The Willoughbys: Summary and book reviews of The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry, plus links to an excerpt from The Willoughbys and a biography of Lois Lowry.
The Willoughbys
by Lois Lowry
Hardcover: Mar 2008,
176 pages.
Paperback: Mar 2010,
176 pages.
Abandoned by their ill-humored parents to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their roles as good old-fashioned children. Following the models set in lauded tales from "A Christmas Carol" to "Mary Poppins", the four Willoughbys hope to attain their proscribed happy ending too, or at least a satisfyingly maudlin one.
However, it is an unquestionably ruthless act that sets in motion the transformations that lead to their salvation and to happy endings for not only the four children, but their nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy magnate, and his long-lost son too.
Replete with a tongue-in-cheek glossary and bibliography, this hilarious and decidedly old-fashioned parody pays playful homage to classic works of children's literature.
BOOK REVIEWS
BookBrowse
Lois Lowry's The Willoughbys is the latest faux antique to hit your
quaint little bookshop's fusty shelves. To make sure the reader gets the joke,
Lowry's blast from the past includes pointedly charming retro pen and ink
illustrations; wavy old-fashioned fonts, and alliterative, adverb-laden diction
("A Novel Nefariously Written & Ignominiously Illustrated by the Author") ...
To be truly delectable, The Willoughbys must work for children who haven't read
Toby Tyler, Or, Ten Weeks with the Circus; Ragged Dick; Pollyanna; Heidi; or
The Bobbsey Twins and Baby May. It does. Despite Lowry's satiric
distancing and its jokes and puns, when the Willoughbys, homeless and hungry in
more ways than one, finally discover that they're valuable, worthy of
nourishment, and capable of bringing joy to grown-ups, we applaud. (Reviewed by Jo Perry). Full Review (1090 words).
Media Reviews
Booklist
Starred Review. [S]ly humor and a certain deadpan zaniness give literary conventions an ironic twist, with hilarious results.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Readers who are willing to give themselves up entirely to the sly foolishness will relish this sparklingly smart satire, which treats them with collegial familiarity. (snort-inducing glossary). Ages 9-12
Publishers Weekly - Lemony Snicket
Starred Review. Lowry, who casts her noble and enviable shadow wide across the landscape of children's literature, from fantasy to realism, here turns her quick, sly gaze to parody .... There are those who will find that this novel pales in comparison to Ms. Lowry's more straight-faced efforts, such as The Giver. Such people are invited to take tea with the Bobbsey Twins. Ms. Lowry and I will be across town downing something stronger mixed by Anastasia Krupnik, whom one suspects of sneaking sips of Ms. Lowry's bewitching brew.
Horn Book
[A] lollipop of witty metafiction...cunningly crocheted into a hilarious doily of drollery.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
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(1090 words).
of 5
by leah gardner
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