Customer Reviews

Mother Carey's Chickens

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

 

 

I had to hunt this one down. I love the movie "Summer Magic" which was based on the book. I have rarely read a book so fast. It was so refreshing to read of another, less uptight era where neighbors cared about each other and happily gave of their time and means to help a family they had never met. The Carey's have a magical quality that is all their own, bringing joy to those around them. Mrs. Carey refers to her children as her chickens, thus the title. Mrs. Carey is the perfect mother, mixing love with her admonishing. And Nancy's high spirits are contagious. Compared to today's fiction, this may seem like a goody-goody-dreamworld-story, but it was a wonderful story. It made me wonder if such a world may really exist someday. It was so positive and edifying. I wish that Kate Douglas Wiggins had written a whole series about the Carey family.

Kate Douglas Wiggin penned a wonderful piece of literature with an uncanny gift for providing serenity. It is an old-fashioned story about an old fashioned family. The Carey family faces seemingly insurmountable problems but persevere with dignity and grace. The characters are real, not goody, goody, but they possess an innate goodness that comes with careful parenting and being bred in a time of high moral standards. Perhaps it seems a bit whimsical to dream of such bygone ideals, but this book gives one hope of discovering them again.

I was lucky enough to get this book from my library, but I did notice it had to be pulled out of storage in order to be made available for me to check out. In other words, I probably would not have found it by browsing the library shelves. This book was written in the turn of the last century when life was altogether different from today. Unless you understand the time period and enjoy books that were written then, you will not get very far in this book. It is not an easy read for a child living in a world of computers, convience, and free education. I, however, enjoyed it, because I love learning about the time period, and because it is about the gentle workings of a mother of five in a time before the phrase "stay-at-home mom" was invented. The mother in the story is not perfect, but she tries to be, and that makes all the difference in the lives of her children. It was an encouraging, refreshing book for me that I would not recommend for my children until they are high school and unless they need or want to learn about the daily life in the early 1900's.

What a great book. This book has been on my ebay watch list for several years and the price remained high. Finally was able to download it for free and i just couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read other book by this author!!!

Could not get thru the first chapter of this book. Usually I at least try to get 3 or 4 chapters in but with this one, no way. Not easy to read.