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lobeliaparides's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very cute and sweet book, and I loved every second of it :)
lisakimmence3's review
3.0
Delightfully charming. I enjoy all books that make me feel like a kid again.
clianthus's review against another edition
3.0
My 8 year old enjoyed this book, however it fell flat for me - I'd rate it 2 stars, my 8 year old gives it 4, so a rating of 3 is our compromise. The illustrations are beautiful, and would be more so if they had been printed in colour. The characters are charming and loveable, however there's no real story to this book, it's just a series of small snapshots into life at the orphanage. The book "Snow and Rose" by this author is a better example of her writing abilities (IMHO).
sarahannkateri's review against another edition
1.0
I'm a fan of Emily Martin's art, so when I heard she had written a children's book telling the story behind some of her characters, I was pretty excited.
I read an arc of the book, so it only had rough pencil sketches of the art instead of the B&W illustrations that will be in the final edition. Unfortunately, the story felt like a rough pencil sketch too.
Essentially, students at a suspiciously Hogwartsian orphanage have some mildly amusing adventures and then everyone is happy because although they're not actually related, the orphans and orphanage staff are still a big, wonderful, lovely family! Tra-la-la, sunshine and butterflies, our parents are dead, but we have rabbit-shaped pancakes, so isn't life just marvelous?, etc. It's like a really long Etsy description that's aiming for enchanting whimsy, but ends up just seeming saccharine and vapid. Unless some heavy-duty editing goes on before publication, Oddfellow's Orphanage is just a bunch of pretty pictures in search of a story. Ten bucks says 20-something hipster girls who prize style over substance will be beating down the doors at Urban Outfitters to get their hands on a copy.
Side note: the decision not to print the illustrations in color is baffling. I don't think Martin's style works nearly as well in black and white.
I read an arc of the book, so it only had rough pencil sketches of the art instead of the B&W illustrations that will be in the final edition. Unfortunately, the story felt like a rough pencil sketch too.
Essentially, students at a suspiciously Hogwartsian orphanage have some mildly amusing adventures and then everyone is happy because although they're not actually related, the orphans and orphanage staff are still a big, wonderful, lovely family! Tra-la-la, sunshine and butterflies, our parents are dead, but we have rabbit-shaped pancakes, so isn't life just marvelous?, etc. It's like a really long Etsy description that's aiming for enchanting whimsy, but ends up just seeming saccharine and vapid. Unless some heavy-duty editing goes on before publication, Oddfellow's Orphanage is just a bunch of pretty pictures in search of a story. Ten bucks says 20-something hipster girls who prize style over substance will be beating down the doors at Urban Outfitters to get their hands on a copy.
Side note: the decision not to print the illustrations in color is baffling. I don't think Martin's style works nearly as well in black and white.
goodbetterbetsy's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute little story about the orphanage run by Oddfellow Blackbeard. Each chapter tells a little bit about how each character came to the orphanage and then a little story that kind of features that character. The illustrations were charming. I would love to have prints of them around my house. They really enhanced the story, which was already quite sweet.
aomccourt's review
4.0
So cute and fun, but disappointed that it wasn’t really a continuous story. More of a collection of little somewhat unrelated events. Lovable characters and setting though.
prairiebunny's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75