Not Your Classic Orphan Novel

Okay, so who out there has read Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, or Great Expectations?  How about Oliver Twist, Pollyanna, Heidi or the Secret Garden?  Well, The Willoughbys by Lois Lowery is not any of those by a long shot, but apparently the characters within it were familiar with the classic orphan stories.

"SHOULDN'T WE BE ORPHANS?" one of the Willoughby children suggests one day.  The four are, after all, part of an old-fashioned family, and their parents - well, their parents are not all that one would hope for.  Recalling literary heroes and heroines such as Anne of Green Gables, Pollyana, and James with his giant peach, the Willoughbys concoct a diabolical plot to turn themselves into worthy and winsome orphans. Little do they know that Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby have already begun to formulate their own despicable plan inspired by another favorite bedtime story: the tale of Hansel and Gretel . . .   - excerpt from book jacket

This book is one of my all-time favorites.  It is an absolutely hilarious parody of those classic orphan tales, complete with abandoned babies on doorsteps and wealthy benefactors.  It has that quirky, ridiculous kind of humor to it that is so much like the works of Philip Ardagh.

Not only is the premise funny, but the entire plot with it's imitation of those "old-fashioned" works of literature just adds to the humor.  The author even tries to get the feel of the writing of the time, by using so many big words that I actually had to set a dictionary on the couch next to me as I read.  (Only to discover at the end of the book that she had included a Glossary, with definitions as funny as the story itself!)  And then there was the imitation German accent (you'll know what I mean when you read the book), that, having taken German as a foreign language in school, I found so amusing it almost had me falling out of my chair with laughter.  Now, that doesn't mean that this book will only be funny to well-read, somewhat older, former students of the German language.  My son read this book when he was in fifth grade and, despite having absolutely no background in classic literature nor experience with anything remotely German, he thought the book was hilarious as well.

This is the kind of book that will have you laughing out loud in public places (assuming you are reading it in a public place), and will give you the irrepressible urge to read parts out loud to whoever else happens to be in the room (I did this to my husband; I'm sure he wasn't at all interested, but I just couldn't help myself).

I loved this book.  My son loved this book.  There are probably, like, several thousand other people out there who loved this book, and I'm pretty sure that you will love it too.

Rating:  5 Stars
Reading Level:  5.2
Age Appropriate:  Middle Grade (and even younger, really)
Page Count/Word Count:  174/ 23,990
Genre:  Humor
Keywords: brothers and sisters, orphans, humor