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Anastasia Krupnik #5
Anastasia on Her Own
Help! Anastasia Krupnik's mother must organize her chaotic life. So Anastasia, who is a very organized person, and her father invent the solution to Mrs. Krupnik's problem: the Krupnik Family Nonsexist Housekeeping Schedule.
But when Mrs. Krupnik goes to California on a ten-day business trip, Anastasia finds that the problem isn't solved at all. It's hard to stick to a schedule that doesn't leave room for her little brother, Sam, who's come down with the chicken pox, and her father's former girlfriend, who's invited herself to dinner. How is Anastasia supposed to cope with these interruptions when she's planning her first dream-date dinner for Steve Harvey?
It's a cinch. As long as she sticks to the Krupnik Romantic Dinner Week Schedule, what could possibly go wrong?
But when Mrs. Krupnik goes to California on a ten-day business trip, Anastasia finds that the problem isn't solved at all. It's hard to stick to a schedule that doesn't leave room for her little brother, Sam, who's come down with the chicken pox, and her father's former girlfriend, who's invited herself to dinner. How is Anastasia supposed to cope with these interruptions when she's planning her first dream-date dinner for Steve Harvey?
It's a cinch. As long as she sticks to the Krupnik Romantic Dinner Week Schedule, what could possibly go wrong?
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
About the author
Lois Lowry
166 books23.1k followersTaken from Lowry's website:
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
April 20, 2011
Oh, Anastasia, the scrapes you get in to.
I didn't enjoy this book as much because it kept driving me bonkers that Anastasia's mother had to go out of town for a week, her brother got sick, and so Anastasia had to stay at home from school to take care of him...It felt like, Hello, Myron? Would you like to step up as other parent in this family, the other adult, and take care of your sick kid? You know, instead of letting your daughter miss tons of school so she can do all of these household chores and cooking and taking care of your young son? Can we all please acknowledge how weird that is?
Anyway, still very funny and charming. I especially loved when Anastasia was making dinner with the help of the tap dance lessons salesman and when she ordered tons of boxes of baking soda. I love when Anastasia decides, I'm going to do this, it sounds right, and even when she questions herself sometimes, she just keeps moving forward. She's a great role model :)
I didn't enjoy this book as much because it kept driving me bonkers that Anastasia's mother had to go out of town for a week, her brother got sick, and so Anastasia had to stay at home from school to take care of him...It felt like, Hello, Myron? Would you like to step up as other parent in this family, the other adult, and take care of your sick kid? You know, instead of letting your daughter miss tons of school so she can do all of these household chores and cooking and taking care of your young son? Can we all please acknowledge how weird that is?
Anyway, still very funny and charming. I especially loved when Anastasia was making dinner with the help of the tap dance lessons salesman and when she ordered tons of boxes of baking soda. I love when Anastasia decides, I'm going to do this, it sounds right, and even when she questions herself sometimes, she just keeps moving forward. She's a great role model :)
January 17, 2023
Just thirteen-year-old girl things:
Coping with the nerves you have for your first ever dinner date by latching onto a single detail in Cosmo mag which says purple is a romantic colour and proceeding to make sure everything in your dining area is purple including the tablecloth, which you dye yourself, when you don’t even like the colour purple. Then accidentally dying a whole bunch of your dad’s shirts purple in the process.
Getting dolled up for this date and wearing a pair of excruciating earrings, whilst the guy turns up in the sweatshirt he always wears.
Narrating your actions out loud as you cook your first fancy meal, like a Youtuber even in the days before Youtube. Even remembering to serve 'hor d'oeuvres', in the form of a bowl of peanuts.
Having a complete lack of cynicism in telephone salesmen, and people in general, and giving your time and energy to anyone trying to sell you something over the landline. Then being so preoccupied by performing the many tasks of womanhood that in a moment of desire to lighten the load, you ask this salesman how to open a bottle of wine and cook veal, whilst being too young and naive to realise that you’re about to be taken advantage of. Finally coming to the realisation that nothing is free, or an act of goodwill, and that you will need to be less polite to men going forward or you’ll have entered into some weird contract without even being aware of it.
Glad I got that off my chest.
P.S I’ll never tire of girl characters who are always getting into scrapes because it feeds into that ageless life-saving narrative that every stupid embarrassing thing you do is at least a funny anecdote to later entertain people with.
P.P.S Myron is ridiculous in this one. He's like Ron Swanson in the Tammy episode of Parks and Rec. Get a grip Myron, please, and don't let your daughter miss two weeks of school to look after her baby brother and run the entire household you man-child!
Coping with the nerves you have for your first ever dinner date by latching onto a single detail in Cosmo mag which says purple is a romantic colour and proceeding to make sure everything in your dining area is purple including the tablecloth, which you dye yourself, when you don’t even like the colour purple. Then accidentally dying a whole bunch of your dad’s shirts purple in the process.
Getting dolled up for this date and wearing a pair of excruciating earrings, whilst the guy turns up in the sweatshirt he always wears.
Narrating your actions out loud as you cook your first fancy meal, like a Youtuber even in the days before Youtube. Even remembering to serve 'hor d'oeuvres', in the form of a bowl of peanuts.
Having a complete lack of cynicism in telephone salesmen, and people in general, and giving your time and energy to anyone trying to sell you something over the landline. Then being so preoccupied by performing the many tasks of womanhood that in a moment of desire to lighten the load, you ask this salesman how to open a bottle of wine and cook veal, whilst being too young and naive to realise that you’re about to be taken advantage of. Finally coming to the realisation that nothing is free, or an act of goodwill, and that you will need to be less polite to men going forward or you’ll have entered into some weird contract without even being aware of it.
Glad I got that off my chest.
P.S I’ll never tire of girl characters who are always getting into scrapes because it feeds into that ageless life-saving narrative that every stupid embarrassing thing you do is at least a funny anecdote to later entertain people with.
P.P.S Myron is ridiculous in this one. He's like Ron Swanson in the Tammy episode of Parks and Rec. Get a grip Myron, please, and don't let your daughter miss two weeks of school to look after her baby brother and run the entire household you man-child!
January 6, 2016
EXTREMELY INFLUENTIAL. BLOOD OATH!!!!!!
February 9, 2016
I had no idea Lois Lowry wrote books for children. I am always on the lookout for children's books, and I enjoyed reading about Anastasia's troubles. I sympathize with Katherine's (the mom) housekeeping troubles. I am equally, if not more, disorganized. To be fair, Katherine has been running a household with two kids and a husband Myron and, from the looks of it, gets no support from the man of the house. Except for lists! Seriously, what's up with Myron?
Anastasia is pretty amazing. She keeps the household running, takes care of her brother, gives him special baths, calls the doctor when he is sick, orders food from a grocer, cooks a gourmet meal, throws a dinner party, takes care of her dad, and even provides political opinions. And she's barely 13! I loved her ingenuity and the way she handled issues.
The jarring part of the story was how Myron did nothing to help. He really needs to step it up as a parent. I wonder what would happen if Anastasia and Katherine were both out of town. Oh well, maybe he'll grow up before that happens.
All in all, a fun book. I would love to see what Anastasia is up to next. Only two stars though, because I was really disappointed by the dad.
Anastasia is pretty amazing. She keeps the household running, takes care of her brother, gives him special baths, calls the doctor when he is sick, orders food from a grocer, cooks a gourmet meal, throws a dinner party, takes care of her dad, and even provides political opinions. And she's barely 13! I loved her ingenuity and the way she handled issues.
The jarring part of the story was how Myron did nothing to help. He really needs to step it up as a parent. I wonder what would happen if Anastasia and Katherine were both out of town. Oh well, maybe he'll grow up before that happens.
All in all, a fun book. I would love to see what Anastasia is up to next. Only two stars though, because I was really disappointed by the dad.
August 23, 2019
From beginning to end, Mom is in charge, and everyone else just helps by doing things like making their own beds. She even feels selfish for taking a week to travel for work and does it mainly for the money. Also the implausibilities pile up... most weeks are not nearly as eventful as this one. Funny, but not the best in the series.
Growing up, the closest thing to these that I had access to was Trixie Belden. But the Anastasia books are even better than Naylor's Alice books, imo. More emphasis on humor, less on angst. Of course no one library has them all anymore, but I'll keep looking.
Growing up, the closest thing to these that I had access to was Trixie Belden. But the Anastasia books are even better than Naylor's Alice books, imo. More emphasis on humor, less on angst. Of course no one library has them all anymore, but I'll keep looking.
March 3, 2020
I love all things Anastasia, but c'mon Myron. Step the hell up. Why on earth is Anastasia the one who is supposed to keep the house running while mom is out of town for work for a week?! Granted, Anastasia creates some of her own drama and things to do, but a lot of this is a 13-year old girl being expected to manage things that even her mature mother would have a hard time handling. Progressive, liberal Myron is only progressive and liberal as far as it means no extra work for him. Be better.
October 2, 2015
3.5 stars. I forgot how crazy these books are! Oh Anastasia.....
September 19, 2009
How do I know the Lord is good? Because when things look absolutely grim an Anastasia book gets tossed in my lap. I found the last one at the goodwill and the one before that my sister bought me on a whim. I found this one in the Pomona Kids library last night after youth night. It is not my favorite of the Anastasia books, but it is a solid story told with wit and joy. As always the character of Anastasia is a delight. If I ever decide to get a Masters in Children's Literature (back-up plan) my thesis will be entitled: How Anastasia Begot The Giver, the development of Lois Lowry as a voice of change and hope in children's literature.
January 25, 2011
The Anastasia series was one of my favorite book series as a kid - partly because the main character's name was Anastasia, and partially because it's just such a cute series. I couldn't believe when I stumbled across one of the Anastasia books at a thrift store, and of course bought it & read it for the first book in my "YA of the 80's & 90's" book challenge.
The book is cute, full of kid-drama, and reminds me of life when I was that age.
The book is cute, full of kid-drama, and reminds me of life when I was that age.
September 29, 2018
Pretty good book I have to say. Lois Lowry wins again! It can be stressful to take care of a house, a brother with chicken pox, and creating the first date of your dreams. Lois Lowry expresses all of those perfectly and with such good figurative language.
June 7, 2022
I loved reading this series as a kid, so it was fun to revisit as an adult. Since it was written in 1985, it was probably very progressive at the time. The Krupniks treat their children with respect and talk and reason with them as if they are more like adults. You can tell that when Anastasia, in all her tweenness, criticizes her mom's fashion sense or disorganization there is still love and admiration between them despite not agreeing. The plot involving an ever-changing "nonsexist family housecleaning schedule" was funny.
It was a fun read aloud because Anastasia is 13 and my oldest will be in a month. Seeing her life from a 1985 perspective required some explaining about why people were trying to sell Anastasia things over the landline phone, why her friend was dieting, hanging out at McDonald's with friends because you didn't have cellphones and computers to chat or play games.
A lot of laughter and conversations ensued from our readings. Excited to get the other ones soon!
It was a fun read aloud because Anastasia is 13 and my oldest will be in a month. Seeing her life from a 1985 perspective required some explaining about why people were trying to sell Anastasia things over the landline phone, why her friend was dieting, hanging out at McDonald's with friends because you didn't have cellphones and computers to chat or play games.
A lot of laughter and conversations ensued from our readings. Excited to get the other ones soon!
December 6, 2021
Sigh. Parts were good, but I'm going to be done proofing this series now. Even though the mature content wasn't so prevalent in this book as the first ones in the series (though Anastasia is younger in those!!), it still has Anastasia trying to get colors and decor for "passion" in her first dinner date with her 13yo boyfriend. Then the dad hands off all responsibility for his son with chicken pox to Anastasia so she's missing school, and on top of that makes her miss her first date to the movies, making her do all the cooking for her first date at home so she can chaperone his date with his old fling, a grotesquely described woman, while his wife is away from home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2022
"Anastasia, I wish you'd learn to appreciate Bach. Rachmaninoff is schmaltzy." It was worth the entire book to come across this one line. Actually I always appreciate Anastasia's adventures and this one is a doozy. Left to her own devices when her mom is called out of town for a week, well, it is a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions!
January 8, 2024
Purple IS the color of passion, after all. I also loved the telephone shopping.
August 12, 2021
Keeping house is super simple, when you are not the one executing all of the tasks. Anastasia and her father decide to whip the household into shape, creating a housekeeping schedule for her mother. In the process, they notice areas where they could help out a bit more, but even that little bit isn't enough. Anastasia's mother -- Katherine -- is a freelance artist, but her workday continually gets interrupted by getting the kids organized, doing laundry, ordering groceries, talking to telemarketers, forgetting to plan for dinner and then having to prepare dinner, and she never gets ahead. But one day, Katherine gets an invitation to consult on an animated movie based on her art, and the rest of the family will be left alone to fend for themselves for a week.
Anastasia, Sam, and their father -- Myron -- quickly dissolve into chaos. Sam gets chicken pox, Myron gets strongarmed into a dinner date with a former flame (I know, right?), Anastasia has her first date. They all realize that keeping the family on track is rather a larger task than they anticipated. And Katherine realizes that all she needs is a microwave. So, you know, she can defrost dinner.
Anastasia, Sam, and their father -- Myron -- quickly dissolve into chaos. Sam gets chicken pox, Myron gets strongarmed into a dinner date with a former flame (I know, right?), Anastasia has her first date. They all realize that keeping the family on track is rather a larger task than they anticipated. And Katherine realizes that all she needs is a microwave. So, you know, she can defrost dinner.
July 9, 2013
Anastasia’s mother is busy and scatterbrained, so she’s having a hard time keeping track of her responsibilities. The family decides to partake in schedule making so that the household runs better. When the mother leaves town on business, Anastasia is in charge of things. Everything should be fine if the family sticks to a schedule, right?
Forget her mom’s messes. As the woman of the household, Anastasia makes huge mistakes by being gullible while talking to telephone salespeople, ruining the laundry, and so much more. Her little brother has chicken pox and her father’s former flame visits, so Anastasia has her hands full.
Although I liked this novel, the premise of schedule-making and being organized didn’t completely grab me. I didn’t really enjoy the book until after Anastasia’s mom left for her trip and all the hilarity ensued. I couldn’t help but think that this book reminded me of a sitcom—short in length and humorous.
Forget her mom’s messes. As the woman of the household, Anastasia makes huge mistakes by being gullible while talking to telephone salespeople, ruining the laundry, and so much more. Her little brother has chicken pox and her father’s former flame visits, so Anastasia has her hands full.
Although I liked this novel, the premise of schedule-making and being organized didn’t completely grab me. I didn’t really enjoy the book until after Anastasia’s mom left for her trip and all the hilarity ensued. I couldn’t help but think that this book reminded me of a sitcom—short in length and humorous.
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June 9, 2020I started re-reading this series a few years ago, because it was one of my favorites as a child. They're all available as eBooks from the library, so I just picked the re-read back up since I'm beholden to only eBooks in our current COVID-closed world.
I love how Anastasia ages throughout the series, probably intended to age as her audience does. Her relationship with her parents is always amusing and particularly striking now; they treat each other in the Krupnik family very much as equals - and I don't think that was a major parenting trend of the day. I ate these stories up because Anastasia was so relatable and her stories so everyday. Reading as an adult, I appreciate how honest and self-reflective she is, how she opens up to herself and her parents, and recognizes that communication can always help solve her problems.
I love how Anastasia ages throughout the series, probably intended to age as her audience does. Her relationship with her parents is always amusing and particularly striking now; they treat each other in the Krupnik family very much as equals - and I don't think that was a major parenting trend of the day. I ate these stories up because Anastasia was so relatable and her stories so everyday. Reading as an adult, I appreciate how honest and self-reflective she is, how she opens up to herself and her parents, and recognizes that communication can always help solve her problems.
October 7, 2015
Lois Lowryn "Anastasia omillaan" (Otava, 1992) on sarjan viides ja samalla viimeinen suomennettu kirja, jossa Krupnikin perhe joutuu keskelle kodinhoitokaaosta kun Anastasian äiti lähtee Kaliforniaan neuvottelemaan animaatioelokuvan tekemisestä. Samin vesirokko, lähestyvät ensimmäiset treffit ja kuvioihin saapuva isän entinen heila eivät helpota lainkaan tilannetta.
Harmitonta, viihdyttävää ja realistista varhaisnuorten kirjallisuutta.
Harmitonta, viihdyttävää ja realistista varhaisnuorten kirjallisuutta.
August 12, 2021
An interesting look at the past. One of Anastasia’s friends thinks she’s fat and goes on a diet. Poor girl.
Also the fact that a 13 year-old could take care of her brother for a week!
Poor Anastasia too. Myron, step up and help your daughter! He gets his comeuppance in a visit from a former girlfriend. Personally, I adored bleeping Annie. She sounds fun.
I loved that Anastasia compared Steve to Lawrence Olivier. Ha ha ha.
Also the fact that a 13 year-old could take care of her brother for a week!
Poor Anastasia too. Myron, step up and help your daughter! He gets his comeuppance in a visit from a former girlfriend. Personally, I adored bleeping Annie. She sounds fun.
I loved that Anastasia compared Steve to Lawrence Olivier. Ha ha ha.
February 13, 2012
Anastasia is one of my favourite childhood characters. I love how quirky she is, and the books are pleasant, enjoyable, and have a wry sense of humour that I can relate to. They are- or at least the ones I have read are- suitable for younger readers.
May 26, 2020
Like a lesson in the olden days for Isaac. He was all "somebody calls you to sell you blankets and dance lessons?" This volume in the Anastasia series features pre-vaccine chicken pox and some hilarious 80s semi-feminism.
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February 25, 2009THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A YOUNG GIRL WHO FIGURES SHE CAN DO EVERYTHING ALL BY HERSELF WHILE HER MOTHER IS OUT OF TOWN
February 16, 2023
I love Lois Lowry, but I have never read any Anastasia books. This was hilarious and dry-witted and funny, for a YA book. The struggles of 'keeping house' are real.
December 27, 2024
Bludoth!
August 27, 2022
I enjoyed Anastasia Krupnik, and I also enjoyed this one. Lowry doesn't do what I expected with the story -- sometimes the story line seemed so obvious, completely set up for a particular result -- but sometimes things didn't turn out the way I thought they would, or it was just left hanging. Which, in this case, I really liked. I like Katherine Krupnik, Myron Krupnik, Anastasia, and Sam (Mother, Father, the two kids) and enjoyed their interactions. In one really dated episode, Myron (a Harvard professor and poet) sits down with Anastasia to make a housekeeping to-do list for Katherine; he titles it Katherine Krupnik's Housekeeping List, but Anastasia argues successfully for a different title: "Krupnik Family Nonsexist Housekeeping Schedule," since Katherine is a working artist and all of them should do their parts.
This was published in 1985, coming up on 40 years ago, but even then I would have bristled at husband and daughter making a list -- although Katherine is game, since she frequently says she's
"a lousy homemaker" because she frequently forgets to take meat out of the freezer for dinner (assumption: one must have meat or it isn't dinner!), and runs out of time for other chores as well. However, as obviously weird as it is in 2022, it is, after all, a children's book, and there are plenty of other things in a fairly comedic novel that weren't realistic. But it's fun, and it was perfect in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, because I could read half of it and save the other half for today.
I can't think of many other adults who might like it, though, with the exception of my sister Dena. There are lots of children's books and YA books that adults read as often as kids; this isn't one. Oh, the other reason I will keep both this and the first book in the series is that I love the pencil drawings. I don't draw well, but I sometimes enjoy copying something someone else has drawn; as long as it looks vaguely like what I mean it to, I'm happy.
This was published in 1985, coming up on 40 years ago, but even then I would have bristled at husband and daughter making a list -- although Katherine is game, since she frequently says she's
"a lousy homemaker" because she frequently forgets to take meat out of the freezer for dinner (assumption: one must have meat or it isn't dinner!), and runs out of time for other chores as well. However, as obviously weird as it is in 2022, it is, after all, a children's book, and there are plenty of other things in a fairly comedic novel that weren't realistic. But it's fun, and it was perfect in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, because I could read half of it and save the other half for today.
I can't think of many other adults who might like it, though, with the exception of my sister Dena. There are lots of children's books and YA books that adults read as often as kids; this isn't one. Oh, the other reason I will keep both this and the first book in the series is that I love the pencil drawings. I don't draw well, but I sometimes enjoy copying something someone else has drawn; as long as it looks vaguely like what I mean it to, I'm happy.
October 5, 2022
4.5 per Anastasia, padrona di casa
Recensione completa su Scheggia tra le pagine
Forse questo è il libro migliore della serie, almeno tra quelli usciti ad oggi in Italia. Non solo! Questo è un libro che potrebbe essere utile per spiegare e far comprendere a tutti (figli e genitori) quanto sia importante collaborare nella gestione della casa, senza far pesare il carico su una sola figura, che spesso si rivela essere la madre.
Tra pessima organizzazione e un viaggio di lavoro improvviso, Anastasia si ritrova a gestire la casa, la varicella di Sam e il suo primo appuntamento.
Anche questo libro si legge con piacere, è scorrevole e breve, inoltre veicola tanti messaggi importanti, da non sottovalutare, così come ci mostra un’adolescente alle prese con la prima cotta e i primi comportamenti strani e assurdi che caratterizzano quell’età.
Questo volume mette Anastasia di fronte alle difficoltà vissute dalla madre, all’importanza della collaborazione e anche la questione economica.
È un volume estremamente attuale, nonostante questa sia una serie di molti anni fa, infatti alcune frasi e situazioni trovano sicuramente una spiegazione maggiore se riportate nel tempo e nel contesto.
Recensione completa su Scheggia tra le pagine
Forse questo è il libro migliore della serie, almeno tra quelli usciti ad oggi in Italia. Non solo! Questo è un libro che potrebbe essere utile per spiegare e far comprendere a tutti (figli e genitori) quanto sia importante collaborare nella gestione della casa, senza far pesare il carico su una sola figura, che spesso si rivela essere la madre.
Tra pessima organizzazione e un viaggio di lavoro improvviso, Anastasia si ritrova a gestire la casa, la varicella di Sam e il suo primo appuntamento.
Anche questo libro si legge con piacere, è scorrevole e breve, inoltre veicola tanti messaggi importanti, da non sottovalutare, così come ci mostra un’adolescente alle prese con la prima cotta e i primi comportamenti strani e assurdi che caratterizzano quell’età.
Questo volume mette Anastasia di fronte alle difficoltà vissute dalla madre, all’importanza della collaborazione e anche la questione economica.
È un volume estremamente attuale, nonostante questa sia una serie di molti anni fa, infatti alcune frasi e situazioni trovano sicuramente una spiegazione maggiore se riportate nel tempo e nel contesto.
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February 15, 2026"krupnik family extremely sexist housekeeping schedule
version 4
7:00 A.M.
everyone gets up.
everyone eats breakfast.
8:00 A.M.
myron leaves.
anastasia stays home and does nothing but grimy household tasks all day long, and answers the phone continually, and never even has a chance to read a book or anything. sam just watches stupid tv shows which have no educational value at all or else he follows anastasia around, whining, and doesn't help with anything, and whatever she offers him for lunch, he just says "blecch" and does barfing imitations.
NIGHT: everybody goes to bed, wearing clean pajamas because anastasia has been standing over a hot washing machine all day long, but probably no one will even notice that, much less say "thank you."
NOTE: when mom calls, DO NOT MENTION new housekeeping schedule, or CHICKEN POX or SCHOOL.
*** vacuuming and window-washing — forget it."
version 4
7:00 A.M.
everyone gets up.
everyone eats breakfast.
8:00 A.M.
myron leaves.
anastasia stays home and does nothing but grimy household tasks all day long, and answers the phone continually, and never even has a chance to read a book or anything. sam just watches stupid tv shows which have no educational value at all or else he follows anastasia around, whining, and doesn't help with anything, and whatever she offers him for lunch, he just says "blecch" and does barfing imitations.
NIGHT: everybody goes to bed, wearing clean pajamas because anastasia has been standing over a hot washing machine all day long, but probably no one will even notice that, much less say "thank you."
NOTE: when mom calls, DO NOT MENTION new housekeeping schedule, or CHICKEN POX or SCHOOL.
*** vacuuming and window-washing — forget it."
March 12, 2020
The name of the book is “Anastasia On Her Own” and the author is Lois Lowry. The lexile level is 640. The main characters are Anastasia and her family, her parents Mr. Krupni’t and Mrs. Krupnik't and her little brother Sam. Her mom goes away for a couple of weeks and Anastasia is left in charge.
She starts out good and makes a list to keep everything in order. But as the week goes on the list eventually doesn't work it turns into a mess it gets messy. Then her little brother eventually gets chicken pots which makes it worse. As the story comes to an end it gets better.
I liked the book. It was kind of funny and weird. The book wasn’t confusing, it was clear and there were some words that were highlighted. It wasn’t really predictable. It had a happy ending. I'm a really messy person so I can relate a little bit to Anastasia.
She starts out good and makes a list to keep everything in order. But as the week goes on the list eventually doesn't work it turns into a mess it gets messy. Then her little brother eventually gets chicken pots which makes it worse. As the story comes to an end it gets better.
I liked the book. It was kind of funny and weird. The book wasn’t confusing, it was clear and there were some words that were highlighted. It wasn’t really predictable. It had a happy ending. I'm a really messy person so I can relate a little bit to Anastasia.
May 17, 2020
Anastasia is still the witty girl with thoughts focused on what she deems very important:
Having her first date..
Being in charge of their household since her mom left for a special invitation from California..
Revising their family nonsexist housekeeping schedule from time to time..
She finds them easy. She is organized, by the way.. But unexpected events come their way!
I find humor on how the whole family dealt with daily struggles. They aren't perfect family but theirs is very lovely and cool! I am reminded on how my own mother handled us. There are things with mothers that you really cannot match with, especially if you are still a kid.
I am happy that I read this short novel. I still would like to know the happenings in the life of this young heroine. :) I ended up reflecting a lot because of her story. Lois Lowry, you are really great! 😊
Having her first date..
Being in charge of their household since her mom left for a special invitation from California..
Revising their family nonsexist housekeeping schedule from time to time..
She finds them easy. She is organized, by the way.. But unexpected events come their way!
I find humor on how the whole family dealt with daily struggles. They aren't perfect family but theirs is very lovely and cool! I am reminded on how my own mother handled us. There are things with mothers that you really cannot match with, especially if you are still a kid.
I am happy that I read this short novel. I still would like to know the happenings in the life of this young heroine. :) I ended up reflecting a lot because of her story. Lois Lowry, you are really great! 😊
September 19, 2017
Very funny book that could keep a child's attention. This book is about a thirteen-year-old girl who is left in charge of the house while her mother is away on a business trip. Anastasia and her father make a nonsexist housekeeping schedule to make sure things get done around the house. While Anastasia's mother is away, Anastasia is in charge of cooking, doing dishes, doing laundry, cooking a gourmet dinner for the first date, and staying home with her three-year-old brother when he gets chicken pox. Great and very humorous story that children may be able to relate to in some aspect or would be able to stay interested in.
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