Profound whimsicality.

Is that oxymoronic, you ask? I think not, at least not when in reference to any of Patricia MacLachlan's works.

I am blown away by each of the books I read by MacLachlan. They are absolutely beautiful, from the gorgeous cover illustrations, to the story, to the sentence structure and writing style, all down to the formatting. MacLachlan is the master of doing incomplete sentences beautifully, capturing the whimsicality of life, and dropping profound, heartfelt and heartwarming themes throughout. By far the best children's author I have ever read. And one of the most wonderful things about her writing, is that while they are intended for children, they are enjoyable by all ages, which is what makes them so phenomenal.

Highly recommended! ( )

Newbery award-winning author Patricia MacLachlan has done it again. She has written an easy-to-read story for children with sparse, well-chosen words and conversation that eloquently speaks volumes on what it means to be a family. Lucy is traveling with her mother, father, sister Gracie and her little brother Teddy in a beat-up Volkswagen bus to her Aunt Frankie’s house which she is told is “far out in the middle of the universe”. They are planning to help her (even though she says she doesn’t need help) during the rainy season when her house will be threatened with flooding. The story is simple, yet beautiful, but it is the interpersonal relationships in this family that truly make this book shine with a special kind of magic. Not to be missed.

Sharyn H. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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Lucy and her family are headed to help her aunt. It is flooding around her aunt's house and Lucy's family wants to help. Great and memorable characters in the story, all with a bit of a stubborn Midwestern quality that makes them endearing. Lucy's brother is two but doesn't talk yet...or so her parents think. Lucy's mother has aspirations that have not been met and is a little disappointed with how life has turned out. Lucy herself doesn't sing and that's another sadness for her mother. A complex story perfect for a young reader. ( )

This was a little too melodramatic to me. Lucy and her family drive to see their Aunt Frankie, whose lives in North Dakota where the river floods every year, threatening her house. The family is going to help her, even if she doesn't want it.
Everybody has a thing. Lucy writes poetry but can't sing, her sister Gracie can draw, her baby brother Teddy doesn't talk yet but hums in perfect pitch to Lucy (only) every night, her father loves cows and her mother loves chickens. They're all somewhat one-dimensional in my mind. When Teddy is lost and they are looking for him, Lucy's singing, bad as it is, gets him to sing back so they can find him.
I know it's for young children, but I think it could have been more complex. ( )

As in her other recent novellas - Waiting for the Magic; The True Gift; Kindred Spirits; The Truth of Me - Patricia MacLachlan exquisitely portrays family dynamics through the eyes of children. These stories are like comfort food, especially for spirits starved for the kinder side of life. ( )