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19th out of 75 books
—
117 voters
Falling In
B z z z z z z z The buzzing sound?
Do you hear that?
There it is again.
B z z z z z z z
No? Well, I really shouldn't have asked. Most people can't hear it, anyway. But, if you could, you'd think it sounds like you're teetering on the edge of the universe. That's what Isabelle Bean thinks...and she's not that far from the truth.
B z z z z z z z
You really don't hear that?
Well, it...more
Do you hear that?
There it is again.
B z z z z z z z
No? Well, I really shouldn't have asked. Most people can't hear it, anyway. But, if you could, you'd think it sounds like you're teetering on the edge of the universe. That's what Isabelle Bean thinks...and she's not that far from the truth.
B z z z z z z z
You really don't hear that?
Well, it...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
March 2nd 2010
by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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A fun quirky and inventive fantasy for elementary and middle school readers. While different in tone than Kate DiCamillo's Tale of Desperaux, the author's direct aside to readers creates a similar feel. Readers who enjoyed the story of an undersized mouse with big dreams will likely enjoy the story of Isabelle Bean, a young girl with a big imagination and a touch of "otherworldliness." A girl who doesn't quite fit in-who is quiet but not shy, who talks in riddles but isn't rude.
Isabelle Bean is...more
Isabelle Bean is...more
Isabelle Bean is not popular. She has no friends and she thinksadults lack imagination and originality. Sometimes Isabelledreads growing up but she never gives up hope thatsomething unusual or unexpectedwill happen to her. On a typical day at middle school when she is (again!) sent to the principal's office, a "sudden squeak followed by a piercing squeal" leads Isabelle to investigate what's going on behind the door of the nurse's office. Finding out that a mouse ran into the closet, Isabelle tw...more
This is definitely a Juvenile book that should be read by tweens or to tweens... As an adult, I found the book to be cute, but underwelming. My daughter enjoyed the story and the other world was interesting. Really, the biggest positive about this book is the lesson that can be taught about judging someone without getting to know them.
(view spoiler)...more
(view spoiler)...more
Falling In is a welcome change from the darkness and broodiness that one gets these days in fantasies written for older youth. Without the burden of emotional angst, juvenile fantasies are free to launch readers into imaginative worlds. Written by Frances O’Roark Dowell, Falling In is full of whimsy and diverse friendships!
The summary alone intrigued me: “Isabelle Bean follows a mouse’s squeak into a closet and falls into a parallel universe where the children believe she is the witch they have...more
The summary alone intrigued me: “Isabelle Bean follows a mouse’s squeak into a closet and falls into a parallel universe where the children believe she is the witch they have...more
Falling In By Frances O’Roark Dowell (2010)
Fantasy, 256 pages
Isabelle Bean was never a normal child and neither is this half fairytale. After being sent to the office again for something that was not her fault, eleven-year-old Isabelle turns a knob to a door that is supposed to lead her into the nurse’s closet but instead finds herself falling in true Alice in Wonderland fashion. She lands in a new world with five villages and learns that an evil witch has been hunting children from one village...more
Fantasy, 256 pages
Isabelle Bean was never a normal child and neither is this half fairytale. After being sent to the office again for something that was not her fault, eleven-year-old Isabelle turns a knob to a door that is supposed to lead her into the nurse’s closet but instead finds herself falling in true Alice in Wonderland fashion. She lands in a new world with five villages and learns that an evil witch has been hunting children from one village...more
I couldn't tell you the main plot. After 86 pages, we still weren't there and I was starting to grow restless. I couldn't get behind Isabella, even though I myself was not often picked until last for gym class and had a penchant for wearing accessories I believed to be quirky and adorable. I didn't like that the narrator would break world-building in order to say nonsensical things that were later repeated, such as the traveling nature of spiders. I know some of the other Cybils panelists had ha...more
I actually saw this book on the Amazon Vine program but never got around to requesting it. So I decided to pick it up at the library. It sounded like a neat book. Overall it was okay and decent, but nothing spectacular.
Isabelle is different. She doesn't really get along with the rest of the girls her age and then she starts hearing this buzzing. She follows the buzzing to a closet at school and literally falls into another world. In this fantasy world there is an evil witch that is trying to eat...more
Isabelle is different. She doesn't really get along with the rest of the girls her age and then she starts hearing this buzzing. She follows the buzzing to a closet at school and literally falls into another world. In this fantasy world there is an evil witch that is trying to eat...more
The opening and set up of this book is irresistible! Isabelle Bean has always felt like an outsider, "teetering on the edge of the universe." And one day, she is completely distracted from spelling tests and schoolwork by a buzzing that seemed to come up from the floor. When she is sent to the principal's office, she hears what sounds like a colony of mice squeaking in the supply closet. She opens the door to investigate. . .and falls in. . .to another world.
Every kid who has ever felt that she...more
Every kid who has ever felt that she...more
probably will get this one confused with the Lost Children book that I just recently read (also about falling into another world with unfortunate children), but it was definitely different. I actually loved the writing in this one--very non-traditional (the author tends to jump in at times and just talk as herself) chapter 16 starts out, "As i write this, there's a spider on my wall, and it's tempting to reach out and smash it." and ends, "Go in peace, little brown spider. You're welcome here."...more
This is a curious hybrid of a fantasy. It's part modern-girl-visits-fairytale-world, a la the Narnia books or Alice in Wonderland, and it's part a rustic witch-and-woods fairytale. The plot and magical happenings are quite humble and old-fashioned, with some herbal lore, a magical book, and a bit of low-grade mind reading, and yet the tone is quite modern, with the narrator addressing the reader directly in breezy, colloquial language. Here's an example:
"Here's the deal: One day a beautiful, per...more
"Here's the deal: One day a beautiful, per...more
Isabelle Bean is one of those girls who seems to be in her own little world. She's in sixth grade and has no real friends as the other girls find her a bit odd. So, she's not entirely surprised when she opens a closet and falls through into another world, kind of like Alice, but without all the annoying characters. In the other world she finds all the children on the run from a witch. But instead of joining them on their trek to the safe camps, she sets out to find the witch. After all, what cou...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is another book in the vein of "Alice in Wonderland," "Coraline," etc., about a girl who "falls into" another world after being dissatisfied by her own. Once there, she finds herself in the middle of "witch season," a time when all villagers send their children out to "camps" to keep them safe from the witch who will supposedly gobble them up.
The camps felt like a big plot hole to me -- while I liked the idea of them and understood the purpose they served in the story, I couldn't figure out...more
The camps felt like a big plot hole to me -- while I liked the idea of them and understood the purpose they served in the story, I couldn't figure out...more
Isabelle Bean lives on the fringe. She is not a very good student, she doesn't have any friends to speak of. She's aware of all this, and of a buzzing sound that has been in her head all morning. Isabelle, in fact, hears a lot of things, very well. When she opens the closet in the nurses office, to find an icepack, she falls in. Like, Alice, like Gregor, to an alternate universe, but this one reminiscent of old New England around the time of the witch hunts.
Isabelle is accused of being a witch,...more
Isabelle is accused of being a witch,...more
I really liked how the story opens with "On the morning this story begins..." For me, it captures how fairy tales begin. The author goes on to introduce Isabelle Bean, "an only child of a lonely family." Isabelle is considered by most to be dull, different and is somewhat of an outcast in her class. Instead she is the girl who likes to wear red boots stuffed with toilet paper because she thinks they complete her. She talks in riddles and only when spoken to. Most of all she is a dreamer of thing...more
I would definitely bump my rating of this book up to two and a half stars.
There's a lot about Falling In that's very innovative. Author Frances O'Roark Dowell takes unexpected breaks during the text to directly address the reader about certain things that are happening in the story, if those happenings require some additional background information or an in-depth explanation. These sections tend to be the funniest parts of the story, imbued with a fresh sense of humor that I really didn't know...more
There's a lot about Falling In that's very innovative. Author Frances O'Roark Dowell takes unexpected breaks during the text to directly address the reader about certain things that are happening in the story, if those happenings require some additional background information or an in-depth explanation. These sections tend to be the funniest parts of the story, imbued with a fresh sense of humor that I really didn't know...more
Isabelle Bean is a quirky middle schooler that is pretty much in her own world. On her way to the principal's office, she opens the door and then literally falls into this fantasy world. In this world the children are running from a witch and they fear perhaps Isabelle could be THE witch. What is even scarier is the fact that this witch eats children. Instead of running from this witch like the other children, she decides to find said witch. After all, Isabelle is convinced that she is a changel...more
I read a reivew of this book in SLJ and knew immediately I wanted to read it. It was the perfect balance of whimsy, magic, and realism.
Isabelle is a lonely girl. She has no friends because she just is different. She likes to where hand-me-downs and basically just march to the beat of her own drummer. She's almost completely given up hope on ever having any real friends. Then one day, while in the nurses office, she opens the closet door and falls in. She falls into another world. A world of witc...more
Isabelle is a lonely girl. She has no friends because she just is different. She likes to where hand-me-downs and basically just march to the beat of her own drummer. She's almost completely given up hope on ever having any real friends. Then one day, while in the nurses office, she opens the closet door and falls in. She falls into another world. A world of witc...more
Jun 11, 2010
Sarah
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
grades 5-7
Recommended to Sarah by:
sh
Shelves:
children-fantasy,
audio
Isabelle has always felt as though she doesn’t belong; she knows that other kids think that she’s strange. For this reason, she is not too upset when one day she opens a door in the nurse’s office and inexplicably falls into another world.
The world Isabelle falls into appears to have a witch; the children she meets are hiding in the woods to avoid being eaten by her. Isabelle thinks that the witch sounds interesting, so she heads in the opposite direction of the children to find her. On the way,...more
The world Isabelle falls into appears to have a witch; the children she meets are hiding in the woods to avoid being eaten by her. Isabelle thinks that the witch sounds interesting, so she heads in the opposite direction of the children to find her. On the way,...more
This is the story of a girl, Isabelle Bean, who doesn't fit in, who has no friends, who even thinks she may have been a changeling, stolen by the fairies. Of course that's not true, but it isn't far from the truth either. One day, at school, while slowly walking to Vice Principal Closky's office, again, Isabelle hear's a scream coming from the Nurses office. When she goes to investigate, Charley Bender tell's Issabelle that she just saw a mouse, and it went into the closet... Well, when Issablle...more
In a classic childen's fantasy set-up, Isbaelle Bean falls into another world by opening a door. She's cute, quirky, and lacks friends in her real world due to her being just a little off. No one seems to mind in this new place though, and Isabelle is determined to have adventures. The adventures are slow-coming, however. Isbaelle ends up in the woods with a medicine woman/witch, learning how to make things and making a friend (her first in years!). This part is a little slow and low on action....more
Isabella bean is a young woman who feels like an outsider. She doesn't fit in with the other girls in her class and has different interest than most kids her age. Isabella feels that she is not a normal kid she thinks she is a changeling (someone who was switched at birth with a fairy or troll). One day she is in the nurse's office and is going into the closet to find a bandaid for another students. When she opens the door she discovers where the humming sound is coming from and falls into a dif...more
Isabelle Bean is not a normal child, at least that is what she tells herself. She thinks she is a changeling, a child switched with at birth with a fairy or even a troll child (but hopefully not a troll child). She doesn't fit in, but she doesn't really mind. Then one day she hears a buzzing sound and then she opens a door and falls into another world. A world where she meets children who think she might be a witch out to devour them. She meets new friends. Hen, a girl who is on her way to the c...more
Isabelle Bean is a 6th grade girl that thinks she must be a changeling, as she doesn’t quite fit in with her family and school mates. She is odd and possesses an inordinate amount of imagination. When she investigates a strange buzzing sound, she falls through a school supply closet and ends up in an alternative world where the children are fleeing a child-eating witch. The problem occurs as the children think she is the witch and her new pointy red boots don’t help dispel that illusion. Isabell...more
Isabelle Bean hears a buzzing noise during a spelling lesson and is lost in the sound when her teacher calls upon her to answer a question. Her inattention in class is enough to cause Isabelle to be sent to the principal’s office. On her way there, she sees a girl that has sprained her ankle and seeing that the school nurse isn’t in, steps in to help. When she opens the nurse’s closet door to get some first-aid supplies, she falls into another world. This world is different than her own, in that...more
There's something different about Isabelle Bean that most people can't put their finger on, they just know she's a little strange. Isabelle herself has never felt like she fit in at her middle school, and on top of that she's begun to hear a strange buzzing which is only the beginning . . .
This was not quite the story I was expecting, as Isabelle does not meet any recognizable fairy tale characters. Instead she's searching for a witch who has supposedly been terrorizing the children of all the v...more
This was not quite the story I was expecting, as Isabelle does not meet any recognizable fairy tale characters. Instead she's searching for a witch who has supposedly been terrorizing the children of all the v...more
There was much I liked about this book. Isabelle is a lonely child, searching for her place in the world. The underworld setting was well-done; but there were some holes in the story, little things that didn't add up, like why on earth was sending your children into the woods safer than locking them up at home. And the ending was a bit off balance, with a sudden jump to Isabelle's being nearly out of high school. I wanted to know what happened in-between.
Dowell's use of the 2nd person voice, int...more
Dowell's use of the 2nd person voice, int...more
- grades 3-6
- Isabelle Bean has no friends since her classmates consider her weird and even scary. She prefers thrift shops to the mall and dresses in whatever she feels like at the moment. One day, sitting in class concentrating on a strange buzzing sound, she is sent to the principal's office for not paying attention. She opens the door to a supply closet and is plunged into a fairy-talelike world in an alternate universe. She encounters children traveling to the "camps" to avoid being eaten b...more
- Isabelle Bean has no friends since her classmates consider her weird and even scary. She prefers thrift shops to the mall and dresses in whatever she feels like at the moment. One day, sitting in class concentrating on a strange buzzing sound, she is sent to the principal's office for not paying attention. She opens the door to a supply closet and is plunged into a fairy-talelike world in an alternate universe. She encounters children traveling to the "camps" to avoid being eaten b...more
This book was a happy surprise. I picked it randomly off the shelf at the library while my 12 year old son was down with a concussion and he scowled at it for a full day before starting in. Then? He loved it! He told me I would love it too and I do. What a fun (with some slight heart wrenching moments) story. I highly recommend the audio version as the reader takes an avenue of reading I've not heard before and it really adds so much to the characters and the story line. The way the main charact...more
Apr 14, 2010
Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
fantasy,
childrens-books
Isabelle Bean falls through a broom closet into a world where children are chased from town to town by an evil witch. Isabelle soon learns that this are not what they seem and she may not be who she thinks she is.
This book was playful and fun. The author alternates between talking different to the reader and telling her story. The isolation Isabelle feels from everyone in her world is something many children can relate too. She feels so different and nobody understands her, not even her mother....more
This book was playful and fun. The author alternates between talking different to the reader and telling her story. The isolation Isabelle feels from everyone in her world is something many children can relate too. She feels so different and nobody understands her, not even her mother....more
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Frances O'Roark Dowell is an author of middle-grade fiction. Her books have received numerous awards, including an Edgar (Dovey Coe), the William Allan White Award (Dovey Coe), the Christopher Award (Shooting the Moon), the Voya Book Award (Where I'd Like to Be), and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Fiction, Honor Book (Shooting the Moon). Dowell has an MFA in Creative...more
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“What filled the rooms of Grete's cottage so decidedly were woven baskets and wooden boxes and clay pots glazed in red and blue, each with its own mishmash of this and that. Roots and leaves still redolent of dirt. Balls of scratchy wool-purple twining into pink easing into periwinkle fading into gray. At least three boxes held squares and strips of fabric, all colors, and eight pots overflowed with apples.
The walls were lined with shelves, the shelves were lined with books. Wordless spines peered out. As soon as Isabelle saw them, she itched to open it up and read it from cover to cover.”
—
2 people liked it
The walls were lined with shelves, the shelves were lined with books. Wordless spines peered out. As soon as Isabelle saw them, she itched to open it up and read it from cover to cover.”
“Perhaps you'll apprentice to a healer when you're older," Grete suggested. "I'd say you have the gift for it."
Hen reddened, then seemed suddenly fascinated with a speck on her shoe. "Be nice to have a gift for something," she said after a moment. "But they don't let girls apprentice, now, do they?"
Grete harrumphed. "A bunch of fools, the lot who came up with that system. You lose half the world's brainpower that way.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
Hen reddened, then seemed suddenly fascinated with a speck on her shoe. "Be nice to have a gift for something," she said after a moment. "But they don't let girls apprentice, now, do they?"
Grete harrumphed. "A bunch of fools, the lot who came up with that system. You lose half the world's brainpower that way.”
Sep 30, 2010 03:38pm