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stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
4.0
Started reading this to my oldest - recall loving this as a child!
Update: we both LOVED this! What a touching story of a village that works together toward a little girl's dream, and begins to see each other in a different light. The only problem was that all the talk of the dikes and the tides bored her a little bit.
Update: we both LOVED this! What a touching story of a village that works together toward a little girl's dream, and begins to see each other in a different light. The only problem was that all the talk of the dikes and the tides bored her a little bit.
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
4.75
This was mentioned at my local bookclub, and I looked it up. There is no kindle or audio, and it seems out-of-print, some price gouging for physical copies. I looked at my library though, and they had a copy, so I checked it out. It's a bit of a "I would have LOVED this had I read it as a child" and overall sentimental rating (ironic, as this is my first read of it).
This reminded me of "The Great Brain" series a little, focusing on the lives of young kids with a lot less parental supervision than most kids have now ;) I was thinking maybe they had the same illustrator (but no, GB is Mercer Mayer, this is Maurice Sendak, both do have a lot of well known and classic illustrations to their name). Having Dutch ancestry, this was fun also.
I really enjoyed getting to know the children, and their quest, and how each ended up interacting with other people in the town, and learning things and growing and working together toward a common goal. It really was uplifting and such a sweet story.
Not absolutely chronological, as the kids went their separate ways, and so we'd hear part of a story featuring one character (all 3rd person omniscient POV), then show another character, with some overlap (so sometimes we already knew what had happened for a portion).
I don't know if I'll get around to reading this again, but I wouldn't mind having a copy for my bookshelves. It would be one I'd read to grandchildren ... if I had them (not yet).
Chapters ... (1) Do You Know About Storks (2) To Wonder Why (3) Wagon Wheel (4) Jella and the Farmer (5) Pier and Dirk and the Cherry Tree (6) Eelka and the Ancient Wheel (7) Aaka and the Tin Man (8) Lina and the Upturned Boat (9) The Wheel Rim (10) Wagon in the Sea (11) The Storm and the Storks (12) The Wheel on the School (13) Flotsam and Jetsam (14) The Tots in the Tower (15) Storks in the Sea ... I have to say I quite like a TOC with headings, that I can glance over and fully be reminded of the story and which chapter any specific information takes place.
Quotes -
"That's the trouble with being twins - if you don't know something, you don't know it double."
"... but first to dream and then to do - isn't that the way to make a dream come true?"
This reminded me of "The Great Brain" series a little, focusing on the lives of young kids with a lot less parental supervision than most kids have now ;) I was thinking maybe they had the same illustrator (but no, GB is Mercer Mayer, this is Maurice Sendak, both do have a lot of well known and classic illustrations to their name). Having Dutch ancestry, this was fun also.
I really enjoyed getting to know the children, and their quest, and how each ended up interacting with other people in the town, and learning things and growing and working together toward a common goal. It really was uplifting and such a sweet story.
Not absolutely chronological, as the kids went their separate ways, and so we'd hear part of a story featuring one character (all 3rd person omniscient POV), then show another character, with some overlap (so sometimes we already knew what had happened for a portion).
I don't know if I'll get around to reading this again, but I wouldn't mind having a copy for my bookshelves. It would be one I'd read to grandchildren ... if I had them (not yet).
Chapters ... (1) Do You Know About Storks (2) To Wonder Why (3) Wagon Wheel (4) Jella and the Farmer (5) Pier and Dirk and the Cherry Tree (6) Eelka and the Ancient Wheel (7) Aaka and the Tin Man (8) Lina and the Upturned Boat (9) The Wheel Rim (10) Wagon in the Sea (11) The Storm and the Storks (12) The Wheel on the School (13) Flotsam and Jetsam (14) The Tots in the Tower (15) Storks in the Sea ... I have to say I quite like a TOC with headings, that I can glance over and fully be reminded of the story and which chapter any specific information takes place.
Quotes -
"That's the trouble with being twins - if you don't know something, you don't know it double."
"... but first to dream and then to do - isn't that the way to make a dream come true?"
lindseycrouch's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I know I read this as a kid but I didn't remember much about it. For being a 70 year old book it actually holds up pretty well. The writing style is unique but good and it's a quiet kind of adventure story.
humanignorance's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. The book was quite long for its plot – it got bogged down with far more physical details than warranted. Still, it seemed believable in its portrayal of a tiny, antiquated Dutch village, and its unrelenting optimism and inspiration was nice.
rheren's review against another edition
5.0
The kids were really into this book, I was kind of surprised. To me it felt like not much happened and it kind of meandered (often drifted into irrelevant stories that didn't end up advancing the plot), but the kids didn't seem to mind. I think all of our family really enjoyed it, and it was a great bedtime story.
kylauren1723's review against another edition
5.0
I adore this book. It’s like coming up for a breath of fresh air after being stuck underwater. I think that each and every one of us could use a break of this kind. In this busy, busy world we live in we never take a second to smell the roses. We’re too busy worrying about our cars, our relatively slow internet, getting into college, broken iPods, going on dates, the latest fashion in clothes, being accepted… And here is a group of school kids who are worried about whether or not storks come to their village. The simplicity of this book is golden. As we follow the individual story lines of Lina, Jella, Auka, Eelka, Pier and Dirk we are touched by their concern for these birds. I love the unity of their classroom along with their teacher who allowed them to dream and taught them to reach for the stars
balletbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
A very earnest book about a project - to bring nesting storks back to the Dutch village of Shora - that brings the entire village together. Very fun. One of my earlier comments was that it felt like The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew - it does! It have a very honest, can-do attitude and tells such charming stories about the children of Shora.
snoopy_daffodil's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25