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The Truth of Me
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The Truth of Me tells the story of Robbie, who loves spending time with his grandmother Maddy. Robbie loves the stories Maddy tells, and also how wild animals trust her enough to come right up to her.
But Robbie has always felt as if something is missing in his life--his parents don’t always act like they love him. Maddy helps him understand that an experience his mother h ...more
But Robbie has always felt as if something is missing in his life--his parents don’t always act like they love him. Maddy helps him understand that an experience his mother h ...more
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Another poignant and beautiful story by PM. I enjoyed it for personal reasons, for it's poetic nuances and for its kind understanding of the characters. Seriously though, her books are my fandom. While reading this book I was excited to reread it! #nerdalert
I'm looking forward to reading all of her oeuvre and rereading them until I know them by heart. Her stories are that good! ...more
I'm looking forward to reading all of her oeuvre and rereading them until I know them by heart. Her stories are that good! ...more
You won't get many long novels from Patricia MacLachlan. Her 1986 Newbery Medal winner, Sarah, Plain and Tall, is one of the shortest books to ever receive the award, at only fifty-eight pages in most editions. To tell an emotionally lasting story in the brief space Patricia MacLachlan takes for her books, one must be a keen purveyor of feeling, feeling that bleeds between the lines when words cannot convey the full truth of a life story played out authentically. This is the watermark of Patrici
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I'm going to tell you about the book The Truth of Me. It's about a family who lives by the woods and the mother owns her own band. So one day the mother and father had to leave because mother had a concert and had to be with the group that was in her band. The two kids had to stay with there grandmother madly why the there parents ahead to leave. A few days after the parents left Henry wanted to go tot he woods so they went and they also took Ellie the dog. Madly his grandmother was making suppe
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The Truth of Me is a gentle story. I was thinking about how all Patricia MacLachlan books make me feel calm. I like how they just make me stop and think. Robert is going to stay with his grandmother while his musician parents are on tour. That’s great with Robert because it means he’ll be spending each day with his two summer best friends; Ellie, his dog and Maddy, his grandma. She is special.
Maddy has powers all her own. Powers that other people don’t have.
Jack and Lizzie (Robert’s school tim ...more
Maddy has powers all her own. Powers that other people don’t have.
Jack and Lizzie (Robert’s school tim ...more
I received an ARC through Goodreads Firstreads:
Heartwarming story about a boy who learns to understand his relationship with his parents and grandmother. Robert spends a lot of time with his grandmother because his parents are busy with their music. Some feel that his grandmother is strange, or different. Robert doesn’t care. When something happens, Robert proves that he can do what needs to be done and start caring for those who have always cared for him.
Great story for elementary school and a ...more
Heartwarming story about a boy who learns to understand his relationship with his parents and grandmother. Robert spends a lot of time with his grandmother because his parents are busy with their music. Some feel that his grandmother is strange, or different. Robert doesn’t care. When something happens, Robert proves that he can do what needs to be done and start caring for those who have always cared for him.
Great story for elementary school and a ...more
I adored this book! It was a quick read, but so much delight packed in to this lovely book. Easy for a younger child to read, but I am not sure they would truly understand the relationship between the boy and his mother. So sad, yet so beautiful. The ending brought tears to my eyes. I will be sharing this book with the counselor at my school to possibly help those students who feel unloved and unwanted.
GRL - Q
Short quick read about a boy who feels almost estranged from his parents. Robbie goes to live with his grandmother for the summer while his parents travel to play their music worldwide. The story is mainly about Robbie's special relationship with his grandmother.
It's a sweet story but it doesn't suit my purpose. Some of the ideas and themes are slightly abstract and may provide difficult for Q level readers. ...more
Short quick read about a boy who feels almost estranged from his parents. Robbie goes to live with his grandmother for the summer while his parents travel to play their music worldwide. The story is mainly about Robbie's special relationship with his grandmother.
It's a sweet story but it doesn't suit my purpose. Some of the ideas and themes are slightly abstract and may provide difficult for Q level readers. ...more
This is a super short read--I read it on my Kindle and it felt more like a short story. Which made me a little sad, because I think it has some wonderful characters (I love Grandma Maddy and Dr. Henry) and an important theme (feeling unloved by your family). Definitely meant for younger readers, but I would have loved a longer, more fleshed out version.
A very special story about a boy, his dog, and some very special adults (grandmother, and a doctor/friend), coming of age, and lessons of life - will make a very nice read aloud. No dogs dying in this one.
Robbie and his dog, Ellie, are spending the summer at Grandmother Maddy's house. He's been having a tough time of things lately, struggling with self-confidence as well as feeling neglected by his parents. He feels they are too distracted with their careers, causing both to be rather dismissive with him. Robbie has always found comfort in Maddy's stories and easy-going nature, so this could be just the thing his mind needs.
Maddy's friend (and Robbie's doctor), Henry, also makes several appearan ...more
Maddy's friend (and Robbie's doctor), Henry, also makes several appearan ...more
I read this book with my youngest son after seeing it on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award List. It was a quick read and we both really enjoyed the story. It is about a boy named Robert who is spending some time at his grandmother's house while his parents are performing in a concert tour. Robert feels disconnected from his parents but really feels an attachment to Maddy (his grandmother), Ellie (his dog) and Henry (Maddy's friend.) During this story Robert learns some "small truths" about
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Robbie is an only child. His parents are musicians, his mom a violinist, his dad a conductor/composer, and Robbie feels like he is sometimes overlooked. His parents travel during the summer and Robbie gets to spend the summer with his grandmother, Maddy. Maddy is a fun grandmother. Once they had doughnuts for dinner! Maddy's specialty is being able to communicate with animals. This magic is experienced on a camping trip.
A sweet story. I thought this might be a good partner books with "The Wild ...more
A sweet story. I thought this might be a good partner books with "The Wild ...more
Short & sweet. About a boy's relationship with his dog, his grandma, his mom, the forest, & his own heart.
Weirdly, this is my first Patricia MacLachlan. I've never read "Sarah, Plain & Tall" (I know, I know!). I chose this one to talk to my kids' book club about, since it's on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award List. It's heartwarming & I got teary-eyed, but it didn't make any sort of lasting impression on me. It felt more like a short story than a novel. ...more
Weirdly, this is my first Patricia MacLachlan. I've never read "Sarah, Plain & Tall" (I know, I know!). I chose this one to talk to my kids' book club about, since it's on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award List. It's heartwarming & I got teary-eyed, but it didn't make any sort of lasting impression on me. It felt more like a short story than a novel. ...more
Patricia MacLachlan has done it again, simple, sweet, and true. Every one of her books has brought me to tears. This one hadn't and I didn't think it would. And then came the last page, she got me again.
The subtitle: "About a boy, his grandmother, and a very good dog." And that is it. A summer with his grandmother and Robbie comes to understand his world a little bit better. ...more
The subtitle: "About a boy, his grandmother, and a very good dog." And that is it. A summer with his grandmother and Robbie comes to understand his world a little bit better. ...more
A touching story about a boy's relationship with his grandmother. She has a sort of magic and the boy wants to make it his own. I was disappointed with the ending and feel like it could have gone a bit further in developing the relationship and the consequences of the choices made. Great for younger readers.
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I really enjoy all of MacLachlan's works. I felt a connection to the main character and was drawn into the story. It was a quick read. I felt it could have been longer and I could've learned even more about life and bonding with nature if it had gone on more. It was a fun staying away from home and having an adventure with family type of story.
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A sweet story about a young boy who feels closer to his grandmother than to his musician parents. He spends summers with his grandmother while his parents are on concert tours, and one summer he learns more about himself and his emotionally distant mother, while discovering the uniqueness of his grandmother.
Oh, the genius of Patricia MacLachlan's perception of young people learning, growing, and coming to understand and express their place in the world around them! The joy of her depiction of moments between family members or friends! The spare beauty of her prose!
All excellent reasons to pick up any juvenile fiction by MacLachlan. ...more
All excellent reasons to pick up any juvenile fiction by MacLachlan. ...more
This was a delightful story to read, as are all of Patricia MacLachlan's books. It was written in the same style as her Sarah Plain and Tall books which made it an easy, quick read with deep, heartfelt meaning.
This is a story of discovery in a young boys life - discovering why the people he loves act the way they do and how he will respond to them even when their actions hurt. ...more
This is a story of discovery in a young boys life - discovering why the people he loves act the way they do and how he will respond to them even when their actions hurt. ...more
I chose to read this one because I appreciated SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL.
This story is told in the first person...quite effectively... a gentle story of a dysfunctional family in which the young boy is the reconciler. It's perfect for middle-grade readers who love dogs and wild animals.
Hope Irvin Marston, author of EYE ON THE IDITAROD: AISLING'S QUEST. ...more
This story is told in the first person...quite effectively... a gentle story of a dysfunctional family in which the young boy is the reconciler. It's perfect for middle-grade readers who love dogs and wild animals.
Hope Irvin Marston, author of EYE ON THE IDITAROD: AISLING'S QUEST. ...more
A beautifully written, touching story of a boy who doesn't not feel loved by his parents. He spends time with his wonderful grandmother and her friend, and comes to realize some truths about his life.
Patricia MacLachlan is a master of word craft, and the sparse, eloquent prose is to be savored. ...more
Patricia MacLachlan is a master of word craft, and the sparse, eloquent prose is to be savored. ...more
Patricia MacLachlan knows how to write a beautiful story.... she has a real sense of Robert's feelings about his parents and their leaving on a concert tour and also the specialness of his relationship with his grandmother..
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Not bad! Patricia MacLachlan, well-known for her Newbery Medal winner Sarah, Plain and Tall, has written a sweet little story here. It's not deep, but I certainly appreciated how she tried to discuss the amount of time parents spend with their kids.
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Quick and enjoyable read. I would say this is younger than Middle Grade even, good for kids as young as first grade. The best part was definitely the MC's dog, Ellie. If you have a dog loving kiddo, give this one a try.
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If this becomes a movie, Betty White needs to be the grandmother don't you think? Great aloud to share with elementary children.
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Her books are so wonderful and poignant. This is quick read, but has a lot to say.
A wonderful story about Robbie, who finds that staying with his grandmother helps him find out who he really is.
Beautiful, as always. See http://www.eatreadandbemommy.com/2018... for details.
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This was such a cute story! I love this author!
Sweet
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Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie, and to this day carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she goes to remind her of what she knew first. She is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; and Three Names, illustrated by Mike Wimmer. She lives in western Massach
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