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73rd out of 108 books
—
33 voters
The Old Woman Who Named Things
How does an old woman who has outlived all her friends keep from being lonely? By naming the things in her life she knows she will never outlive--like her house, Franklin, and her bed, Roxanne. When a shy brown puppy appears at her front gate, the old woman won’t name it, because it might not outlive her. Tender watercolors capture the charm of this heartwarming story of a...more
Paperback, 32 pages
Published
August 1st 2000
by Sandpiper
(first published April 1st 1996)
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At first I didn't think I was going to like this book. The illustrations don't do much for me; the moral is on the obvious side; it's about old age, which I don't care for (as a literary theme; actual old people I'm fine with). However, the shy brown puppy was so touching I couldn't hold out against it. And it isn't really about old age, it is about the fear of loss and hurt and how it cripples our lives. Even with the happy ending the lost year of puppyhood that the old lady and dog could have...more
The story has an unusual premise among picture books (or any book sitting in the juvenile fiction section). However, this isn’t one of those books to help you or your child understand how life can be for the elderly among us. You could use it that way, but the book truly is for anyone who has experienced lonely and outliving some one or thing you find precious to your own existence. Good friends moving away, or pets, or relatives…any one you have to go on living without and must find some new co...more
Gosh darn it! Cynthia Rylant's work always makes me reach for a tissue. Only this time, she's made me want to reach for one of my grandma's handkerchiefs—the sweet old-fashioned ones of gentle fabric scattered with flowers and lace that got handed down to me--and give it a big hug.
The Old Woman in the story names things... because she has outlived all her friends and she is afraid to befriend anything that won't outlive her. She has named her car, her bed, her chair, her house--they are all ver...more
The Old Woman in the story names things... because she has outlived all her friends and she is afraid to befriend anything that won't outlive her. She has named her car, her bed, her chair, her house--they are all ver...more
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Picture books are written to be read together, with a child on your lap or children gathered together on the rug. They have the power to open up a shared space, for a brief moment, among readers experiencing them together. I'd read this book before, and I wasn't thrilled when Josiah picked it out, so I was quite surprised when it provided one of those moments. We got to the page when the dog doesn't show for the first time, and Rylant reminded us once again that the dog was not named. To make su...more
How does an old woman who has outlived all her friends keep from being lonely? By naming the things in her life she knows she will never outlive. Like her house, Franklin. And her bed, Roxanne. And Bud, the new ceramic pig in her garden. Then a shy brown puppy appears at her front gate. If the old woman is too friendly, the puppy might stay, and she will have to name it. She can't risk that. So she tells it to go home. But that puppy has other ideas... (summary from book jacket)
Potential Audienc...more
Potential Audienc...more
An old lady has outlived all of her friends. She now names things around her house (including her house) that she knows she will never outlive. A little, shy dog comes along one day and helps her get over her fear of losing loved ones. At first she does not want to name the dog because it would be too risky. One day when the dog does not come along, she worries and misses him. She eventually finds him and names him “Lucky” because she realizes how lucky she was to have all of her friends. This i...more
The unlikely protagonist of this quirky and tenderhearted story is a little old lady with cat glasses and a beehive who might have stepped out of the far side. Lonely, she names inanimate objects, her car is Betsy, her bed is Roxanne. A stray dog wanders into her life but she refuses to name it; after losing many friends "she named only those things she knew she could never outlive." When the dog disappears, however, she realizes that finding him - and subsequently naming him - is worth the risk...more
I would give this book two and a half stars.
As always, Cynthia Rylant has written a touching story of friendship and the hope of renewal, allowing us to see the world of loneliness and the warmth of a new friend's presence through the eyes of an old woman who has seen all of her contemporary friends pass away while she still lives. The old woman (who remains nameless in the pages of this book) is reluctant to make a new friend that might also pass away before she does, but the presence of a li...more
As always, Cynthia Rylant has written a touching story of friendship and the hope of renewal, allowing us to see the world of loneliness and the warmth of a new friend's presence through the eyes of an old woman who has seen all of her contemporary friends pass away while she still lives. The old woman (who remains nameless in the pages of this book) is reluctant to make a new friend that might also pass away before she does, but the presence of a li...more
Mar 01, 2011
Gail Barge
added it
This book makes me so sad! The old woman in the story seems so lonely, it makes me want to be her friend. This story reminds me of so many of the elderly people I see living in nursing homes I once volunteered in. Often young students do not understand that loneliness involved in getting older, especially when friends and spouses pass away. I would read this book to students working with elderly students in a volunteer program to explain why it is important to take care of and form bonds with th...more
Jul 19, 2010
Lisa Vegan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who’s ever loved a dog, or loved anyone, or lost anyone
Recommended to Lisa by:
Kathryn
The illustrations are outstanding, many beautiful enough to be paintings on a wall.
The story’s message of opening up to love another despite the potential for hurt and loss is a good one. Though it has a happy ending, the whole story is permeated by a kind of melancholy. It’s also mildly amusing because all the objects that are given names by this old woman.
It’s the kind of book that generally makes me tear up, but I think this one was a tad too sad for that reaction, if that makes any sense. I...more
The story’s message of opening up to love another despite the potential for hurt and loss is a good one. Though it has a happy ending, the whole story is permeated by a kind of melancholy. It’s also mildly amusing because all the objects that are given names by this old woman.
It’s the kind of book that generally makes me tear up, but I think this one was a tad too sad for that reaction, if that makes any sense. I...more
3 likes · like · see review
Finally read a Cynthia Rylant book after reading so much about her texts' in Wonderous Words! A lovely story that was sad at the beginning but she found a friend in the end. I am using it now to teach a lesson on different nouns. I would also use it to teach proper nouns as well. Also, I think it's important to read it in order to discuss emotions; the old woman is lonely and worried and I think it's important for students to realize that many people have these feelings at all ages. It would giv...more
This book is about an old woman who outlives all her fiends and family. She is so lonely that she names all the things around her that she knows she will outlive. Then one day a puppy shows up. The old woman decides to feed the puppy, but she always sends it away since she refuses to invite something into her life that she may outlive. The puppy comes back each day, until one day it doesn't. The woman tries looking for the dog and calling the dog catcher. When she finally finds him she decides t...more
Feb 09, 2013
Brian
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
All children
Recommended to Brian by:
The teacher; we were studying this author in elementary school.
Shelves:
books-with-a-good-message,
childhood,
children,
feel-good,
juvenile,
realistic-fiction,
_5stars
Childhood nostalgia overload!
1 like · like · see review
This is another sweet, sweet book! If you have a dog, or have lost a lot of special people, you may tear up! Rylant teaches a lesson about never taking advantage of what you have even if you are scared! She also uses some creative language in this book, she describes everything on the first page with the same adjective,old, she also turns a noun into a verb, "soaping." This book is funny and I think most younger grades will get a kick out of it but it can also be used to show writers some new th...more
As an animal lover, I completely understood this story and it was so heart warming. An old woman has outlived all of her friends and is hesitant to let other people in her life for fear of losing them too. She begins naming inanimate objects around her house, like her bed. She does not realize how lonely she really is until a dog continues to come to her house everyday. The dog helps feel the void in the old woman's life. This book could help with the topic of losing loved ones or even how anima...more
Fearful of losing any more names in her life, a lonely woman lives quietly with inanimate companions she has named: her house Franklin, her car Betsy, her bed Roxanne. When a stray puppy wanders to her gate one day, she doesn't turn him away--or name him. Rylant's lovely poetic prose makes for a beautiful read-aloud. Kathryn Brown's rendering of the main character as a quirky, cowboy-wearing, bun-donning elderly woman temper other characteristics of the woman's shrunken features which might frig...more
A rather sad story about a lonely, old woman who has outlived all of her friends so now she only names things that she knows she will outlive; like her car, her house, her bed and her chair. When a little brown puppy starts to visit her gate every morning, the old woman is too afraid to name it, because she thinks it will only leave her too.
A sweet story about learning how to open your heart to new friends, after all of your old friends have left you.
A sweet story about learning how to open your heart to new friends, after all of your old friends have left you.
This book is about an old lady that has out lived all of her friends. She doesn't want to become friends or name anything that has a heartbeat because she is afraid they will die before she does. Until, one day a little dog comes to her gate. She did not name him because she did not want to take a chance of loving him, and then the dog die before she does. She fed him everyday, but would tell him to leave afterwards. One day the puppy did not show, she realized even though she had not named him,...more
Such a bittersweet book. An old woman that has outlived all of her friends names objects in her life that will outlive her--her chair, her bed, her car. Ironically, we never learn the woman's name because all of the other charcters can't speak. This would be a great book to have for many different discussions--author's purpose (why no name?), character analysis, main idea, critical analysis of how aging people feel-- and that's after one reading!
This story is about a woman who names all over her belongings that she will not outlive. She does not want to get close to anyone or anything that will just die. She comes across a dog who comes to her home every day. She never names the dog. One day she notices he is missing so she goes looking for him. She finally realizes that she loves the dogs and names him. This book is about appreciating what is in front of you.
Aug 31, 2010
Dolly
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
This is a wonderful story, one about independent aging, the importance of friends (even animal ones), the loneliness of old age, and in a subtle way, the goodness in holding on to a few good possessions, things that we need and use, rather than merely accumulating more and more new things we do not need. The story is heartwarming and the illustrations are fantastic. I really enjoyed reading this book aloud with our girls.
This book was ok. I had never heard of a story line quite like this one. This book is about a lonely old woman who loves to name inanimate objects, until she meets a puppy. I could see this book being for both lower and upper elementary. However, remembering all the names of the inanimate objects was kind of difficult. And, I wish the title wasn't so obvious. It's not a very original title for a story.
This is such a sad story, but I couldn't help but like it. The pictures are lovely and contribute to the story. The reading is very simple, except for some of the names she uses. Good moral, and excellent addition to the classroom library. Not particularly gender or age oriented.
-opening up and loving another despite the possibility of getting hurt
-loneliness
-understanding/empathizing
-helping others
-opening up and loving another despite the possibility of getting hurt
-loneliness
-understanding/empathizing
-helping others
This book is good when teaching about proper nouns. The old lady in the story has little to no actual friends left. She names things that she knows will out live her. A dog comes around and for a while she tells him to go home after feeding him everyday. Eventually, the dog does not return and she goes looking for him at the pound where she then names him too. The story was a good one.
This old woman starts off in her story being somewhat sad and lonely. She has outlived all her friends, and has resorted to naming all her possessions so that they can keep her company! It's a lovely story about her transformation of being lonely to finding an unlikely friend! This book would be a great resource to teach about friendship, old age, and grief!
I really liked this book. It was a heartwarming story about a lady who named the things that would not outlive her. But, little did she know that her rules would soon change. This book would be good to use for prediction lessons. I would choose certain pictures, pages, sentences in the story and ask the students to tell me what they think is going to happen.
Cute book about an old woman who names everything she won't outlive like her house and car. A dog starts coming to her house but she does not want to keep it or name it because she doesn't want to loose it. But, she gets over this fear when she realizes how much she loves him. This book comes full circle and repeats the same line "the woman who named things"
A lonely old woman with a predisposition for naming inanimate objects just doesn't want to name the dog who keeps dutifully showing up at her doorstep in search of scraps of food. One day he fails to darken her doorstep, and the desperate woman searches for him at the pound. Calling his name out loud brings him to her, along with the companionship she has been desperately looking for.
This book is about an old woman who names her furniture and other inanimate objects but does not give a name to living things. She lives and keeps to herself since all of her friends are gone. One day, a dog shows up at her house and she refuses to name it but becomes attached to it, but refuses to call it by its name. This is a good book.
Deals with death. Only names things that will outlive her because she's had such a hard time with a death. she names inanimate objects. I believe this book could be kind of confusing because of all the renaming that happened. She name the dog lucky because the old lady realize how lucky she was to have the friendship she had before they all died.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Realistic Fiction | 2 | 4 | Feb 28, 2012 03:06pm |
An author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she...more
More about Cynthia Rylant...
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