The Willoughbys

The Willoughbys. By Lois Lowry. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2008. 176 pages. Tr. $16.00 ISBN 978-0618979745

Summary: Lowry’s tale is a modern twist on the old-fashioned orphan story. The Willoughby children – twelve-year-old Timothy, ten-year-old twins Barnaby and Barnaby, and six-and-a-half-year-old Jane – are so repulsive to their parents that they decide to abandon them while on a trip to Switzerland. Their relationship with Commandeer Melanoff, the misanthropic, multi-million-dollar candy inventor, and Nanny, offers readers a pleasant, laughter-filled story.

Critical Review: Lowry’s tongue-in-cheek novel holds appeal to even the youngest of readers. She brilliantly parodies old-fashioned gothic and orphan stories, including Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, P. L. Travers’s Mary Poppins, The Bobbsey Twins Series, L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Series. Tweens’ vocabularies will be greatly expanded through reading this engaging novel. A glossary is appended.

Genre: Humor

Reading/Interest Level: 8-14 years

Reviews: Voice of Youth Advocates (August 1, 2008)

School Library Journal (August 1, 2008)

Booklist (February 15, 2008)

Publishers Weekly (February 4, 2008)

Author Website: http://www.loislowry.com/

Similar Materials: Polly Horvath’s My One Hundred Adventures (2008); Lemony Snicket’s The Austere Academy: A Series of Unfortunate Events (Book 5, 2008)

Subject/Themes: Family, Siblings, Orphans and Foster Children

Character Names: Timothy (the eldest child, who acts as family leader); Barnaby A and Barnaby B (ten-year old twins, who are generally referred to as A and B); Jane (incredibly shy, Jane is the youngest Willoughby); Commandeer Melanoff (a retired candy maker, who lives alone and laments the loss of his son); Baby Ruth (a foundling anonymously gifted to Mr. Melanoff); Nanny (hired when their parents leave on vacation, Nanny later takes on the role of the Willoughby's mother and helpmate to Mr. Melanoff); Hans-Peter von Schlusseldorf (a Swedish postmaster)

Brief Annotation: Lowry parodies classic orphan prose, through the humorous exploits of the Willoughby children.