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Dec 05, 2011

Hayes rated it:

I loved this book as a kid. I may just have to read it again!!

And read it again I did! I grew up in Harriet's neighborhood (almost) and the descriptions of the New York of my childhood almost broke my heart.

Harriet is a cranky adolescent, living in a cushy New York world that was already changing when I was young and going to "The Gregory School", which was really The Chapin School, located on East End Avenue, across the street from Carl Schurz Park.

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7 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

AJ rated it:

The other day my girlfriend said something about her love of tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches, to which I naturally replied "Yeah? Do you like to roll around and pretend you're an onion, too?"

And she had no idea what I meant.

How do you not know Harriet the Spy? She has to rank competitively with the greatest literary characters of all time- so spunky, so misunderstood, so maligned by her peers toward the end. There was even some kind of high budget film that got More...

2 comments like (15 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Dave rated it:

I loved this book. Read it first in the fifth grade, then read it at least twice a year after that until it fell out of my book bag in the gym locker room in the seventh grade. Spent the rest of that term known as "Harriet" or "Fuckin' Girly Fag." I guess I preferred "Harriet."

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Oct 16, 2008

badfae rated it:

I received this book as a birthday gift on either my sixth or seventh birthday (I think it was my seventh. I still remember the name of the friend who gave it to me, too). I loved it then, and I still do now. Harriet is a quirky kid, a bit out-of-step with her peers, and that was something I could always relate to (not to mention my childhood ambition to be a writer!).

I used to read it at least once a year, growing up, even after I was "too old" for it (you're never too More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 02, 2008

Kressel rated it:

When I was in fourth grade, I would have named Harriet the Spy as my very favorite book, even though I only read the first half of it. I re-read that first half so many times though, it was practically an obsession. First of all, Harriet's commentary in her notebook in hilariously funny. But more than that, I wanted to be a writer just like Harriet, so I was going to do things her way. I even went so far as to look in one of my neighbor's windows for material, but I got caught on the first try. More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2010

Mariel rated it:

We read Harriet the Spy for a required reading assignment in elementary school. I remember my utter disbelief that my classmates could claim to relate to Harriet, unless it was the stuff that annoyed me like being rich, or eating nasty sandwiches, or having someone to take care of you, the things I didn't have on a reliable basis. I'd feel like there was this insurmountable chasm between myself and people who seemed to have it so good. Little did I know. Enter Harriet the Spy.

If th More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2007

Jessica rated it:

This book taught me the word "fink," which is one of many things I can't believe has gone out of style. It also terrified me with disturbing descriptions of the mother's beauty treatments, which I didn't understand then and don't now.

This book has a somewhat unlikable protagonist who has a very unappealing home life. It presents what I remember as being a very dark view of human nature. The whole trilogy is excellent.

I actually went back and reread this in high More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jenn rated it:

I started reading early and started reading beyond my age level very quickly, so I was pretty much beyond children's books way before I was done being a child. Sometimes it seems like I went directly from Dr. Seuss to Grimm's Fairy Tales and then on to adult books. But this was one children's book that truly changed my life.

The book is about a little girl who fancies herself a spy, and keeps a "secret notebook" full of observations about her family, classmates and neighbo More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2011

Daisy rated it:

Life-changing. I am not kidding. She was my heroine.

"Lovely, lovely. Now let's see, vegetables first, vegetables..." Sport started to sprint for the door. Miss Elson pulled him back by the ear. Pinky Whitehead arrived back. Miss Berry turned to him, enchanted. "You will make a wonderful stalk of celery."
"What?" said Pinky stupidly.
"And you"--she pointed at Harriet--"are an ONION."
This was too much. "I r More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 14, 2008

Annika rated it:

My favorite book from childhood

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jun 06, 2011

Evelyn rated it:

If you read what shelves I put this on, and if you notice my rating, you'll probably will be able to figure out just what I think of this book. Must I be more clear? THIS BOOK IS AWESOME (the caps are so you see it better, since you obviously couldn't see my shelves and rating).

Must I go into more detail. I must. Here we go:

This is a kids' book, that's clear from the pretty enormous font. And the simple language. And so on. But, if you are a parent reading this to your ch More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 27, 2008

Sarah rated it:

Since naming my youngest Harriet, I've had a number of people ask me or just outright assume that I named her for the title character from Louise Fitzhugh's novel Harriet the Spy (1964). She isn't named for the book but she did prompt me to read the book.

Many of the books reviews I've read for Harriet the Spy credit it for being ground breaking its brutally honest portrayal of childhood. Maybe it's the first (or among the first) to depict children in then contemporary society. The b More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Kathleen rated it:

Harriet observes the world around her and documents everything she sees in her notebook. She spies on a range of people in her life and takes copious notes about the good, the bad, and the terribly boring. She keeps tabs on her neighbors including the wealthy woman in her apartment building who lies in bed all day talking on the phone, the loud family that owns the corner grocery store--and her friends. Harriet doesn’t hold back in her notebooks, and she gets into big trouble with her classmates More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Dasha rated it:

This is a wonderful book. I love Louise Fitzhugh's language - she is very witty, but also has a great feel for words - it's delicious to read this book.
I also think this is a great portrayal of a kid - with great attention given to nuance of childhood friendships - yes Harriett is a bit of a pest and unpleasant - but at least she is all herself. I also like how her parents leave her alone, but at the same time are there to support her when she needs the support - I think that's great parent More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 12, 2009

Kelly rated it:

One of my favorite books growing up, it was a character I could relate to and it had a good message without being preachy. It's one of the few books that I loved that my daughter loved, too. The main character was strong, intelligent, independent and still real. It's hard to believe it was written before I was born.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 14, 2009

Misha rated it:

A much-beloved book during my pre-teen years. I loved Harriet. Loved her individualism and humor. Identified with the way she was always on the fringe of grade school society. I tried keeping a secret spy notebook like hers, but never put much in it. My classmates weren't all that interesting.

2 comments like

Feb 27, 2009

Amy rated it:

Every few years I have to go back and reread Harriet the Spy. I've always felt Harriet and I had a lot in common...we're both nosy, socially awkward, and want to be writers when we grow up. Oh, and Harriet has cake and milk every afternoon at 3:40, a ritual I would love to have.

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 14, 2008

alana rated it:

I just re-read this as it seems lately I can only read books meant for 10 year olds. It was great. I tried, while I was reading, to figure out what during time period it was supposed to be taking place, since there were ink pots and delivery men on bicycles, and decided it was the same time period that 101 Dalmatians (the cartoon one, not the dumb movie one) took place during. I dont know what it was though. Also i don't like the picture of Harriet on the cover of this one, which is the one i bo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 28, 2011

Kristin rated it:

Classic (Novel)
Harriet Welsch is an eleven year old, an aspiring writer and spy, and lives in New York City. Harriet carefully watches others and writes her thoughts down in a notebook and has a “spy route” where she spies on her neighbors and friends. Harriet's life starts to change when her parents attend a party and when they come home they fire her nanny, which makes Harriet sad. Harriet loses her notebook at school and her classmates find it and make fun of Harriet. Then, Harriet star More...

0 comments like

Dec 04, 2011

Kelly rated it:

Even though she's only 11, Harriet M. Welsch knows exactly what she wants to do with her life: she wants to be a spy. So she goes around every day (after school) on her spy route, writing down what she sees in her notebook. Things are pretty perfect for Harriet until two catastrophic events occur. First, her beloved nanny (Ole Golly) gets engaged and leaves. Then, her classmates find and read her notebook. All of a sudden, nobody wants to be Harriet's friend. And it's not even so much that More...

0 comments like

Nov 19, 2011

Renee.turner26 rated it:

This was my very favorite book when I was in elementary school. I read it over and over again, and loved the idea of spying on people so much, I actually walked into a neighbor's house and was looking around when the couple who lived there arrived home from work and came inside. I jumped into the closet of the front bedroom and waited until they walked to the back of the house, then dashed out as quickly as I could. I'm sure I didn't think to be quiet; they must have seen me running across the s More...

0 comments like

Oct 30, 2011

Kathryn rated it:

This book is a classic book for older readers. I think that readers need to be between the ages 9-11. I like that Harriet is a spy. Throughout the book, she says she wants to be a writer when she grows up because she loves to spy. I also think that this book is a good book for older readers because I think that older readers can relate to her. Harriet is a noise little girl, she is stubborn, she is sneaky and she thinks many negative thoughts about people. She even thinks that her own mother is More...

0 comments like

Sep 28, 2011

Cheryl in CC NV rated it:

This is one of those books that's so much more than it pretends to be. Written 'for' children, it doesn't condescend to them, and has a lot to say to adults too. The adventures about spying, and then dealing with the classmates' reactions, are exciting, but the book isn't really 'about' that. It's about growing up, and individualism, and learning empathy, and poetry in print & the poetry of the soul, and love & loss, and what it means to be a parent, or a cook, or a nanny, or a teacher, or an More...

0 comments like

Sep 14, 2011

Mary rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

May 19, 2011

Amy rated it:

This is the kind of book that, having never read it as a child, makes me wonder if it would stand any chance at all of being published for children today. So many of the children seem to have severe emotional problems, and the adults -- including a cat-hoarder (male, refreshingly), and a woman too depressed to get out of bed -- don't fare too much better. But it's a pretty good story. As an adult, I do wish that Harriet had learned how little effort it can take to notice good things about people More...

0 comments like

May 04, 2011

Rowan rated it:

I'm glad I finally read this book but only because it's the sort of thing I feel I ought to have read when I was actually in the target age group. There are far more things about it that I had a problem with than there were that I liked.

There was no development. Harriet is the same brat at the end that she was in the beginning, only she's learned the wonderful lesson "You have to lie." Fantastic message! I mean, I'm all for little white lies. But isn't "You have to have More...

1 comment like

Mar 17, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

It had been 23 years since I first read this, and it's hard to remember what I thought of it when I read it the first time, the same age as Harriet herself. I remember thinking that having a notebook of your very own, where all your thoughts could go, was very powerful. I remember wanting to see and know everything and go everywhere, just like Harriet. I started keeping my own notebook--I only had a tiny one, and couldn't get access to a proper composition book, like she had--and didn't have More...

0 comments like

Jan 16, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I loved Harriet when I was a child, circa the 4th grade. I was never a nosey child and didn't really keep a diary or spy on what the people around me where up to. I simply didn't care, and as such, I have noooo idea what I loved about Harriet back then...

...now-a-days upon re-reading Harriet as an adult, I will remark upon one thing that struck me as true, and important, and somewhat profound: Harriet is an interesting little girl; she is mischievous, and often times in the wrong (wh More...

0 comments like

Jan 03, 2011

Hermgirl rated it:

This was the book that really turned my life on!

Harriet is staunchly independent, irreverent, observant, passionate, intelligent, a fully formed radical feminist character.

It was read to me by a teacher that dared mention feminism in our first grade summer school class. I got sick and could not finish the summer session, but I liked it so much I sought it out and read it myself--which started my career as a reader, a writer, and a feminist simultaneously, at the age of six. More...

1 comment like

Jul 10, 2010

Lm rated it:

I genuinely don't like giving a book a bad review, but if it weren't that I have an obsessive need to finish a book once I start it, I would have put this one down the first time Harriet started screaming like a toddler. A large part of the reason I was so put-off by this book, is that I had set my expectations that I was reading a beloved and light-hearted childhood book about a girl who learns some life lessons after she is caught spying on some friends and neighbors.

These expect More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)