Scan barcode
thenextgenlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
A male Mary Poppins. Teared up at the end but overall I thought it was okay.
thenextgenlib's review against another edition
3.0
A male Mary Poppins. Teared up at the end but overall I thought it was okay.
jbrooxd's review against another edition
4.0
Sweet story of a grieving family and their Mary Poppins-esque nanny. Energetic and optimistic main character helps keep the tone light. Good fit for the lower end of the middle grade age range.
aveliz011's review against another edition
4.0
Although I’ve never watched Mary Poppins, I have a feel that Mr. G was maybe fashioned after her. He swoops in to help the Darrows as they are grieving Mr. Darrow- the dad. It’s was nice to see Mr. G help the family begin to heal throughout the span of their summer together, and I liked how the story was wrapped up at the end.
chewdigestbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Think an updated version of Mary Poppins and you're close to the awesomeness that is this book.
Mr. Darrow died unexpectedly and his family is still trying to figure out how to move forward. It isn't working well so far since they quickly realized that dad was the glue that held everyone and everything together.
The siblings, in age order, Fergus, Ameilia, and Stanley along with their mom are lost in their own grief, nothing is getting done, they barely speak, and poor Stanley thinks he's the only one that feels alone and invisible.
That is, until the arrival of Mr. Gedrick, who, with a "pinch and a twist" he gets the house back in running order and eventually, the family.
This was a great book with many hidden lessons for young and old. Mr. Gedrick didn't force them or directly point out what was missing, his funny ideas and adventures somehow got their point across which means the Darrow family learned the lessons on their own and will be much more likely to remember them.
I appreciated the realism in the relationships of the siblings, both before and after Mr. Gedrick did his magic. And his mother's example of an Architect suddenly working from home, showed all how hard it is to do both work and the home/kids at the same time all the while under pressure from a slightly nefarious boss to come up with an amazing plan for the new Chicago Community Center. People don't always give as much credit to those are in charge of the kids 24/7 and the example of Mr. Darrow's death has shown them all not only how special he was but how he was the grease in the wheels of the entire family. (Not that I'm in either role, but have learned that being the one at home has just as many challenges as the breadwinners, and that is multiplied by the number of kids and the size of the home. Different challenges, but just as hard.)
I see no issues with this book unless you have an issue with your kids reading Mary Poppins and at least Mr. Gedrick isn't going to be shoving a spoonful of sugar down your kid's throats! While both characters hint at magic, it's never outwardly seen, I see it was a great grasp of reverse psychology and family dynamics.
I was about to say that this was the first book I've read by Carman, however, looking over his list, I can see that he did write #5 in The 39 Clues serires, which I have read. I'll keep an eye out for the rest of his work.
Mr. Darrow died unexpectedly and his family is still trying to figure out how to move forward. It isn't working well so far since they quickly realized that dad was the glue that held everyone and everything together.
The siblings, in age order, Fergus, Ameilia, and Stanley along with their mom are lost in their own grief, nothing is getting done, they barely speak, and poor Stanley thinks he's the only one that feels alone and invisible.
That is, until the arrival of Mr. Gedrick, who, with a "pinch and a twist" he gets the house back in running order and eventually, the family.
This was a great book with many hidden lessons for young and old. Mr. Gedrick didn't force them or directly point out what was missing, his funny ideas and adventures somehow got their point across which means the Darrow family learned the lessons on their own and will be much more likely to remember them.
I appreciated the realism in the relationships of the siblings, both before and after Mr. Gedrick did his magic. And his mother's example of an Architect suddenly working from home, showed all how hard it is to do both work and the home/kids at the same time all the while under pressure from a slightly nefarious boss to come up with an amazing plan for the new Chicago Community Center. People don't always give as much credit to those are in charge of the kids 24/7 and the example of Mr. Darrow's death has shown them all not only how special he was but how he was the grease in the wheels of the entire family. (Not that I'm in either role, but have learned that being the one at home has just as many challenges as the breadwinners, and that is multiplied by the number of kids and the size of the home. Different challenges, but just as hard.)
I see no issues with this book unless you have an issue with your kids reading Mary Poppins and at least Mr. Gedrick isn't going to be shoving a spoonful of sugar down your kid's throats! While both characters hint at magic, it's never outwardly seen, I see it was a great grasp of reverse psychology and family dynamics.
I was about to say that this was the first book I've read by Carman, however, looking over his list, I can see that he did write #5 in The 39 Clues serires, which I have read. I'll keep an eye out for the rest of his work.
everydayreading's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun, sweet book about a family where the dad has passed away and the mom and three children are struggling to keep their lives together without him. Magical Mr. Gedrick shows up and slowly helps them come back together. My girls LOVED this one.
booksandbosox's review against another edition
3.0
Trying to read this year's Bluebonnet titles. This was cute - didn't go anywhere I didn't expect it to, but cute.
More...