Customer Reviews

Baby Island

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At the age of nine, I discovered this delightful book on my mother's book shelf. I was immediately captured, from the very first sentence. "Baby Island" is the story of Jean and Mary, two young sisters who love caring for babies. Marooned on an island while enroute to join their father in Australia, the girls are quite suddenly permanently baby-sitting four babies all on their own, with all the perils and misadventures that can occur to anyone in such a situation. How they manage to survive is both fun and charming in this whimsical and engaging story. As a little girl, I found the story encouraging and inspiring, even though I knew it was not a real situation. The girls "keep your chin up" attitude, and genuine capability, is an excellent lesson for all. This is a book that not only children, but their parents as well can enjoy.

I am delighted to see that this well-remembered childhood favourite is in print. I am of a generation where adolescent girls were very likely to be caring for babies, and "little mother" Mary and resourceful Jean are delightful characters.

This is by no means an "adventure" story, where danger lurks and survival requires hardihood - and that is why it is such relaxing entertainment. It is a bit of a spoof, obviously, in that solutions to every problem appear by magic; Jean, sad at losing her one silk dress, is comforted by Mary's picturing how sweet a baby whale would look in it; Mr Peterkin is all but a storybook character; the girls are never troubled by the memory of a shipwreck in which many may have died (the calm Mary merely says to the crew, "Will you please save us?")

It is an imaginative and fun book, half the fantasy of a magical world where whatever one needs appears on the spot, the other a warm look at responsibility and ingenuity.

I read this book in 1977 and it is still one of my all-time favorite books. I even talked all of my friends in my second-grade class into reading it, and now I am going to buy myself a copy and a copy for the child of a friend. Mary and Jean are excellent role-models for girls (and boys)-brave, intelligent, resourceful, compassionate. A must-have for a complete childhood collection.

I found this book at a yard sale when I was about 12 years old. I read and reread this book till the cover fell off. I believe my mother eventually threw it away, and I've always missed it. I was so glad I decided to try to find it on Amazon.com. I am going to purchase it immediately. A definate book for all young girls of the babysitting age!

"Reality survival" T.V. programs seem pretty tame after reading this story. ANYONE who gets marooned on a desert island could figure out how to survive...for at least a few days. Now try it with four infants. THAT would send most of us over the edge, hmmm?
Mary and Jean are only little girls themselves, yet they are faced with the responsibilities of feeding and caring for themselves and four babies. And they do a right fine job of it!
I first read this book 40 years ago, when I was about the same age as Mary and Jean. I've saved that book all of these years and re-read it from time to time. It's a delightful story that every little girl should get a chance to read! (Mary and Jean certainly could have taught the folks on Gilligan's Island a thing or two!)

I actually got chills when I saw that this book is still available. Read it more than 20 years ago and I loved it. Being an only child, the baby caretaking aspect really moved me. I am so happy to relive its' wonder and have the ability to share it with my children.

I did a book report on this book as a kid and really enjoyed the story. This will delight young babysitters and little girls with younger siblings! I have a sis five years younger and could relate to the hardships of these two girls who get stranded on an island with four babies. This book has a good balance of good and bad events and a great ending. The characters seem very realistic but parts of the plot are a little far-fetched and seem fictional. Either way, it's a very fun story with nothing too gross or scary. It also has a fair amount of cute, clean humor. I would say this is a good story for younger readers and those who like a lighthearted story.

My fourth grade teacher read this book to us a chapter at a time and we were all so eager for the next day's reading. One of the very best childhood books ever. Many reviewers are commenting that it is a great girls book, but I and the other boys in class loved it too. I'm 45 now and when I chanced on a copy of Baby Island in a used book store I snatched it up. After all those years it was still a great read.

This fun book comes from Carol Ryrie Brink, the author who brought us Caddie Woodlawn, and while shorter and not quite up to the standards set by that great book, is one that kids are sure to enjoy.
Written in 1937 it tells the tale of two girls, 12 year old Mary and her younger sister Jean, who rescue four babies and end up floating alone with them in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean when the steamliner they are sailing on begins to sink. The quick thinking and good sense of the girls pulls them through when they run aground on a small deserted tropical island. This book was written in a "kinder, gentler" time than our own and thank goodness because the children do not experience anything traumatic or terribly frightening. They mostly exhibit plucky courage and try to do things properly with their little charges, one infant and three active toddlers. There is plenty of humor and adventure in the book, but not much realism. They easily find clean water, food and shelter, but this isn't a reality show it's a children's fantasy. The childcare methods have changed somewhat over the years and that makes the story seem rather quaint, but I found that all the more endearing. The girls insist upon having a church service every Sunday even though that only consists of singing hymns and reciting the 23rd Psalm, the only Bible passage they know by heart. Again, this is quaint but interesting and sweet. I think most modern day children will love the story and enjoy imagining what they would do under similar circumstances. This is not much like other "deserted island" stories such as Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe or even Island of the Blue Dolphins in terms of action, but it is similar to those in its ability to transport and to kindle the imagination. Check it out.

This story is very neat in that it was written in a time when it was more normal for girls to have an interest in babies. If they didn't have younger siblings of their own, their friends probably did or the neighbors did. It's less common in our society today with smaller families and a starker separation of children by age. This is the story of two sisters, ages 12 and 10, who manage through a series of circumstances to be shipwrecked on an island with four "babies," 1 1/2 year old twins, a 1-year-old, and a 4-month-old. The girls, especially the older one, take this quite in stride, and our quite determined in establishing themselves on what they call Baby Island.

There are some good character lessons. There is very little of the Robinson Crusoe or Swiss Family Robinson in this book. It only briefly deals with the practical issues of managing life on the island, so you won't get much in the line of ingenuous solutions to problems of food, shelter, etc. The book is also rather farcical in tone. You have the older more sensible 12-year-old thinking that the mother of 3 of the young children would be enjoying a bit of a vacation when she has no idea what might have become of her children. These sorts of insights are relatively common and seem strange for a child as mature and capable as the eldest girl.

Halfway through th ebook, the plot also has an exceedingly convenient development that leads to a lot more nonsensical interactions and takes the reader away from any further consideration of the practical characteristics of life on the island. Actually the tone might be similar to Mary Poppins, where rather silly things are sometimes dealt with very matter-of-factly as it they were rather ordinary. But, it also takes the focus away from Mary and Jean and the babies to this other thing.

This is hardly a classic or must-read book. But, for any baby-loving children, it might be worth giving a try. It starts out as an enjoyable read for this category. My two older girls, ages 7 and 5 definitely enjoyed having it read to them. Unfortunately, they didn't enjoy the second half nearly as well as the focus on the babies was almost non-existent and went off to Mary and Jean and the new development. Still, give it a try for any baby-lovers.