Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Susan Jeffers (Illustrator) "THE FIRST WORDS I ever heard were Phoebe Preble's..." (more)
Key Phrases: Captain Preble, Aunt Edna, Bill Buckle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Following the "life" of a wooden doll may seem like a strangely passive way of learning American history, but it turns out to be a remarkably gripping approach. In the course of her first hundred years, the peddler-carved doll Hitty travels from Boston to India, is abandoned for years in an attic, is shipwrecked in the South Seas, meets President Abe Lincoln, and at one point lives with a snake charmer. Seen through her hand-painted eyes, the 19th-century world is a miraculous and usually wonderful place, with some mysteries never to be fathomed. Rachel Fields wrote this Newbery Medal-winner in 1929; 70 years later Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers did what to some is the unthinkable: they adapted the classic. In their defense, they did a gorgeous job and did in fact give Hitty a much-needed new lease on life. As Wells says in her note to the reader, "no one I spoke to had actually read Hitty in at least thirty years, and that seemed a real shame."

Of course, as in any adaptation, something of the original is lost. Wells even makes a few significant changes to the story. But purists take note: Wells has the utmost respect for the importance of Hitty, and Susan Jeffers's richly imagined illustrations are definitely worthy of this classic. Don't let another hundred years slip by without reading this gem! (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Field's 1930 Newbery Medal-winning classic about a doll with a taste for adventure gets resized, relocated and redecorated in this handsome storybook adaptation. As in Field's version, this Hitty begins her memoirs in 1829 Maine as an old peddler carves her out of a piece of mountain ash from Kilkenny, Ireland. Mountain-ash wood, Hitty confides, is said to bring luck and to have "power against mischief"; indeed, as Hitty travels from owner to owner, she emerges from some precarious spots (a shipwreck in the South Seas, a gutter in Bombay). Wells adjusts the prose for '90s sensibilities (e.g., there are no longer any "heathens" or "savages," and whaling is said to "seem cruel and heartless, [but] at the time it was necessary. She parts company with Field altogether in creating different adventures for Hitty: her Hitty goes South during the Civil War, crosses paths with a freed slave and, many episodes later, ends up not in a shop, awaiting new destinations (as in the original), but as the prize possession of that former slave's granddaughter. Jeffers (who with Wells reprised Lassie Come Home) will surely captivate readers of all ages with her lustrous color art. Loosely reminiscent of early-20th-century illustrators like Jessie Willcox Smith, Jeffers's paintings have an appropriately nostalgic feel. The large trim size, elegant design and a layout that offers illustrations on every page add to a volume that is as charming as its subject. Ages 6-12. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689817169
• ISBN-13: 978-0689817168
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 10.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #634,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Do classics have to be PC?, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This version of the classic children's book covers roughly the same ground as the original, but the text has been revised and shortened (in spite of the "new adventures"), and lavish color pictures replace the original black-and-white illustrations. The damage to the text's interest is quite substantial. Although the original Hitty definitely reflected an upper middle class WASP world view, she was a genial doll inclined to think well of those who treated her well, and there is no need to censor her or to strip her and her adventures of their character. The original Hitty is still in print and at a lower price, and I recommend it to all. The only reason to consider this alternative is the illustrations which, although well-done, do not have the charm of Dorothy Lathrop's original drawings.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely gorgeous!, November 24, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This fascinating story, written from a doll's perspective, is engaging and beautifully written. But I was overwhelmed by the richness, the intricacy and sensitivity of the magnificent illustrations by Susan Jeffers. I have always admired her beautifully crafted work in the past but she has quite outdone herself in these extraordinary illustrations. I went through the book three times before putting it down, just to go back and concentrate on each picture... and I found new subtlety, new depth, new beauty each time. This book is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Take time with your daughter/granddaughter/whoever is reading this book - to pore over each painting and see how much attention to detail, how much research, how much artistry - and love - has gone into every page.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fiasco, July 3, 2001

By A Customer

What butchery of the original story! I have loved "Hitty: Her First Hundred Years" for 35 years, since I first discovered the book. This is terrible. This book robs today's kids of a very lovely story. If they have the misfortune to read this new book without reference to the original, they'll have had something priceless stolen from them.

As for updating the text--what, are we going to update all the old classics now?

If these two writers had written this story and used another doll, one that they invented on their own, it may have been an entertaining book. But they completely destroyed the calm, placid, friendly tone of the original Hitty.

What a shame! I recommend NEVER reading this book!