Customer Reviews

Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

This book has beautiful illustrations, always a plus for me when purchasing a book. However; I did not realize the book is an adaptation of the original; when I found that out, it went right back to the store where I exchanged the book for the original book by Rachel Field. It is sad that Rosemary Wells felt it necessary to depart from the original charming story of Hitty. I do not recommend this book.

"Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years" by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers is a picture book based on the original award winning book by Rachel Fields. It does not contain the full text or even an edited version of the original story. It deviates for political correctness and leaves some parts out completely, but it retains the spirit of the adventures a small wood doll over the span of a century.

The illustrations are the main asset of this book. Jeffers creates a large, rounded, rosey cheeked Hitty that is vastly different than the small, angular Hitty of Dorothy Lathrop's original illustrations. These colorful, friendly illustrations will draw a reader into the text and the story of the adventures of Hitty.

As a adult, I knew people who had enjoyed the Hitty book and had modern versions of the Hitty doll. Yet, the original book looked to be long and boring. I finally read the Rosemary Wells version of Hitty's story, as if they were the Cliff's notes to understanding Hitty. I enjoyed Hitty so much, that I did read the original version after I read this version. I would highly recommend the original text written by Rachel Fields and illustrated by Dorothy Lathrop. It is the real story of the REAL Hitty, who does indeed exist at the Stockbridge Library in Massachusetts. However, if the reader is young, or like I, uncommitted to the story, this version is a doorway to the classic version. No, it is not the original, but it is introduction to viewing one small doll as an adventuring heroine of a book.

It was bad enough when they made Nancy Drew stupid, why was it necessary to dumb down Hitty also?! I was stunned to discover this new version of one of my favorite childhood books and more stunned to discover it had been dumbed down considerably. Avoid this one and buy the original instead.

If the author really understood the character of Hitty, a real doll for whom Rachael Field wrote imaginary adventures, perhaps she would have written her book with more respect for the original story. The changes she made: (adding an elephant (?) to Phoebe and Hitty's coral beads, making the antique shop where the story ended into a pawn shop, etc. did not make the story easier to understand or more relevant. Any child who can read the adaptation could read the original. The illustrator certainly had never seen the real Hitty, as her doll bent in ways the real Hitty could not. It boils down, in my opinion, to frivolous changes to a story and pictures that need no changes. I would not have objected to a real picture book, with few words, if pictures and words had been faithful to the original and made the book appealing to pre-reading children.

Here in Australia we are exposed to very few American books for children. So today I was delighted to discover Hitty for the first time. I have a three and a half year old daughter whose hunger for books is never ending and who sits each day engrossed for over an hour whilst I read to her - Rachel Field's Hitty is just perfect combining a little girl's love of dolls and their secret lives, real life adventurous little girls, travels around the world and gorgeous illustrations. We had to sit in the cafe outside the bookshop and read six chapters before we could go home! As soon as my child could grab her dad this evening she sat him down and told him the story according to her using the pictures as her reference.

I can understand the reluctance and disapproval for this book of people who have known Hitty for years - I am always so disappointed to see things I've always loved being changed (recently I heard of an attempt to take religion out of the Narnia books - I mean really!). But in defence of Rosemary Wells - this is a delightful story in its own right and I don't think it's grace should be diminished because of its history. As for the illustrations - to a 3 and a half year old the illustrations of this lovely book captivate and tantalise her imagination in a way that black and white drawings never would. I will certainly endeavour to find a copy of the original of Hitty for when my little girl is a bit older and look forward to reading it myself. But for now I'm so pleased that Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers have introduced our family to Hitty - we feel enriched by this book!

This children's book should bring even more new fans to Hitty. It is beautifully illustrated and easy reading. I just wish the illustrator had done a bit more research about how Hitty is put together. She show the ends of the pegs inserted through the shoulder and hips, but in the picture of the doll under construction, she has the pegs coming out of the ends of the limbs. A silly mistake!

I can't imagine a better way to enjoy a sunny summer day than with a book that begins by carrying the doll heroine, and you,the reader, off to sea in a sailing ship to visit exotic locations both far and near. (Notice the world map at the end of the book to help trace Hitty's journeys.) Hitty is a wonderful doll heroine. Her human companions can be naughty or nice, but Hitty makes her own eventful way through decades. Be ready to enjoy this book -- whether a seasoned reader or young chlld who delights in dressing and decorating their well-loved dolls -- you will find HItty will capture your heart. And if you do love dolls, doll houses, and creating clothes and household items for your dolls from scraps of fabric, bits of shiny paper, beads and buttons, your imagination will also be captured by reading any of the several books by Rumer Godden. I especially recommend "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower," "The Kitchen Madonna," and "Candy Floss." If they have not recently been reprinted you may be able to find them at your local library.