Allergic to My Family: Allergic to My Family [Mass Market Paperback]

Liza Morrow (Author)

Book Description

Struggling with the challenges of a six-child family, Rosie begins to think that she is the only normal person in the chaos of twins, telephones, and tears and comes up with a plan to make her shy younger brother talk. Reissue. K.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the second oldest of six children, Rosie feels lost. No one seems to notice her: she is not in charge and is no longer young enough to be babied. In addition, her siblings are constantly interfering with her life. Rosie's only hope is her gymnastic ability. "I was doomed to spend the rest of my life trapped with my crazy family. But I'd show them. . . . Someday I'd be in a national meet . . . and all the judges would stand up and applaud. Then, maybe then, my family would notice me." In the gripping conclusion Rosie unexpectedly and courageously puts her talent to use, finally earning her family's respect. Murrow adroitly conveys the joys and frustrations of being a member of a large household; her depiction of this boisterous, peculiar brood will captivate readers. Vivid episodes enhance each player's development, but Rosie's character is imbued with particular spirit and insight. Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- A humorous portrayal of an affectionate, middle class family living in California. Nine-year-old Rosie is a feisty child with believable problems and reactions. She feels sorry for herself because she's neither as pretty as her older sister and mother, nor as smart as her younger brother. Her one claim to fame is gymnastics. When her parents announce that their sixth child is on the way, she's convinced they're crazy. She gets a chance to show her true colors when a brush fire breaks out on the nearby mountain and threatens to burn down their house. The pacing of the story is rapid and even. Readers will be propelled through the book by the amusing family incidents. There is not great depth to the characterizations, but there is a touching relationship between Rosie and her four-year-old twin brother and sister. Despite all of the chaos, : Rosie's love for her family runs deeply and shines brightly. --Alexandra Marris, Rochester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671865056
• ISBN-13: 978-0671865054
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,890,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Get It Back In Print!, August 7, 2010

By 

M. Lee (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Allergic to My Family: Allergic to My Family (Mass Market Paperback)

As a mother who screens everything her 11-year-old daughter reads, it had been a bit of a challenge lately to find a book that had enough substance and yet didn't extend past 600 pages. So I found myself looking to books published pre-HP, and "Allergic to My Family" was a good start to the pile I've set aside. Set in Southern California, the book is chock full of reminders of home; and the huge contrast between the family in the book with ours (we have just the one child), it provides a fun read in the same vein as "Cheaper By the Dozen." Such a shame it's out of print and only available at libraries or second-hand merchants. Said daughter loved it as well! In her own words:

"The book 'Allergic to My Family' by Liza Ketchum Murrow is a great and funny family book.

"When nine-year-old Rosie finds out her parents are having yet another kid, she explodes as it occurs to her that her family is even crazier than she had thought: Silas can't talk and only Katie, his twin, knows what he thinks. Dan always has his nose in a book, Shirley lives with the phone attached to her ear and all Clara can do is cry while everyone ignores her.

"Finally though, after various adventures and mishaps, Rosie becomes a hero because she saves her family and their home in a fire as she finally finds her place in her wacky family.

"This book is fantastic, immensely humorous and short enough to read if you have an hour or so with nothing to do. I give it 5 stars: 1 star for creativity, 1 star for the cover, 2 stars for humor and 1 star for Rosie herself !"

5.0 out of 5 stars A family with six kids is just one big mess..., May 8, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Allergic to My Family: Allergic to My Family (Mass Market Paperback)

Rosie Maxwell is the second oldest of six kids. Nobody pays any attention to her. So she shows them. There was a really bad fire one day on top of a mountain. It was spreading everywhere. But Rosie Maxwell found a way to save everyone. If you want to find out how she saved everyone read this book!!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Allergic to My Family, September 19, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Allergic to My Family: Allergic to My Family (Mass Market Paperback)

Allergic to My Family is about Rosie Maxwell and her family. Rosie Maxwell is the narrator and tells what it was like living in her house for six months. Rosie lives with her family in Copper Canyon, California. A big part of the book was about having a 6th child in her family. The 6th child turned out to be a baby sister, so they named her Clara Maxwell. Clara was born in June after they got out of school. Also her brother Silas talked for the first time after three years! He only talked because his twin sister (Katie) got left at the beach and he was afraid that he would never see her again. Her parents didn't even notice before Silas told them, because they were at the beach on a hot July day. Then in August Katie and Silas had a birthday party for their fourth birthday. They also had a surprise visitor coming, which turned out to be their grandmother. During the time that she was visiting, Rosie and her went to get Katie and Silas birthday presents. It turned out that the birthday presents were a big disaster! At their birthday party Katie and Silas had a neighbor's donkey come and give rides to the four year olds. But while Katie and Silas took their turns, the donkey took off and started to eat a lady's flowers. When the lady came out of her house, she got so made that the donkey stopped eating her flowers and decided to give Silas and Katie the rest of their ride. Boy, that was a disaster! Then near the end of the book there was a fire at their house and their Mom and Dad were not home. So, Rosie had to help her brothers and sisters get out of the house and then made them go to get the bags that had all of their stuff that they needed in case of a fire. But after Rosie assigned all of the jobs she looked up and saw that the roof was on fire. Rosie then crawled up the drainpipe onto the roof, got a hose and sprayed the roof until the fire was extinguished. When Rosie's Mom came home she saw what Rosie was doing and got so proud that she forgot that the house was on fire and paid all of her attention to Rosie. This book was so exciting that I fell off of my seat at the end! I gave the book five stars because it shows problems in the story that could happen to you and gives good ways to solve the problems. This book would be enjoyable for little kids that like to have little kids as characters in the story. But this book is also good for grown ups that like to know what they are doing wrong, like not paying enough attention to their kids. And it also highlights good things like congratulating your son or daughter when they do stuff right. That's why I gave this book five stars.