What do you think?
Addie Mills #4
ADDIE & THE KING OF
Addie decides to capture the heart of her seventh-grade teacher during the Valentine's Day Dance
Paperback
First published January 12, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 16, 2024
It was nice to read a book from a girl's POV of 1949. It was a sweet and simple story to follow.
February 16, 2021
Addie's personality is not as enduring as the Christmas book and Thanksgiving book. Found her a bit of a brat to be honest. Her Grandmother shines in this book though. The ending and epilogue are the best parts of this book.
November 17, 2021
Not my favorite of the Addie Mills books, but I did enjoy getting to read it after searching for it for so long. In this story, Addie and her friends are preparing for the 7th grade Valentine's Day dance at school. Addie yearns to impress her substitute teacher, Mr. Davenport, by coming off as mature and sophisticated. Meanwhile, Addie's father begins seeing Irene, one of the hair dressers in town. As usual, Addie gets herself into a scrape at the dance, but learns that love, even when it doesn't go the way we planned, is still a special feeling to have and share in its many forms.
October 6, 2025
love love these books!
I’m so happy to discover this series. As a former 5 th grade teacher I had a tradition of reading “The House Without a
Christmas Tree” each December to my students before the break, then of course we watched the movie and compared.
Reading the rest of the series wishing I was still teaching so I could share them with my students.
I’m so happy to discover this series. As a former 5 th grade teacher I had a tradition of reading “The House Without a
Christmas Tree” each December to my students before the break, then of course we watched the movie and compared.
Reading the rest of the series wishing I was still teaching so I could share them with my students.
December 9, 2025
I loved the story, and the post World War II setting.
November 25, 2022
I grew up watching the Addie Specials on TV. I vaguely remember this one.
The book. Well. From a nostalgic point of view, it's awesome. I read all kinds of middle reader books when I was growing up, and just reading the style of writing makes me nostalgic. Although this is a "girls book," I probably would have read it at the time (mainly because I'd seen the TV specials). Somehow I missed it though. Reading it now does bring back the feeling of the late 70's and settling down with books like this.
The nostalgia also does something a little weird. The books are set in the 40's, but in so many ways, growing up in the 40's was similar to growing up in the 70's. Times were so different than today. So I read this book and can absolutely relate to the classroom where Addie "falls in love" for the first time.
The book itself. I'm not sure if it holds up. I mean that in the sense that I don't know if a 12 or 13 year old today would enjoy it. It's a basic plot, with some emotions any kid at the time could have felt. The story moves along quickly, helped by the fact that we already know the main characters. But again, it's pretty basic.
It's also not the best Addie book. The Christmas and Thanksgiving stories bring a better punch to the story.
Does anyone have a pre-teen who reads these today? I'd like to hear their thoughts.
The book. Well. From a nostalgic point of view, it's awesome. I read all kinds of middle reader books when I was growing up, and just reading the style of writing makes me nostalgic. Although this is a "girls book," I probably would have read it at the time (mainly because I'd seen the TV specials). Somehow I missed it though. Reading it now does bring back the feeling of the late 70's and settling down with books like this.
The nostalgia also does something a little weird. The books are set in the 40's, but in so many ways, growing up in the 40's was similar to growing up in the 70's. Times were so different than today. So I read this book and can absolutely relate to the classroom where Addie "falls in love" for the first time.
The book itself. I'm not sure if it holds up. I mean that in the sense that I don't know if a 12 or 13 year old today would enjoy it. It's a basic plot, with some emotions any kid at the time could have felt. The story moves along quickly, helped by the fact that we already know the main characters. But again, it's pretty basic.
It's also not the best Addie book. The Christmas and Thanksgiving stories bring a better punch to the story.
Does anyone have a pre-teen who reads these today? I'd like to hear their thoughts.
November 14, 2016
I've been trying to do some research on YA and middle grade books, and I came across this one in one of the little libraries in my town (or as I call them "book prisons").
The story, told in 86 pages, is pretty simple. 13-year old Addie has a crush on her teacher, preferring his sophisticated conversations on art to the teasing of her classmate Billy. Her widowed father also has just begun dating again. But during the Valentine's Day dance, Addie learns that love can often be unexpected, and your dreams don't always go according to plan. I enjoyed seeing Addie grow up in the course of the book. The prologue and epilogue, narrated by the adult Addie looking back at her childhood in the 1940s, helped to create this perspective of growth and change.
The story, told in 86 pages, is pretty simple. 13-year old Addie has a crush on her teacher, preferring his sophisticated conversations on art to the teasing of her classmate Billy. Her widowed father also has just begun dating again. But during the Valentine's Day dance, Addie learns that love can often be unexpected, and your dreams don't always go according to plan. I enjoyed seeing Addie grow up in the course of the book. The prologue and epilogue, narrated by the adult Addie looking back at her childhood in the 1940s, helped to create this perspective of growth and change.
October 7, 2014
Addie's brattiness in this one was a bit off-putting (I get it, she's a teenager now but...still) and Grandma's cynical view of love was a bit shocking, but I have such nostalgia about this book. I remember the permanent part (and being confused when I got one and didn't have to be hooked up to the wires on a machine) and the stockings & garters bit.
Want to Read
February 27, 2012Not available at the library
August 16, 2013
Ah, good old Addie. I love her character.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews