Harriet the Spy: The Long Secret [Paperback]

Louise Fitzhugh (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064493636
• ISBN-13: 978-0064493635
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,769,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Louise Fitzhugh was born in Memphis, Tennessee on October 5, 1928. She was the only child of attorney Millsaps Fitzhugh and Louise Perkins. After attending an exclusive girls' school, Miss Hutchison's, she attended three different colleges but never obtained a degree, and traveled in Europe, before finally settling down in New York City to pursue a career as a painter. In the late 1950s she and a friend, Sandra Scoppetone, began work on a beatnik parody of Kay Thompson's Eloise, which was published in 1961 as Suzuki Beane. In 1964 she published her first novel, Harriet the Spy. Although it received mixed reviews from adults at the time, today it is widely regarded as a forerunner to the sort of realistic children's fiction that would dominate the late 1960s and 1970s. Two novels about Harriet's friends followed: The Long Secret in 1965 and Sport, published posthumously in 1979.
Contemporary social issues figured prominently in much of Fitzhugh's work for children: Bang Bang You're Dead was a 1969 picture book with a strong anti-war message and Nobody's Family Is Going to Change (1975) explored both women's rights and children's rights. Ironically, it became the basis of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid with the book's minor male characters taking a lead role, thereby completely overshadowing Emma, the female protagonist. Needless to say, this happened after Fitzhugh's untimely death in 1974 at the age of 46. After her death, three picture books were also published: I Am Three, I Am Four, and I Am Five.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One great book, June 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Harriet the Spy: The Long Secret (Paperback)

The Harriet The Spy books are among the best books written for this age group. Although, it is suitable for any age group. When I was a child, I read this book and loved it. I even started to mimic it. These are great books that no one should pass up. Definitely a must read.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hup-good book-hup!, September 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Harriet the Spy: The Long Secret (Paperback)

I loved the book The Long Secret because it was just exellent!Hup! You MUST read this!!!!!!!!!!!!