Customer Reviews

Fortunately (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ned has been invited to a surprise party in Florida. Unfortunately, Ned lives in New York. So it begins...as Ned travels in an airplane only to have the plane explode as he falls from the sky in a parachute that has a hole in it. Ned is fine. This book is illustrated beautfully and simply. The word "Fortunately" tells the tale of how Ned extricates himself from each unfortunate event. The word "unfortunately" begins the unfortunate event. The fortunate pages are in color and the unfortunate pages in black and white. Of course Ned ultimately ends up at the party. He is never hurt although he comes close. After receiving this book, I read it before sitting down with my 4 year old son. The "unfortunate" pages provoked a LOT of discussion about what was happening to Ned and would he be hurt. This type of "cliffhanger" is entirely new to my 4 year old who reads only books, so far, where nobody is hurt or injured. Fortunately, Ned is "saved" by turning the page and all ends well. I think this book scares my son and I have put it away for now. This book is probably better for children older than 3 or 4.

This is one of my twenty favorite children's books, up with Good Night Moon. The story is compelling (every other page is a cliffhanger) and the artwork is excellent and perfectly matches the alternating moods of the story.

I had never heard of the author (Remy Charlip) before. Now, I want to read everything else by them.

This book is a storytime and *bedtime* favorite for the 3-year olds I know. Must give them interesting dreams!

--Pat

This is the original title, as published in '64. Apparently it was changed in '69 to
"What Good Luck..." because the publisher thought the word "fortunately" was too abstract for kids! Thank goodness they changed it back. Anyway, wonderful book - my four year old won't let me go a night without reading it, just as I did with my dad.

I used to go through this book over and over as a kid. I love the alternately plot (fortunately/unfortunately) and the drawings fascinated. I love when he digs through the bottom of the dancefloor!

I bought this book for my son's fourth birthday. We sat down to read it at bedtime, and he was completely riveted. When we finished, he said "read it again, Mommy." We went through this four more times, then I had to promise we'd read it again the next day in order to get him to go to sleep.

The story is gripping, and the artwork is amazing. Switching between color and black/white for the fortunately/unfortunately pages is a stroke of genius. My son has flipped through these pages on his own, staring at the pictures and telling himself the story. Wonderful book.

At 47 years of age I wondered if I'd find this book that I was so fond of when I was in 1st grade. Now, with a first grader of my own, I was delighted to find this wonderful book still in print. Our daughter has enjoyed it as much as I did when I was her age. It's a great story with lot's of laughs. If you have a K-grader or 1st grader you will not be dissapointed with the laughs and giggles this book brings.

If you are a teacher and teach cause and effect, this book is great. when you are finished, you can have the kids write a story as a class based on their own fortuantely events. It's great!

This has been my favorite book since I was 3 or 4. Before I learned to read, I had someone read it to me over and over again (the Japanese version with excellent translations!). After I learned to read, I read it to myself again and again, day after day. To me, this book is a lot more exciting and entertaining than most Hollywood movies. As a child, I got the very basic idea of life from this book: THINGS JUST HAPPEN in life, good or bad, but you can keep going by quickly accepting the reality and by being natural, spontaneous, responsive, etc. The more I live, the more I like this book. To me, it is very philosophical. And it's funny, too!

I bought this book for my baby because it was one of my husband's favorites growing up. It's really a cute story with great illustrations. A friend with two kids saw it at our house, loved it, and bought it to read to her kids' preschool class. The group she reads to is usually a bunch of girls paying attention and boys wandering around the room, but she said this time the boys were entranced - they laughed at every page and loved the book. HIGHLY recommended!

Fortunately was the first book I ever ordered from a school book club, in first grade, 1964.

When the book finally came, I read it over and over and over and over. The pictures, the story, and the words all fit together into a little piece of genius.

My kids love it too, but it's hard to find a copy these days.

Fortunately, you can get it from Amazon.com!