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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780061131622
ISBN number: 0061131628
Label: HarperCollins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: August 01, 2006
Publishing house: HarperCollins
Age index: Ages 9-12
Release Date: August 15, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 152522
Studio: HarperCollins
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Product Description:
Mandy, a ten-year-old orphan, dreams of a place to call her own. Escaping over the orphanage wall to explore the outside world, Mandy discovers a tiny deserted cottage in the woods. All through the spring, summer, and fall, Mandy works to make it truly hers. Sometimes she 'borrows' things she needs from the orphanage. Sometimes, to guard her secret, she even lies. Then, one stormy night at the cottage, Mandy gets sick, and no one knows how to find her—except a special friend she didn't know she had.
This new edition of a classic novel features beautiful black-and-white illustrations that capture the magic of finding a home.
Amazon.com Review:
For an orphan child whose life is filled with comfortable, predictable sameness, with no particular hardships, life is, well, all right. Really, what does Mandy have to worry about? So it comes as a surprise even to Mandy when a small restlessness begins to grow in her. This lonely ache sets her to wandering farther afield, and leads her to a startling and wonderful discovery over the orphanage wall--a very old, very small, seemingly abandoned cottage. Embarking on a clandestine domestic fantasy involving gardening tools and soap flakes, Mandy finds herself being less than honest about where and how she's spending her days. Holding her secret closer and closer to her heart, this imaginative dreamer inadvertently endangers her reputation--and her life.
For every child who has fallen in love with The Secret Garden or A Little Princess, Julie Andrews Edwards's 1971 novel will be a heartwarming discovery. Any sometimes-lonely child with a giant imagination will recognize Mandy's dreams and rejoice in her ultimate fairy-tale happy ending. Judith Gwyn Brown's Edward Gorey-esque pen and ink drawings (with none of Gorey's sinister air) are quietly memorable. Fans of Julie Andrews Edwards--Sound of Music star of stage and screen--will be thrilled to see her latest children's book, Little Bo: The Story of Bonnie Boadicea, or to an earlier favorite, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
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Rated by buyers -
I very first read this book when I was about 12 -- it was a birthday gift. I don't have many books from my childhood (most are still at Mom's) but I have Mandy.
The book is written by Julie Andrews (the actress -- Sound of Music) and it is lovely and elegant. The writing is smart but not inaccessible, and the plot is touching.
An orphan girl longs for something... something she can not pinpoint. She is the darling of the orphanage, because she has been there a long time. She has the trust of the matron and the cook and the gardener, and she has a lot of freedom (more than many modern girls) but she is lonely and longing. Of course, she wants a family, and barring that, she wants some purpose, some project.
She finds a little clearing, and in the clearing is a beautiful house, all gone to seed. She wonders whether she can fix it up and make it her own. It is off the grounds of the orphanage, so she has to sneak to get away.
She finds great joy in doing the work of bringing the garden back to life, and cleaning out the little house, and getting acquainted with some of the woods and the creatures. But the downside is, she becomes more and more deceitful. She hides her whereabouts, then begins taking cleaning supplies and gardening equipment, and finally tells lies to protect her secret.
There is a happy ending -- I still recall it as a beautiful ending. And I think it is a moral story. It is clear that the lying and sneaking change her personality for the worse, but it is not the end of her, and she reconciles with the people she hurt.
Excellent book.
Rated by buyers -
I read this as a young girl - too many years ago to admit but around the time when it came out - and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! It's one of the very first books I can remember being torn between wanting to rush to the ending and not wanting to finish. As an adult I still remember the story very fondly and think about it from time to time. This year when my young neighbor (age 10) was looking for new books to read, I bought her this one. To my surprise she loved it every bit as much as I did! It's timeless!
Rated by buyers -
I think this book was read to me in school many many years ago. I remembered it as an adult and purchased it for sentimental reasons. I think it reminded me of The Secret Garden in a way. The seashell cottage was the perfect hideaway that every little girl could dream of making her own. I loved the story of Mandy and found myself wistfully wishing that I had a place like that as a child. What a wonderful story that Julie Andrews has created. I will cherish it always and keep it to pass down to the young girls in my family.
Rated by buyers -
I read and reread this book about 5 or so times as a child. I simply loved the adventure of it all about the protagonist discovering a home away from home that she could call her very own. This is a fascinating tale for children who love to live in their adventurous daydreams and who love secret hiding places of their own where they can just "be". Although this is a book I would reccomend to children, I wouldn't reccomend it to adults as the plot and drama is very minimal. Adults would be bored of this whereas most children, especially little girls, would be fascinated by the simplicity and beauty described within its pages.
Mandy is obviously the protagonist of this story. She is an orphaned child living in an orphanage with other children of the state. She has a friend that she bonds with over time and gets along farily well with eveyone else, as well as the staff, until the day that mandy climbs over the wall of the orpganage and discovers an abandon cottage! She decides from that moment thatthe cottage is hers and her secret hideaway. She begins to do things that are uncharacteristic of her such as lying about where she has been, stealing from the orphanage supplies to take and supply her new home with, and is suddenly secretive with everyone, even her best friend. Read on to find out about Mandy and what she goes through as a child trying to make a cottage into a home and keep her secret place just that... secret.
Rated by buyers -
Although this book is aimed to appeal to girls approximately between the ages of 7-13, I was in college when Mandy was very first released. Being a hugh fan of Julie Andrews, I of course bought the book and was amazed that I could not put it down! To me, a great book has the ability to transport the reader from their day-to-day life into another time and place. I was mesmerized by this charming story from beginning to end as I am sure every child who reads it will be. Mandy is not only a sweet, likeable orphan, but she is very positive role model for children, showing that if you try hard enough, you can make your dreams come true. I admire Mandy's spirit and courage to go after her dream of someday having a real family.
I had read that because Julie Andrews lost a bet to her teenage step-daughter Jenny, that her forfeit was to write her a story, which turned into this wonderful book! Lucky for us readers, the result of that bet gave us our very first glimpse at yet another one of Julie Andrews' many talents.
It's been 30 years now since I very first read Mandy and I still have my original version of this book in a prominant place on my bookshelf, along with a hardback copy of Mandy and each updated version that has been printed. All the young girls in my family have read this classic book and loved it as much as I do. I only hope someday a movie version of this beautiful story is produced.
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