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The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes
The Best Is Yet to Come
Abby is finally graduating from fifth-grade and she expects she'll have a quiet summer. But when Abby's mom's college friend and her young daughter come to visit, Abby's summer is anything but quiet!
144 pages, Library Binding
First published May 1, 2004
About the author
Anne Mazer
74 books108 followersQuite a lot of Anne Mazer’s writing education took place while she was unconscious. Her parents wanted desperately to become writers and made themselves get up at 4:00 a.m. Every morning in order to have writing time before their three young children awoke. The first thing Anne heard every day was two big, noisy electric typewriters. The furious sound of typing was her childhood wake-up music. During the day, her parents endlessly discussed ideas, plot, and character, and before she was seven years old, Anne knew about revisions, first and second drafts, and rejection slips. It was like growing up in a twenty four hour, seven day a week writer’s boot camp.
In order to escape from her parents’ obsession with writing, Anne turned to books. She was an avid reader from an early age and credits her love of reading for her writing career. Her favorite works were fantasy, fairy tales, historical fiction, humor, realistic fiction, and adventure. Her other interests were language, art, history, and science. At the age of twelve, she wanted to be an actress, a ballerina and a nuclear physicist. These careers were rapidly eliminated as she realized that a) she couldn’t dance, b) she couldn’t act; and c) she hated math.
Although at the time Anne thought writing was nothing but a nuisance, she now considers herself very lucky to have grown up with two aspiring writers. She learned a lot about discipline, perseverance and dedication to a craft from witnessing her parents’ struggle. They eventually became successful and award-winning young adult novelists.
It took Anne a long time to figure out that she, too, wanted to be a writer. During early adulthood, she worked as an au pair, a bank teller, a pill bottle labeler, a receptionist, an English tutor, and an administrative assistant, as well as other jobs that she was ill-suited for. She attended three universities, spent several years in Paris, traveled throughout Europe, and worked in Boston and New York City.
Anne’s “eureka” moment about writing came while she prepared a research report for one of her bosses. As she lovingly polished each sentence, and meticulously organized the paragraphs, she realized that no one really cared how beautifully she wrote about the latest models of air-conditioners. Except her, of course.
Using her parents’ model of daily writing and discipline, she began to write. It took her seven years to publish her first book, a picture book inspired by her then two year old son, Max.
Anne is the mother of an adult son and daughter. Over the last twenty years, she has written over forty-five books for young readers. She has enough ideas to last for another quarter century and hopes that she will be writing for a very long time.
Fun Facts About Anne Mazer
Her favorite foods are popcorn, rice pudding and blueberries.
When she was a kid, she would sometimes read up to ten books a day.
If she had magic powers, she'd choose invisibility.
She painted the rooms in her house yellow, orange, and violet.
One of her favorite childhood books was The Twilight of Magic, by Hugh Lofting.
When Anne was a teenager, her room was so messy that she needed a map to get from the door to the bed. (sort of)
In school Anne often flunked her favorite creative subjects, like writing and art.
In order to escape from her parents’ obsession with writing, Anne turned to books. She was an avid reader from an early age and credits her love of reading for her writing career. Her favorite works were fantasy, fairy tales, historical fiction, humor, realistic fiction, and adventure. Her other interests were language, art, history, and science. At the age of twelve, she wanted to be an actress, a ballerina and a nuclear physicist. These careers were rapidly eliminated as she realized that a) she couldn’t dance, b) she couldn’t act; and c) she hated math.
Although at the time Anne thought writing was nothing but a nuisance, she now considers herself very lucky to have grown up with two aspiring writers. She learned a lot about discipline, perseverance and dedication to a craft from witnessing her parents’ struggle. They eventually became successful and award-winning young adult novelists.
It took Anne a long time to figure out that she, too, wanted to be a writer. During early adulthood, she worked as an au pair, a bank teller, a pill bottle labeler, a receptionist, an English tutor, and an administrative assistant, as well as other jobs that she was ill-suited for. She attended three universities, spent several years in Paris, traveled throughout Europe, and worked in Boston and New York City.
Anne’s “eureka” moment about writing came while she prepared a research report for one of her bosses. As she lovingly polished each sentence, and meticulously organized the paragraphs, she realized that no one really cared how beautifully she wrote about the latest models of air-conditioners. Except her, of course.
Using her parents’ model of daily writing and discipline, she began to write. It took her seven years to publish her first book, a picture book inspired by her then two year old son, Max.
Anne is the mother of an adult son and daughter. Over the last twenty years, she has written over forty-five books for young readers. She has enough ideas to last for another quarter century and hopes that she will be writing for a very long time.
Fun Facts About Anne Mazer
Her favorite foods are popcorn, rice pudding and blueberries.
When she was a kid, she would sometimes read up to ten books a day.
If she had magic powers, she'd choose invisibility.
She painted the rooms in her house yellow, orange, and violet.
One of her favorite childhood books was The Twilight of Magic, by Hugh Lofting.
When Anne was a teenager, her room was so messy that she needed a map to get from the door to the bed. (sort of)
In school Anne often flunked her favorite creative subjects, like writing and art.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 10, 2011
This is one of my favoritest (it's so awesome I'm not even using real words anymore!!) books in the series of Abby Hayes! (Vol. 20 is also one of my very favorites, but anyway . . .)
So first of all, this book is the book where Abby graduates from the 5th grade AND she goes through the torturing responsibility of babysitting her mother's friend's vicious daughter, Wynter.
I found this book very funny. I actually read this book all in one day because it was so awesome (well, I read it all in one day because it wasn't as long as a novel. But still, it kept me capitivated for just that long!).
If you're looking for a chapter book with humor, this is definitely your book! And this book contains both 1st person in Abby's POV (she has an INCREDIBLE amount of voice) and in 3rd person. I've never found any writing like this, so that's what makes it original!!
Anyway, this review was pretty short. But I just wanted to say that this book is awesome, as well as the series. So just go to your local library or local bookstore or local online store or local Theresa's house to ask me to lend this book to you and just open this book and READ IT!
So first of all, this book is the book where Abby graduates from the 5th grade AND she goes through the torturing responsibility of babysitting her mother's friend's vicious daughter, Wynter.
I found this book very funny. I actually read this book all in one day because it was so awesome (well, I read it all in one day because it wasn't as long as a novel. But still, it kept me capitivated for just that long!).
If you're looking for a chapter book with humor, this is definitely your book! And this book contains both 1st person in Abby's POV (she has an INCREDIBLE amount of voice) and in 3rd person. I've never found any writing like this, so that's what makes it original!!
Anyway, this review was pretty short. But I just wanted to say that this book is awesome, as well as the series. So just go to your local library or local bookstore or local online store or local Theresa's house to ask me to lend this book to you and just open this book and READ IT!
July 8, 2016
Previously I had read Ann Mazer's "The Salamander Room" but this is my first Abby Hayes book. I made the mistake of seeing a #1 on the cover and thought it was the first book in the series but really it was number #13 and Abby was getting ready to graduate from 5th grade. Thus I probably didn't really appreciate Abby's Fifth-Grade Yearbook but I followed the story just fine. I can imagine that this would be a popular series with young girls as it is realistic and deal with the thoughts, feelings, and concerns of 10 and 11 year olds. My favorite parts of this book were the calendar quotes, Abby's journal entries, and the use of humor.
May 18, 2011
Abby Hayes is a fifth grader who is graduating and is excited about her summer. She finds out thought that she needs to babysit her mom's friends daughter. I liked the book because it was interesting.
October 27, 2014
I liked this book, but I dropped a star purely for Laurie and Wynter (yes, wwith a 'y'). My gods lady, you are a stuck up b*tch, and your daughter is a little bratty monster. I am sorry for those sorts of words, but it's true.
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April 2, 2009Keep the old, good memories!!
June 8, 2009
graduating is FUN?
Read
June 20, 2009That you should tell then truth
November 17, 2009
Abby is a very curious girl
April 7, 2011
GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read
May 2, 2011it was a great book
September 22, 2013
Good book! It even comes with Abby's year book.
August 16, 2021
I would have been swearing up a storm if i was Abby that special guest oh boy she should have been thrown out on her rear 10 minutes in to her visit!!!!!!! now that i am older i appreciate this book more, its awesome abby graduated from 5th grade but dealing with that spoilt brat and the mother being a huge prat who cant shut her trap about what the hayes family is eating i dont know how Olivia was ever friends with her, im glad they finally got her to leave and let abby say what was on her mind
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2021
the anger coursing through my veins with laurie and wynter. this was and still is my worst nightmare
March 9, 2009
short it was ok
September 8, 2009
I love Anne Mazer
January 12, 2010
I love special editions
July 8, 2010
Fun book
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews