Amy's Three Best Things

by Philippa Pearce, Helen Craig (Illustrator)

Amy is going to stay with her granny on her own and she packs her three best things to take with her. On the first night she misses her family and one of her three best things - a little mat - turns into a magic carpet and flies her home to see they're all right. The second night her little horse gallops her back. But the third night, when she sails home in a magic boat, the family aren't there. Amy cries all the way back to Granny's where she finds her mum, brother and dog waiting for her. They have come early so they can all go to a funfair the next day. A wonderfully reassuring, magical tale, written by Philippa Pearce and beautifully imagined by Helen Craig.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Philippa Pearce was an acclaimed English author of children’s literature, best remembered for her classic time-slip novel Tom’s Midnight Garden, which won the 1958 Carnegie Medal and remains a staple of British children’s fiction. Raised in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, in the Mill House by the River Cam, Pearce drew lifelong inspiration from her rural upbringing. Educated at the Perse School for Girls and Girton College, Cambridge, she studied English and History before working as a civil servant and later producing schools’ radio programmes for the BBC.
Her debut, Minnow on the Say (1955), inspired by local landscapes and a childhood canoe trip, was a Carnegie runner-up and later adapted for television. Tom’s Midnight Garden, also rooted in her childhood environment, became her most celebrated work, inspiring multiple adaptations for stage, screen, and television. Pearce went on to publish over thirty books, including A Dog So Small, The Squirrel Wife, The Battle of Bubble and Squeak, and The Way to Sattin Shore, with several earning further Carnegie commendations.
Married briefly to Martin Christie, with whom she had a daughter, Pearce returned to Great Shelford in 1973, where she lived until her death in 2006. Her legacy continues through the annual Philippa Pearce Lecture, celebrating excellence in children’s literature.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy is positive that she wants to spend three days and nights at her grandmother's house, even though she has never been away from home before. Thinking ahead, she packs her three favorite things to take with her. Each day, Amy enjoys her time with Grandma, whether they go to the park or bake a cake. But when nighttime comes, homesickness strikes, and she must use her favorite things - a bedroom mat, a wooden toy horse, and a little wooden boat - to make herself feel better. In each case, the beloved object transforms, transporting her to her house and allowing her to see that her mother, little brother, and pet dog are all well. When she cannot find her family, on the third night, Amy is distraught, until she learns that they have come to Grandma's early! The story concludes at the fair the next day, as Amy rides the merry-go-round, and realizes that her loved ones, even when out of sight, are always there for her...

A heartwarming and imaginative tale, one which highlights the importance of our connection to our family, and the role that make-believe can play, in offering comfort to frightened young children, Amy's Three Best Things is exactly what I would imagine a reassurance story from Philippa Pearce would look like! I have fond memories of reading Pearce's award-winning children's novel, Tom's Midnight Garden , as a youngster, and have always found her stories immensely well-constructed and emotionally resonant. This was no different, and I thought that the final passage of the book - "Around and around went the merry-go-round with Amy on her dragon, and sometimes she saw her family and sometimes she didn't. But they were always there" - offered the perfect conclusion to the tale. The accompanying watercolor artwork by Helen Craig, perhaps best known for illustrating the Angelina Ballerina books, is just lovely, capturing the emotional register of each scene, as well as the sense of magic and adventure in Amy's nighttime journeys. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-book reassurance stories about spending the night away from home, with the proviso that parents be aware that this one is a little text-heavy for a picture-book, and perhaps best suited for children four or five and up.

[Aneesa]

Seems needlessly sad/scary. (Probably written for a specific kid who was already sad/scared.)

[Boo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how Philippa Pearce did it, but she always managed to capture the magic of everyday ordinary life in her books and weaved it into something extraordinarily beautiful and touching. This gentle picture book (slightly on the longer side compared to modern PB, though not a single word is amiss) is perfect to soothe a child’s fear of separation, and the cleverest thing is that fear is never mentioned. A truly timeless tale.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sweet story of Amy and her visit to her grandmother's house. I am a Philippa Pearce fan so will admit that may have influenced how much I enjoyed this magical tale. Amy knows that she will miss her mom and baby brother while she is gone, so she collects three of her favorite things to take with her - one from the floor of her room, one from her shelf, and one from the bathroom. She knows that these three things will help her when she is lonely and misses her family. And they do! It does have a lot of text so I would recommend this for the K - 2 crowd. Plus they may have more experience with overnighters at grandma's house.

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty long, and not really good for helping kids cope with their first trip away from home as these magical things wouldn't happen for them, obviously. I'd be worried sharing this book could be worse than not-they might count on their favorite things coming alive like Amy's did!

[pati · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three best things about this story are: the story is heartwarming, the artwork is beautiful and Amy has a wonderful imagination!

[Amanda B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lengthy text, recommended for one-on-one. Sweet fantasy story but I don't know how successful it would be as bibliotherapy for separation anxiety issues.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy had a plan to spend three nights at grandma’s house by herself. It was her first time being away from home, so she packed three best things to bring with her. Every night she took one thing from her pack to make herself comfortable and secured.
Even though children solemnly declare that they could spend nights by themselves, they almost always regret and ask to go back home at night. Amy must be the one who misses her family a lot even though the grandmother is family as well. The three things she selected and brought with her are the artifacts to stimulate her imagination and make herself assured to check her family is doing well. About the family dynamics, I appreciate the representation of a single parent family. A father is absent from this story. He may be too busy, but I’d like to understand the setting is about a single parent family, and I believe that diverse family structures need to be exposed in children’s book as well. However, the long texts are distracting me from focusing on the story and illustrations. I assume that child readers might feel bored or overwhelmed by text heavy scripts.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical realism in a picture book for preschoolers: 💯

[Katherine C. Hirstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Erin Puskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story full of magic and comfort. Amy's Three Best Things really do help her out and show her that she is capable of doing what scares her. I think this book is especially awesome because kids could definitely relate, as they struggle with staying places other than their own homes. I'd certainly use this in my classroom one day.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl wants to spend three nights at her grandmother's house, and very very wisely takes three things to help her get through the long, lonely nights.

This book is just perfect, especially the scene with the carousel at the end. I wish someone had read this book to me - several times - the first time I went to stay overnight at my grandmother's house as I remember it being particularly traumatic and difficult that first time. This story is beautiful and shows how well-loved the child is by all of her family. Warm and comforting reading and very highly recommended.

[Marilyn Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy, a preschooler, is planning for her first visit alone at her grandmother's. She is going to be there three days, and she is taking a special item --one for each of the three days. Every night after a day filled with fun activities, Amy falls alseep, but awakens with the advent of homesickness. She picks an item that takes her to observe what is going on at home. The visit concludes with a visit to a fair. The magical interludes are made to feel plausible. The watercolor illustrations set the mood for a good bedtime story.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice and simple story that will help children who are trying on their independence for the first time (and overnight at Grandma's house) and learning to cope with homesickness. The concept of the three things is a nice one and I like the imaginative aspect of her being able to "visit" her home and make sure everything is fine. The bit at the end with her seeing the car not there and having her family show up is a bit farfetched and might confuse some children into thinking this is real and not part of her imagination.

[Mackenzi Brozovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very well written with beautiful pictures. I think that this book would be great to read to children when they are afraid to be without their parents for fear of missing them. It could serve as a tool to have them find things to remind them of home when going away. In school, this book would be good to serve as a foundation of a project and have students bring in their own three best things. I think that this book was a bit lengthy and wordy, which were its only major downsides.

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this story because it can help children who are struggling with being away from their homes and their families. The story says that just because we can't see something doesn't mean that it's not there. So, our toys can't become real things and fly us home to see our families there, but this story can help children to realize that everything goes on as usual when you are away and their families are still there for them.

[Lainey Bulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how this story dealt with the child staying away from home the first time. It showed that even a little reminder from home is all you need sometimes and that there's nothing wrong with missing home or needing those reminders. The illustrations also provided excellent details of Amy's adventures and allowed the reader to sort of experience what she was experiencing.

[Jami W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how this book addressed the fears of being away from home. It's ok to miss your family even when you are somewhere familiar. I didn't really like the artwork though, it was very dark and scribbly and unclear.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this story is sweet and portrays a feeling that a lot of children can relate to when they're away from home. I like how she packs her three best things to remind of her of home at night when she is missing it. This story can help children cope when they take their first trip away from home.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A reassuring story to relieve children of their separation anxiety.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much text I didn't want to finish -- but from what I did glean, it seems like a rather weird one.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book about spending the night for the first time away from home would be a good touch point to start the discussion with your own child. kinda long.

[Kelsey]

Age: Preschool-1st grade

Amy experiences her first nights away from home at Grandma's house.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book about homesickness, but pretty wordy for the intended audience.