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48th out of 91 books
—
1,585 voters
Hitty Her First Hundred Years
Hitty is a doll of great charm and character. It is indeed a privilege to publish her memoirs, which, besides being full of the most thrilling adventures on land and sea, also reveal her delightful personality. One glance at her portrait will show that she is no ordinary doll. Hitty, or Mehitable as she was really named, was made in the early 1800s for Phoebe Preble, a lit...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
September 1st 1998
by Aladdin
(first published 1929)
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Read as part of the Read the Newberys" reading project. This is by far my favorite of the Newbery books read yet (we started at the oldest and are working our way to current time). In fact, it was fun and entertaining to read. It's Mehitabel's (Hitty's) memoirs, and is so fun to read. Hitty, of course, is a carved wooden doll, who chronicles her life through owner after owner after owner. Hitty's adventures in a way reminded me of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, another Newbery book, but were fa...more
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Another one you all seem to have read and loved that I never picked up before. I expected it to be cheesy, but it was highly readable, suspenseful, and very funny. I read it almost without stopping, though the first half was superior to the second.
ETA: I see that an edition with "updated text" has been released, presumably to remove racial stereotypes. I wonder how far they went? The stuff with the former slaves would be fairly easy to adjust, but what about the natives in the South Seas?
ETA: I see that an edition with "updated text" has been released, presumably to remove racial stereotypes. I wonder how far they went? The stuff with the former slaves would be fairly easy to adjust, but what about the natives in the South Seas?
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Feb 11, 2013
Sean McGuire
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone. No seriously. Everyone's life will be the better for it.
THIS BOOK.
I mean seriously, where do I even start? It's so good. "Hitty" is based on an old peg doll the author and her friend saw in an antique store. The doll's face had such personality that Ms. Mead was left to wonder just what the doll's story was. In answer to this question, Ms. Mead wrote this charming book, and the friend that was with her in the antique store, Dorothy Lathrop, provides fantastic illustrations.
Telling the tale is Hitty, a little ash wood peg doll who, over the course of...more
I mean seriously, where do I even start? It's so good. "Hitty" is based on an old peg doll the author and her friend saw in an antique store. The doll's face had such personality that Ms. Mead was left to wonder just what the doll's story was. In answer to this question, Ms. Mead wrote this charming book, and the friend that was with her in the antique store, Dorothy Lathrop, provides fantastic illustrations.
Telling the tale is Hitty, a little ash wood peg doll who, over the course of...more
I read this aloud to my daughters, then spanning pre-school to grade school to middle school to high school. We all enjoyed it, learned a lot, and made note that she was carved of mountain-ash wood.
As it happens, a mountain-ash tree grew in our backyard. In the realm of fairy, mountain-ash is purported to have magical qualities. I think it was no accident that the author chose mountain-ash as the substance for this doll. When old-time sailors were on a ship that was "becalmed" the saying went th...more
As it happens, a mountain-ash tree grew in our backyard. In the realm of fairy, mountain-ash is purported to have magical qualities. I think it was no accident that the author chose mountain-ash as the substance for this doll. When old-time sailors were on a ship that was "becalmed" the saying went th...more
This book was a very interesting read for me. Initially, I was a bit apprehensive about reading a book written from the eyes of a doll named Hitty, but after a couple of chapters I was somewhat fascinated. Hitty was carved out of mountain ash by an old peddler. He then gave her to Phoebe Preble. Phoebe takes Hitty to church with her, but accidentally drops her under a pew. Hitty spends a couple of terrible days under there until a boy named Andy finds her. Phoebe and Andy take Hitty on a picnic...more
I remember reading Hitty: Her First Hundred Years as a child, so it was very interesting to revisit this book as an adult. I think I appreciated it more the second time through, because I remember not being too fond of it when I was younger. I really enjoyed how the story was told from the perspective of a doll, because not too many stories are told this way. I especially liked how the author used Hitty's point of view to make it seem like she herself were writing the story when she said, "I wi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I read this book practically in one sitting. It was a fast paced highly readable tale about a wooden carved doll who goes through many adventures and countries. She was carved from lucky mountain ash by a pedlar shown kindness by a Maine family in the late 1700s-early 1800s. The story tells of her writing her tale down while being a cherished favourite in an antique shop many years later.
I came away feeling so grateful that she had managed to keep her name thanks to her embroidered chemise, and...more
I came away feeling so grateful that she had managed to keep her name thanks to her embroidered chemise, and...more
Copyright date: 1929…Odd to think that my mother might have run across this book as a little girl and read it….I remember reading it myself as a little girl. Like many of the older Newbery books, it is a vision into the past, a little trip into life for kids before TV and computers and IPods.
Hitty is a wooden doll made in the early 1800’s. Her underpants are embroidered with her name and along the way she becomes the most literate of dolls. One girl after another owns her, though her painted fe...more
Hitty is a wooden doll made in the early 1800’s. Her underpants are embroidered with her name and along the way she becomes the most literate of dolls. One girl after another owns her, though her painted fe...more
She was shaped from a six-inch piece of mountain-ash, carried from Ireland in a peddler’s pack to ward of witches and other forms of evil. In Hitty: her first Hundred Years we travel though the titled century with that little vagabond piece of feminine-shaped ash as she is flung over a good portion of the world. From her respectable beginnings within a puritanical home she moves into situations that would scandalize most proper folk. Among her many incarnations Hitty can résumé graven-idol, snak...more
How did this get such a high average rating? It's the 1930 Newbery winner and I struggled to get through it. I'm scratching my head wondering why this ever won. It would have been better as a 10 page picture book. 230+ pages of the same boring descriptions of mundane details. There were potentially exciting moments like the shipwreck or the auction near the end, and even in those moments I felt like I was trudging through thick mud just trying to make it through! Usually at the halfway mark thin...more
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Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2004- This is the story of the life of one adventurous wooden doll named Hitty. First made for a young girl in Maine, the doll travels around the world and back passing from one youngster to another and recounts her journey along the way. Since the book was written in 1929, it gives it a certain charm to the author's writing, at the same time though; the author occasionally uses terms that would not be considered ""politically correct"" today. I know many older books do this, but since this book...more
After 100 years of life Hitty, the little doll made out of lucky mountain-ash wood, has decided to write her memoirs. In it she recounts her many adventures – from her time on a whaling ship to a brief stint as a pin cushion and much more. But like most good dolls her very best times where those when she was loved and played with by a little girl. And thankfully over the course of a hundred years there were many little girls – all with their own little virtues and defects. What makes this book m...more
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Jan 19, 2008
Anita
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
children
Recommended to Anita by:
the librarian at Joaquin Elementary
I read this as a child and while most of the historical information got past me, the magic of this little carved doll popping in and out of children's lives was wonderful to me. It's a treasure.
We were lucky to have been recommended this book by the librarian. I was amazed at the vocabulary. Books published today that target elementary school kids use such simple vocabulary. Yet in this book, written in 1930, I think, the author uses adult vocabulary. It was certainly in the category of "educational" books, but my daughter wasn't bored. She loved the book. I would be curious if it is considered historical fiction or not. It was intriguing to see how history changed over the course of t...more
I was utterly wowed by this ingenius story by the inimitable Rachel Field. Truly, this is one of the best books that I have ever read. Rarely does a story come along with such believably solid and noble characters, a harrowing adventure that ranks in the top select few ever written, and unexpected sidetracks throughout that always left me guessing, and hoping against hope for Hitty and whomever her current "owner" was to make it through all right. The 1930's was, in my opinion, a great decade f...more
Hitty is a sweet tale of the journeys of a doll. We learn about her adventures; from her humble beginnings as a piece of Mountain Ash to her adventures being shipwrecked and honored as an idol by island natives, to her treks through Philadelphia, New Orleans and back home to Maine.
I'll admit that I was skeptical at first. Her first few adventures were a bit crazy. Yet seeing the history of the US through her eyes was interesting... if not completely compelling. I wasn't nearly as fascinated wit...more
I'll admit that I was skeptical at first. Her first few adventures were a bit crazy. Yet seeing the history of the US through her eyes was interesting... if not completely compelling. I wasn't nearly as fascinated wit...more
A DOLL'S MEMORY IS FOREVER
Hitty is a very small wooden doll carved out of mountain-ash (for good luck) in Maine by a kindly pedlar, in gratitude for winter hospitality, then given to the young daughter of the New England sea captain. This charming story is told in the first person by a modest doll with a pleasantly philosophical outlook, who presents a perpetual smile. During her first century as a toy she survives an incredible catalog of dangers, countless owners (not all little girls, either...more
Hitty is a very small wooden doll carved out of mountain-ash (for good luck) in Maine by a kindly pedlar, in gratitude for winter hospitality, then given to the young daughter of the New England sea captain. This charming story is told in the first person by a modest doll with a pleasantly philosophical outlook, who presents a perpetual smile. During her first century as a toy she survives an incredible catalog of dangers, countless owners (not all little girls, either...more
Long before Woody and Buzz Lightyear, there was a doll named Hitty who had an adventurous life, just not in a Pixar sort of way. I can see how this book would have been viewed as completely charming in it's day. I found it charming at times, but also often ponderous. Somehow, probably because Hitty is a doll and not a human character, she could get away with being really pretentious in a way I would not have tolerated in a human character. I think this book is as interesting an adventure tale fo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Plot
A doll, Mehitabel (or Hitty, for short), recounts her adventures of the past one hundred years.
Thoughts
First off, I have to give full credit for this being a clever idea. I thought I was wholly original with my short story of the life of a penny. Clearly, this is not a new idea (this novel won the Newbery in 1929).
And as anything written long enough ago, the language feels a little antiquated at first. However, the brain shifts quickly to accept it and so we carry on. The adventures Hitty s...more
A doll, Mehitabel (or Hitty, for short), recounts her adventures of the past one hundred years.
Thoughts
First off, I have to give full credit for this being a clever idea. I thought I was wholly original with my short story of the life of a penny. Clearly, this is not a new idea (this novel won the Newbery in 1929).
And as anything written long enough ago, the language feels a little antiquated at first. However, the brain shifts quickly to accept it and so we carry on. The adventures Hitty s...more
It's official! Stop the presses! Two back-to-back Newbery award winners were written with well-rounded characters, logical plots, and moments of tension/climax in addition to that shiny gold sticker on the front. Whatever will we do? I may have to take back all of the nasty things I said about the Newbery winners.
I read this over the course of a month, a few chapters at a time during what has become my favorite Newbery Project reading spot: the bathtub. It was the perfect setting for this little...more
I read this over the course of a month, a few chapters at a time during what has become my favorite Newbery Project reading spot: the bathtub. It was the perfect setting for this little...more
So clever... a Newberry winner from back in 1930. Told from the perspective of a doll named Hitty. She sits down to write her memoirs of her first 100 years of life. She had quite the life... several owners, trips on a whaling ship, life in India, in a Quaker home, with a painter and more. Toward the end, (last 30 pages or so) I was ready for it to end... it seemed to go a little slow or I was ready to be done. But such a clever idea and really quite a fun story. Also, shows how different life w...more
Winner of the 1930 Newbery Award, this is the autobiography of a small wooden doll, carved before the Civil War out of mountain ash-wood by a peddler. Preoccupied with fine clothing and her dignity, Hitty goes through a variety of adventures, from being taken to a crow’s nest by a mother bird, to staying a year in a barn with mice, to being worshipped as an idol by island “savages,” to being used as in an Indian fakir’s snake-charming act, to serving as a portrait-painter’s prop, to touring as a...more
Sep 29, 2008
Francoise
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Young readers but anyone who is also "young at heart."
Recommended to Francoise by:
I've seen it on many recommended lists.
Lovely story! Told from the viewpoint of a simple doll made of "magical" mountain ash wood in the early 1800's by a peddler in a rural area of Maine. Hitty sees much of United States history but as she passes from one little girl to another, in often very strange ways, always as a bystander. What makes her story so good are the observations that she makes as events occur in her life. She rarely gets to see her owner pass into adulthood as she has often changed hands by then, but she always adds...more
I have been meaning to read Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (illustrated wonderfully in what I assume is pen and ink by Dorothy P. Lathrop) for a rather long time. Several years ago my mother bought me a reproduction Hitty doll by Robert Raikes (big deal carver of dolls and bears though he no longer seems to be making Hitty dolls).
After buying the doll, and doing a bit of research, we found an edition of Field's novel with the original 1929 text and illustrations. There is anothe...more
After buying the doll, and doing a bit of research, we found an edition of Field's novel with the original 1929 text and illustrations. There is anothe...more
I really cannot imagine a child reading / enjoying this story to themselves. I mean if they are old enough to read and understand the story / history involved, I think they would be too old to really enjoy the story. However, I think this would be a wonderful book to read aloud to a 7 or 8 year old girl, explaining some of the historical references and taking sidetrack discussion - journeys throughout. In my goal of reading all of the Newbery books this year, this has been on of my favorites.
Didn't love it. It's written from the standpoint of a doll who had been created in the early 1800s. The doll observes many things while she is carried from one place to the next, like going a whaling ship, getting shipwrecked, getting stolen, getting lost, getting stuck in a tree. It's pretty adventurous, however, some of the implications of the limitations of people of color are off putting in the 21st century and I know my animal loving kids would have a hard time with the whaling scenes.
I enjoyed this almost as much as I did the (at least two) times I read it as a child. It's not pc, of course, but in the context it's fairly respectful and compassionate - in fact it's a good exploration of lots of different ways people have lived. The foreshadowing, especially in the beginning, got a little tiresome ("little did we know...") but in the main it was gracefully written. If I do ever get into woodworking I will seek out mountain ash for crafts I want to last!
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| Children's Books: October 2010 - Hitty: Her First Hundred Years (1930 Medal Winner) | 75 | 64 | Jan 14, 2011 10:40am |
Rachel Lyman Field was an American novelist, poet, and author of children's fiction. She is best known for her Newbery Medal–winning novel for young adults, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, published in 1929.
As a child Field contributed to the St. Nicholas Magazine and was educated at Radcliffe College. Her book, Prayer for a Child, was a recipient of the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations by El...more
More about Rachel Field...
As a child Field contributed to the St. Nicholas Magazine and was educated at Radcliffe College. Her book, Prayer for a Child, was a recipient of the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations by El...more
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