I Like Being Alone

by Betty Ren Wright, Krystyna Stasiak (Illustrator), Barbara F. Okun (Introduction)

Brenda's tree house provides her with the privacy she needs to make a few discoveries about herself.

Genres: Picture Books

31 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Betty Ren Wright was an award-winning author of children's fiction including The Dollhouse Murders, The Ghosts Of Mercy Manor and A Ghost in The House.

Known for her ghost stories and mysteries, Wright published 28 children's novels between 1981 and 2006, as well as picture books and short stories. Prior to pursuing her career as a full-time author in 1978, she worked as an editor of children's books.

Wright lived in Wisconsin with her husband, painter George A. Fredericksen, until her death in 2013.

Reviews

[Abigail]

One of a large family, Brenda sometimes longs for a place of her own where she can sit quietly and think. Her Aunt Rose, who rents a room in the house, and is therefore the only member of the family to have a room to herself, understands this desire and helps her to build a treehouse of her very own. Here Brenda experiences being alone for the first time, finding it peaceful and productive. She loves her family, and she loves being with them, but she finds she also likes being alone...

Although I sought out I Like Being Alone because I admire the artwork of illustrator Krystyna Stasiak, I was immediately struck by the title, and when I read it, but the psychological truth of the story. Although my own family, growing up, was considerably smaller than Brenda's, I still enjoyed getting away from them at times, and playing games of make-believe on my own, or just sitting and thinking. We had an old carriage house in our backyard that served very well as a retreat, and as a setting for games, whether communal or solitary. I have rarely seen a children's book which addresses the need to be alone, making Betty Ren Wright's book especially welcome. Nowadays, with helicopter parents and paranoia about stranger danger, it's difficult to imagine parents allowing children the freedom that I took for granted as a girl. I don't know that the text itself here was that accomplished, nor the artwork as appealing as I'd expected - there was a little too much orange in these paintings - but I liked the concept so much that I enjoyed it nevertheless. Recommended to young introverts, and to any child that longs for space and time of their own.