Customer Reviews

Anastasia on Her Own

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ANASTASIA books were made in the 80's and I wish that I had known they existed,I would have loved them as a kid even more than I do now.It is a fun,interesting ,sometimes hilarious series based on a bright young girl and her loving family,the Krupnicks.This novel focuses on Anastasia as she is left to take care of her little brother by herself,for a while.

Anastasia On Her Own is a wonderful book. It starts out slow, but then it gets really exciting. With the help of her friends, Anastasia survives being 13. I couldn't put it down. You could read it in one sitting. This is one of the series of books about Anastasia by Lois Lowry. All of the Anastasia books are wonderful.

The Anastasia series was one of my favorite book series as a kid - partly because the main character's name was Anastasia, and partially because it's just such a cute series. I couldn't believe when I stumbled across one of the Anastasia books at a thrift store, and of course bought it & read it for the first book in my "YA of the 80's & 90's" book challenge.

The book is cute, full of kid-drama, and reminds me of life when I was that age.

I read this when I was in the third or fourth grade and re-read it a lot. I remember it well.

Now as a housewife, I keep thinking back to the basic premise: that Anastasia thinks her mother is too disorganized in her housekeeping, and would do better if only she got organized, namely, through lists. When her mom leaves and Anastasia is in-charge, she realizes why it's so hard to get organized, viz. Unexpected Events.

Unexpected Events ruin everything.

I remember being very amused by this book and also fascinated by the dinner between Anastasia's dad and an old flame. It's a great book for girls in pre- and early adolescence: funny, complex, well-written, and familiar. Highly recommended.

I would not recommend it for children reading above their grade level (kindergarten to third grade or so) as there are some slightly more complex emotional themes with a boyfriend and old-flame, as well as a character that repeatedly uses the term (as Lowry writes) "bleeping". I did not realize when I first read it that "bleeping" could actually mean something worse, but I imagine most children will be in that situation.

Anastasia's mom has to go out of town, so Anastasia is in charge. She thinks she can handle taking care of the house and her 3 year old brother, but she is sadly mistaken. Her dad is not much help.
This is the most ridiculous and sexist of the Anastasia books. Although they make a big deal of titling the housekeeping schedule "Krupnik Family Non-sexist Housekeeping Schedule" it is pretty obvious that Mrs. Krupnik does all the work around there and that the rest of the family would be (and is) lost without her. The happy little ending is that Mrs. Krupnik buys a microwave and therefore is better able to do all the housework. Bull. Still a pretty funny book, though. It just offended my feminist sensibilities.

I have always loved the Anastasia books. I think that they are quite funny and are very realistic. I think that this book is the best in the series. This book is very funny when dealing with Anastasia's problems and pitfalls. Overall a terrific book.