Customer Reviews

The Little Brute Family

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just like many others who've reviewed this book, I had it as a child and have been searching to find another copy for my children. This is the sweetest, purest kind of story telling that transcends generations and should never go out of print (as it has)! My children appreciate this lovely tale just as much as I did. If you are fortunate enough to find a copy, you will surely appreciate these two wonderful authors.

How unfortunate that this book is out of print! My children loved this book. My husband and I loved this book and loved reading it aloud to our children. Now I want a copy for my grandchildren! In a delightful and humorous, uniquely Russell Hoban fashion, this book shows how kindness and love transform human relationships. The illustrations by Lillian Hoban are much loved by children and adults alike.

This is a simple story in which the grumpy Brute familychanges from being cross and mean to each other to being friendly and doing things together. This transformation is effected without any preachiness - being nice and more sociable is simply more fun. The illustrations are wonderful. The Brutes don't look very brutish, with their furriness and soft colors, just bad tempered and adorably ugly. Mother Brute's messy beehive hairdo is about as scary-looking as it gets. If the badgers from A Bargain for Frances (same illustrator) had some distant feral relatives, they might look like the Brutes. It's a great book that I loved as a child, and that adults like also. The Stone Doll of Sister Brute is as good (better, actually), and Harvey's Hideout (by the same team) has a similar theme, but features muskrats. These books are also challenging to find. The Hobans' much reprinted Frances books are sweet, but the Brute family books are also wonderful creations, less mild and a lot funnier. They definitely deserve to be reprinted as well.

I thought I was the only one who knew about this joy of a book. It's been one of my all time favorites since I was a little girl and I often pull it out to read when I'm feeling down. It's funny and precious and gives me hope.

Our old tattered copy of The Little Brute Family has always been a favorite of my children and grandchildren. When I saw that is was going to bee published again, I preordered five copies. I have been looking for more copies of this book for years. It is our all time favorite, a simple story with a beautiful message.

This is a lovely story with a beautiful message. My son really likes listening to it over and over again.

Like many others have mentioned, this book is all that is good about a kid book. My sister had it as a child (c1972!) and we both loved it! This book reminds us that it takes just a little smile to change the world around you! Love is infectious. What can be wrong with that?

The Hobans' story and illustrations are, as always, perfect.

This book is an example of an "oldie but goodie". As a teacher I have shared this book often with children from three to ten. It is a wonderful illustration of the power of kindness to change a negative family into one that is postive and happy. You might call it a basic good versus evil story.

All 23 reviews are Five Stars. Is that a testament to what a powerful story this is or WHAT?

We found this little wandering good feeling in a library in 1967. The whole family loved it, from the adults all the way down to 4 year old me. The Brute Family's daily feeding of Stick and Stone Stew and Sand and Gravel Porridge became part of our family's vernacular. It still makes me giggle to say the phrases. I was absolutely delighted to find the book again - time had erased the book title and author, but I decided to google "sand and gravel" and voila! I caught that lost happy feeling and ordered my books on line! Enjoy!!!