Customer Reviews

Here Today (Booklist Editor's Choice. Books for Youth (Awards))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ellie tells how her family and life fall apart in the year 1963. Ellie is a Spectacular. She lives in the town of Spectacle where her mother, Doris Day Dingman, yearns to be the constant center of attention --- a Spectacular spectacle. Doris wins the Bosetti Beauty award, which gives her five free shopping minutes at the Bosetti Grocery Store, by stuffing the box with twenty-five forms. She then revels in the attention of the audience, and continues wearing the tiara long after the contest is over.

Ellie's family lives on Witch Tree Lane, along with the other fascinating misfits in town. Ellie has many friends on the street, some of whom function as substitute mothers during Doris's many classes in dance, acting, and singing. Doris believes in making things happen. She has changed her name to that of the movie star, Doris Day. She talks the local A&P market into letting her be the Lehman's Spam Spread girl.

Doris is gone five hours the afternoon she heads off to talk the local clothing store into a fashion show (starring herself, of course). In response to her absence, Mr. Dingman is too quiet, Ellie's brother Albert is furious, and her sister Marie cries. When Doris comes home late --- and drunk --- she and her husband argue loudly.

As Ellie and her best friend Holly start sixth grade, they're impressed with their young cute male teacher and with the new girl, Tammy White, who is not in awe of the popular girls --- the ones who delight in torturing Ellie and Holly. Doris appears in Ellie's classroom dressed in a tight red dress and very high heels, with her hair in a bouffant tower. Ellie is humiliated, but Tammy is intrigued.

As time goes on, Ellie can't sleep at night. She knows something terrible is going to happen. What will it be, and when will it come? In the meantime bad things are happening to Ellie and Holly at school, and to the residents of Witch Tree Lane. The world is shocked and saddened by President Kennedy's assassination, but self-involved Doris is angry because the Harvest Parade is called off and she won't get to be the Harvest Queen. Finally, inevitably, the something that Ellie has been dreading comes to be. It's so huge and devastating that it changes her world forever. Will she survive?

Ellie's story is heartbreaking and real. At various times while reading HERE TODAY, I felt sad, angry, and frightened. I'll remember Ellie for finding strength when life battered her, and for leaving me with an uplifting surge of hope. Highly recommended.
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Broadway actress, Tony Award Winner, accomplished voice performer, Judy Kaye's accomplishment are many. Add to that list her thoughtful reading of this story of an 11-year-old girl trying her best to keep her life together in the turbulent sixties.

While many moms baked cookies, shepherded school field trips, Eleanor Roosevelt Dingman's mother most definitely did not. That was really low down on the agenda for this mom who has taken the name of Doris Day Dingman and longs to be a star. This dream is awfully hard on Ellie as she realizes that Mom (who insists she be called Doris not mom) is actually rather showy, in fact, cheap. The kids at school taunt Ellie, and there are times when she thinks they're right. Solace is found with Holly, her best friend and neighbor.

Since Doris is most often away from home pursuing her hopes of fame and fortune and Dad works very long hours, much is left for Ellie to look after. Too much for a girl her age. Eventually, Doris really makes a break and runs away to New York City. Is she discovered by a talent scout? No, she's discovered behind the counter of a rather dingy department store.

Throughout the upheaval in her family Ellie learns one of life's important lessons. Ms. Martin has again painted a poignant picture of growing up.

- Gail Cooke

Here Today is a perfect example of a classic Ann M. Martin book. Ellie's thoughts, struggles, and emotions are clearly portrayed and explained through Ms. Martin's clear, well explained words, analogies, and explanations. Many children can relate to the sadness, anger, fury, lonelinesss, confusion, and fear that Ellie experiences throughout the book. Being the mother role to her young brother and sister is hard on Ellie, as is being picked on mercilessly at school, and her mother packing up and moving away for a "better life" away from her family. This book is very clear and holds attention, and is a very good choice.

Ann M. Martin graduated from Smiths College with two degrees: one for psychology, and one for children's education. She worked in an elementary school first, where she helped children with problems. This helped her in writing Here Today, for she understood how people with difficulties felt, and the main character in this book had many problems. Ellie's mom leave her and her family to become a star in New York and her classmates bully her. Ellie has to take care of the rest of her family while facing the teasing and bullying from her classmates. I think that this book is very interesting because the main character's reaction to her problems are quite different from the reactions of normal people. For example, if my mom was irresponsible and selfish like Ellie's mom, then I would've had a big argument with her about how she's not responible enough. However, Ellie reacts to her mom's irresponsibility by taking up her mom's responsibilities and becoming a mini mom. Reading a book about someone who has different reactions from the reader helps make the book less predictable, and more interesting.The book is very good because all the things that happen make sense, and the story is very real. For example, Ellie's mom goes to New York because she wants to become famous there, which makes sense, and things like this can happen in real life too, which really helps us imagine how Ellie must feel. Some parts of the story are boring. For example, the part where Ellie and her friends are eating popsicles could be omitted, because it isn't very important, and reading about people eating popsicles is boring too. I recommend this book to people at the age of eight and above who want to read an emotional reality fiction.

The year 1963 was one of many trials and tribulations for eleven-year-old Eleanor Roosevelt Dingman, better known as Ellie. After her fame-seeking egocentric mother deserts the family to chase her acting dreams in New York City, Ellie is left to take on the maternal role for her younger brother and sister. At the same time, Ellie must endure the pangs of being seen as an "outsider" at school and the terrorizing acts of bigotry towards the "rejects" who live on Witch Tree Lane. In the end, Ellie must come to terms with the one thing she has been dreading. Will Ellie overcome this devastating blow in her life? Most importantly, what will come of this troubled young girl, who lives on Witch Tree Lane, in the small town of Spectacle?

Once again, Ann M. Martin captures her readers through sharing the heartrending and genuine story of Miss Eleanor Roosevelt Dingman. While reading this beautifully written novel, I found myself riding along-side Ellie on the "emotional roller-coaster" she calls life. Ellie seized my heart and inspired my soul. As a result, I highly recommend HERE TODAY.

I thought this book was absolutely beautiful. I am a huge fan of realistic plotlines that are not commonly used. This book, in my opinion, would be great for 9-15 year olds (mostly girls) to read instead of goofy romancy novels or never-ending series about girls who never seem to get older.
Anyway, this book tells the story of a young girl who is struggling with a mother who obviously has no desire to raise her children. It's more than an 11 year old girl taking care of her siblings and watching her mother go. It's about the bonds a mother has with her children. The hardest part of this book is that Doris truly does love her children, and that is the biggest conflict in the book. While it would be a great read for young girls I also found it to be very touching as a college student. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read historical and realistic fiction.
The story is beautiful and I know this is a book that I will read again and hopefully will be able to use when I teach.

Here Today is a good book to read and learn how to full fill your dreams. This book is about a lady who is the most beautiful girl in her little town called spectical, and she knows it. She is married and has three kids. She named her kids after famous people and changed her name to a famous name, but their last name is Dingman. Well Doris (the lady) has always wanted to be famous so she moves to New York and leaves her family. When her oldest daughter goes to New York and finds out the truth about her not being famous she gets mad at her mom. Mr. Dingman came to bring his daughter home. A few months later Doris comes to spectical to get the rest of her things so she can move to Holly Wood to full fill her dreams, since New York wasnt working. And she divorces Mr. dingman and leaves.
I thought that the book was good. The cover made it look boring to me but I had to read it and it wasn't as bad as it looked. I guess that proves not to judge a book by it's cover!

Ellie Dingman is twelve years old and is starting sixth grade. She has a best named Holly Major. Ellie has a dog named Kiss and two younger siblings: Albert who is about ten years old and Marie who turns eight in the book. Ellie's mom, Doris, wins the Bosetti Beauty at Mr. Bosetti's store. After that President Kennedy is assassinated. Then Doris thinks she can leave her family to try out for auditions. Then when she leaves her family to go to New York City, everything falls apart and Ellie has problems of her own plus she has to take care of her family. Then she runs off to NYC to see Doris without letting her dad know. Her dad comes to get her and she goes home. Doris comes home after that and gets ready to go to Hollywood. Then when Ellie asks Doris why she never calls her mom Doris almost says,"I suppose because I never felt like a mom", but she doesn't say mom. When she cuts herself short she says,"'Mom' is so old fashioned." I think Here Today is a fabulous book because it can happen in real life. It also has a happy, but sad ending.

Here Today is about a girls mother who wants to be a model/actress so she leaves her family of 4 to go to New York City Doris' daughter Ellie comes to visit her and discovers that Doris does infact not work on broadway but at a local market as a perfume clerk. Ellie flees home to her father and 2 younger siblings. Later that month Doris comes home but forgets her key to the house and Ellie comes home from school and finds her, Doris tells Ellie she is leaving for good to Hollywood because "The big apple" was'nt working for her and Ellie gets upset and calls her father who was at work and Doris leaves but sees how much the house has changed since she has been gone the house is so much cleaner and she discovers a card on the frige its a mothers day card from her youngest daughter but its not to Doris its for Ellie and it breakes Doris' heart. well its a good book but slightly boring.

Picture if you were growing up in New York in 1963 and 1964 with a curious little sister, a playful little brother and two very different parents. Picture if you were in the sixth grade and were known to be teased by on the bus. Picture if you were living in a neighborhood were 'bad things' are happening.

This is only a few things that eleven year old Eleanor (Ellie) Roosevelt Dingman had to cope with in the years of 1963 and 1964. Those must of been bad years for her, especially if a mother whom is more like a movie star than a mother, is controlling her.

My daughter read this book twice and I remember in 2004, I picked it up and read it in almost three days, despite the fact that I was thirty three at the time. Here Today is mainly about Ellie having to deal with emotional things that form around her. Sad, happy, charming, fast-paced, Here Today is a bundle of emotions.

Right after finishing the book, my daughter (9 at the time) decided to call her grandmother to ask what was life like in the 60's, despite that there is enjoyable 'After Words' in the back, including About The Author, Q and A with Ann M. Martin, Whats In A Year? Pop Culture of 1963, A Glimpse Of the Kennnedy Assassination from Junior and Senior Scholastic magazines, and lastly (whew!) Never Forgotten, a selection of authors remembering Kennedy's assassnation.

What I didn't (yes, gasp, didn't) like about this is that Doris abandons her family, not noticing how depressed the family gets. I also (my daughter agreed) that we thought that the scene were the man is at Doris's apartment and Ellie running away. We thought that was a bit scary and could have been left out.