Ole Golly. ^ If, like me, you find yourself on a journey to reread the beloved books of your childhood then I have a warning for you: Beware Harriet the Spy!
As a child, I loved Harriet. I identified with Harriet. Heck, sadly for me, I even looked like Harriet. I haven't picked this book up at all as an adult. I don't know what I expected to find, but it wasn't this.
I am Ole Golly. I am a childless middle aged woman who is given to reading too much and who is blessed with a limited amount of affectionate patience. Seriously. It frightened me.
And you know what? The book is quite a bit darker than I remember. Alienation, bullying, lack of opportunity, class differences, sexism-- you name it, Harriet the Spy has got it. Which isn't to say it isn't funny and true, because it is. The best books for children are often pretty dark, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise.
Very much recommended. Certainly as a reread, at least.
A cool mystery book for kids and adults ^ I didn't know this book is old, unless I forgot it, lol, but my siblings and I went to Barnes & Noble and I wanted a mystery book but that didn't have like murders and such hard topics. Something light and fun, and I'm glad I found it. "Harriet the Spy."
This book is a fun and entertaining read. It's original and enjoyable for people of all ages. However, I do recommend parents to read this book first before giving it to a child because this book contains some negativity which could give children bad ideas to use, such as bullying, mimic Harriet's negative writing, etc. As adults, well, no problem because we all know what is right and wrong... and hopefully you do what's right, lol, but this is a good read to pass the time or if you are a book nerd like me. :D
As Levar puts it in "reading rainbow", "You don't have to take my word for it. ;)
Dated Yet Timely ^ Harriet The Spy was first published in 1964. I loved it when I first read it as a child a few years later, and have always remembered it fondly. Harriet M. Welsch lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She leads a pampered life with parents who love her but don't spend much time with her. Her primary caregiver is her nurse, Ole Golly, who has encouraged her to write down her thoughts and observations in notebooks which will provide fodder for a writing career. Every afternoon Harriet spies on neighbors and observes their foibles. Harriet is absolutely honest when she makes a note, and this gets her into trouble when her classmates discover and read her notebook.
Harriet The Spy is about growing away from childhood things. She loses Ole Golly and has to depend on herself for the first time. She has to recognize that even though honesty is essential, sometimes you have to lie, too. By the end of the book Harriet is still 11 years old, but the reader will have a strong idea of the kind of honest, admirable woman she will become.
Harriet's world seemed strange to me when I first read it, and I suspect many of her other readers and admirers have also found it odd: large private houses and apartments staffed with servants, exclusive private schools, elegant parents who are part of High Society. But even if you don't live in a brownstone on the Upper East Side you'll still find a lot of familiar things in Harriet The Spy: growing up, loneliness, alienation, friendships made and unmade, and hardest of all, learning to accept others' differences.
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