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Oddfellow's Orphanage
What do an onion-headed boy, a child-sized hedgehog, and a tattooed girl have in common? They are all orphans at Oddfellow's Orphanage! This unusual early chapter book began life as a series of full-color portraits with character descriptions. Author/illustrator Emily Martin has fleshed out the world of Oddfellow's with an episodic story that follows a new orphan, Delia, a...more
Hardcover, 144 pages
Published
January 24th 2012
by Random House Books for Young Readers
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I think the illustrations are so fun, and I love the whimsy that was intended. I think if you visit the author's Etsy store, TheBlackApple, you will have greater appreciation for the story. I felt like story was worded in such a lovely way, but I cannot imagine children appreciating the way adults will. However, it is nice to think that the children from the orphanage found a family for themselves within each other. Instead of being lonely, and instead of feeling like outcasts (think: mute albin...more
This was a pretty quick read that's sort of like a really weird series of slice-of-life sketches about kids that are unusual and odd. Oddfellow's Orphanage takes in all types, from an onion-headed child to a little albino girl who never speaks.
Now, I've read about an orphanage that takes in the freakish and unusual among humanity and gives them shelter just last year . . . oh yes, the YA book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. A similar idea, but a very different story and tone.
Oddfel...more
Now, I've read about an orphanage that takes in the freakish and unusual among humanity and gives them shelter just last year . . . oh yes, the YA book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. A similar idea, but a very different story and tone.
Oddfel...more
This book defines delight. The stories are simple, sweet and outlined with enough detail that the world of Oddfellow's Orphanage is full and rich but never overdone. They remind me of the very best stories from younger children's story annuals of the 1910s/20s (something I happen to have a fair few of!), the sorts of stories where mild morals were innocuously taught and there were scones and jam for tea every night, and there were little bits of magic tucked in between descriptions of the everyd...more
Oddfellow's Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin is a fun children's book slated for release on January 24 2012. The book follows the adventures of one mute, albino girl (Delia) as she joins the family at Oddfellow's Orphanage. The other children at the orphanage, and even the teachers, are all a little odd. The orphanage is a place for all living creatures to find a home. Its residents include an onion headed boy, a girl covered in tattoos, and a family of dancing bears. The book is told in episo...more
I'm a fan of Emily Martin's art, so when I heard she had written a children's book telling the story behind some of her characters, I was pretty excited.
I read an arc of the book, so it only had rough pencil sketches of the art instead of the B&W illustrations that will be in the final edition. Unfortunately, the story felt like a rough pencil sketch too.
Essentially, students at a suspiciously Hogwartsian orphanage have some mildly amusing adventures and then everyone is happy because alth...more
I read an arc of the book, so it only had rough pencil sketches of the art instead of the B&W illustrations that will be in the final edition. Unfortunately, the story felt like a rough pencil sketch too.
Essentially, students at a suspiciously Hogwartsian orphanage have some mildly amusing adventures and then everyone is happy because alth...more
This is a sweet book about an extraordinary place and an extraordinary family "stitched together from the scraps of other families, living together in the enormous house make of brink that is called Oddfellow's Orphanage. This orphanage is run by a decedent of Bluebeard the pirate and the residents include a young "illustrated girl," an onion boy, and a family of dancing bears. Each chapter begins with a portrait and short history of one of the characters and covers one of the many adventures ha...more
Delia has recently been orphaned and finds herself among a truly odd assortment of characters when she arrives at Oddfellow Bluebeard’s orphanage. Each child at Oddfellow’s Orphange has something that sets them apart from the others, from the boy with an onion head, to the girl with blue tattoos all over her body, to a young hedgehog. Each child also has some delightful quality that makes them perfectly likeable.
Oddfellow’s Orphanage, written and illustrated by celebrated Etsy artist Emily Wingf...more
Oddfellow’s Orphanage, written and illustrated by celebrated Etsy artist Emily Wingf...more
3.5 stars
Cute children's book by Emily Martin, of the Black Apple (one of my favorite Etsy shops). The illustrations are beautiful- I've read some qualms about them being in black and white, but I think they're lovely. The characters themselves are interesting and quirky.
I just came away a bit disappointed. I felt like it wasn't as magical as I had expected and hoped for. The writing was very simple and clunky at times, but I'm hopeful that it will improve before the next book comes. :) It almos...more
Cute children's book by Emily Martin, of the Black Apple (one of my favorite Etsy shops). The illustrations are beautiful- I've read some qualms about them being in black and white, but I think they're lovely. The characters themselves are interesting and quirky.
I just came away a bit disappointed. I felt like it wasn't as magical as I had expected and hoped for. The writing was very simple and clunky at times, but I'm hopeful that it will improve before the next book comes. :) It almos...more
Mar 06, 2013
Alison
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Shelves:
orphans,
school-setting,
friendship,
family-dynamics,
illustrations,
middle-age-fiction,
magic
This book is more like a series of stories spanning a year at Oddfellow's Orphanage. Delia is probably as main a character as you're going to get, as she is the newest arrival at the orphanage.
I didn't really like this book. To me, there wasn't much point to the stories. They were cute, but very simple and not tied together that well. At the start, I expected it to be a kids version of Miss Pergrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but it wasn't. There wasn't enough backstory to explain why the chi...more
I didn't really like this book. To me, there wasn't much point to the stories. They were cute, but very simple and not tied together that well. At the start, I expected it to be a kids version of Miss Pergrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but it wasn't. There wasn't enough backstory to explain why the chi...more
I was eager to pick up the book having been a fan of Ms. Martin's illustrations. I was completely enchanted by the sweet story and all the wonderful adventures the orphan's undertake. I couldn't help thinking how much I would love to read this story aloud to my future children. The illustrations (even in their incomplete state) where as whimsical as one would expect from the creator of The Black Apple. I look forward to re-reading the completed book and soaking in the beautiful illustrations.
I...more
I...more
I have been a fan of Emily Winfield Martin's and her Black Apple creations for quite some time. I love her whimsy creativity and imagination. This book is like a swirl of ice cream including all the best flavors to create a flavor that is the best tasting. The flavors of dancing bears, fairy tales, the sound of music, and Christmas. It is a book full of characters that may be new or may be familiar. They are orphans which is a big enough of a drama. This leaves room for light-hearted problems in...more
i came to this book via a roundabout way. the author is an illustrator whose work was admired by a knitting designer so much so that she named a piece after the author. i knit that piece about two years ago but just the other day, the illustrator's name came up and i saw that she had written this book. curiosity took over from there. it is an odd little story. very sweet, sometimes almost too much but it is in a magical world so i guess martin just wanted it to be quasi-utopian. bad stuff is ref...more
I wanted something 1,000% relaxing and sweet, and this was it. I got it for Christmas, though I'm way out of the actual age range!, and am very happy with it. I'm giving it 5 stars because that's most likely what I would give it if the proper age; at my actual age I'd adore more character description or something, as I kept mixing up the darlings. I love the description of the author: "Emily Winfield Martin is a story and picture maker....She likes to bake sweet things and hunt for old children'...more
While her illustrations are adorable, this first-time book for Emily felt too much like a quickly tossed-together rough draft of an IDEA for a story. It's like the publisher snapped her up thinking "Quick! Let's capitalize on her having a current fan base, and jump on this Emily Martin Bandwagon while it's hot! Publish publish publish!"
Too many "the"s, too many commas, not enough draw. I was bored three pages in.
A quick read best left for 8 to 9 year old girls. Which, I can't tell if that's pre...more
Too many "the"s, too many commas, not enough draw. I was bored three pages in.
A quick read best left for 8 to 9 year old girls. Which, I can't tell if that's pre...more
Everyone ended up enjoying this very sweet book (with a twist). Part fairy tale, part oddball tale...you really hope that everyone lives happily ever after.
The story begins with a late night ride in the bear-drawn carriage and Oddfellow Bluebeard returning to his orphanage with a small albino girl called Delia. Delia is quickly introduced to the many interesting characters at the orphanage; including an onion-headed boy named Ollie, Imogen the tattooed girl, and Ava her soon-to-be best friend.
A...more
The story begins with a late night ride in the bear-drawn carriage and Oddfellow Bluebeard returning to his orphanage with a small albino girl called Delia. Delia is quickly introduced to the many interesting characters at the orphanage; including an onion-headed boy named Ollie, Imogen the tattooed girl, and Ava her soon-to-be best friend.
A...more
A strange and surreal set of linked but largely independent episodes set in an orphanage where the children include an onion headed boy, a hedgehog, a tattooed young girl and like unusual sorts. My feeling is that this is one of those books that adults will come into libraries years from now and say that they're looking for, because they read it when they were children and don't remember the title, but do recall the carriage that was pulled by bears, the albino girl who never spoke but wrote not...more
I read a e-book ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. My review will be posted in December as requested by the publisher.
When I discovered through Netgalley that Emily Martin (Inside a Black Apple) was writing a children's book and that a digital ARC was available for review, I jumped on the chance. Oddfellow's Orphanage is based on Martin's collection of prints by the same name, and it follows the adventures of a group of whimsical orphans. Unfortunately, the execution of the story is a bit...more
When I discovered through Netgalley that Emily Martin (Inside a Black Apple) was writing a children's book and that a digital ARC was available for review, I jumped on the chance. Oddfellow's Orphanage is based on Martin's collection of prints by the same name, and it follows the adventures of a group of whimsical orphans. Unfortunately, the execution of the story is a bit...more
My copy of this book shows it aimed at 7-10 year olds which was the first thing to give me pause when I opened the ARC. The language is in no way appropriate of that age group. The vocabulary is just much much too difficult for the average 10 year old. The pace of the book (slow, plodding, pointless details) makes it even less of a good fit for this age group. The book is filled with short sentences which I think is perhaps where the reading level came from but short sentences with big words doe...more
May 27, 2012
Lindsay
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
children,
family,
friends,
friendship,
fairytale,
bears,
circus,
mute,
disabilities,
ar-5-6,
for-lower-grades-k-3,
orphans
This is a story about a family formed through friendships. Each of the characters who live at Oddfellow Bluebeard's (yes, the notorious Capt. Bluebeard's brother) Orphanage, including a family of dancing bears, are fun to get to know. Each chapter is preceded by a vignette about one of the orphans or staff members. If you like fairytales, picnics, the circus, and beautiful vintage-looking drawings, this is the book for you. I think it would make a great read-aloud story before bed. It's that cha...more
A sweet story of an eccentric man who runs an orphanage full of odd children. Separately they are all loners with problems, together they make a very happy family. It felt like an introductory story to a longer series. Numerous characters were introduced and various relationships were established and explored. However, that is the story line, there was no exciting adventure or even a true climax to the story. If there are going to be more in the series, I am not quite sure if I will be reading t...more
The first word in this book is one of my favorite words of all time - flibbertigibbet! - and it goes on to be impossibly adorable from there. Emily Martin's illustrations and her orphanage vignettes (hedgehogs, sea monsters, Christmastime!, circus trips) took me right back to being a little girl. I would have read this book over and over and over again as a child. As it is, I can't wait to share this with my 8 year old goddaughter, on a picnic, of course.
I don't even know how to explain this book. There's no plot, just little vignettes describing the events that the orphans of Oddfellow's Orphanage experience during a year. The orphanage is a happy place with odd (and not-so-odd) characters. Among the odd: a child-sized hedgehog, a boy with an onion as a head, and an albino mute girl. It's one big happy (and of course odd) family that enjoys "normal" things like summer picnics, circuses, and Christmas and unusual things like performances by danc...more
Review of an advance copy:
This story is rather short on plot, and nothing much really happens, but the characters are unique and entertaining. And of course the illustrations on which the book is based are quite lovely. If you are looking for a book with a point or action or a major theme, you won't find it here. It is more of a cute, nonthreatening diversion which does not ask much of its reader. Except to enjoy its cuteness.
This story is rather short on plot, and nothing much really happens, but the characters are unique and entertaining. And of course the illustrations on which the book is based are quite lovely. If you are looking for a book with a point or action or a major theme, you won't find it here. It is more of a cute, nonthreatening diversion which does not ask much of its reader. Except to enjoy its cuteness.
I liked this, which surprised me.
Yes, it's a little hipstery (written by the artist of Black Apple). But not nearly as much as "Wildwood" was.
Yes, it's a little flippant in regards to dead families.
Yes, it's Hogwarty/Mysterious Benedicty/Lemony Snickety.
All that and I still found it very pleasant. Age appropriate in terms of content - sweet but not too sentimental story told in neat episodic chapters that weren't too complex. It reminded me a lot of Anne Shirley or Emily of New Moon's type of im...more
Yes, it's a little hipstery (written by the artist of Black Apple). But not nearly as much as "Wildwood" was.
Yes, it's a little flippant in regards to dead families.
Yes, it's Hogwarty/Mysterious Benedicty/Lemony Snickety.
All that and I still found it very pleasant. Age appropriate in terms of content - sweet but not too sentimental story told in neat episodic chapters that weren't too complex. It reminded me a lot of Anne Shirley or Emily of New Moon's type of im...more
I am a fan of E. Martin's illustrations, and I loved her Black Apple Paper Doll Primer, but this left something to be desired. She has a knack for imagining creative and quirky characters, but that doesn't seem to bleed over into her story plotting. The stories were trite and one-dimensional, and the writing was conventional at best, condescending at its worse.
I enjoyed this very much. It is sweet and quaint. I admit I rather spent the entire book waiting for something to pop out and eat an orphan or someone to do magic (my mind could not cope with all of the sweetness, I guess).
I think this book would be adored by the odd child who finds Series of Unfortunate Events too scary and Winnie the Pooh too babyish.
I think this book would be adored by the odd child who finds Series of Unfortunate Events too scary and Winnie the Pooh too babyish.
Horrible cover art (meaning children might not pick up on their own) but a sweet and endearing story. The quirkiness of the characters makes this story fun, and the short blurps before each chapter is a nice touch. The readers are able to get to know a little background for each of the characters before the story proceeds. Each chapter in the story is a snapshot of an episode where Delia discovers something new about one or more of her fellow orphans.
I read an ARC that did not have the complete...more
I read an ARC that did not have the complete...more
It pains me to give this 3 stars, since I am such a fan of Emily Martin. However, I really felt the ultra twee-ness of this easy chapter book was a bit too much. The story itself isn't bad; it's a great concept. It just felt a tad over-written. And it's a shame the picture were pencil drawings. Her paintings are absolutely beautiful, and even watercolor or a little bit of color could have benefited the book.
A very sweet, positive book for children. All the characters end up helping each other out and taking care of each other when they need it most. The drawings are really cute too. I wish they were in color. I think this is appropriate for ages 7-10. Adults might find this book to be a bit too sugary sweet but I found it charming.
Oct 25, 2011
Emily Grossenbacher
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone!
Shelves:
middle-grade-book-reviews
Can I go to Oddfellow's Orphanage? I know, I know, I am neither an orphan or a child--but maybe I could teach there? Emily Wingfield Martin has created a beautiful, loving world in her first novel. Full of adorable characters and endearing illustrations, this book will feel right at home with the likes of Betsy-Tacy and B is for Betsy. Whether reading at bedtime, or reading alone, any child and/or adult will love this book--and want to live at this magical orphanage.
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