Hitty: Her First Hundred Years

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Summary: How nice to have Hitty back
Review: I attended a three-room school in a village outside of Kansas City, Missouri in the early 1940's. Our school library was housed in a three-shelf bookcase, about three feet wide, at the back of the "middle" room. One of the books in that bookcase was "Hitty: Her First Hundred Years." I loved that book, and I must have read it a dozen times, but I never owned a copy of it, and I don't think I have seen it since I left grade school. How nice to find it has been republished. I'm ordering a copy to read aloud to my granddaughter!

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Summary: Hitty a Wonderful Doll Heroine
Review: I can't imagine a better way to enjoy a sunny summer day than with a book that begins by carrying the doll heroine, and you,the reader, off to sea in a sailing ship to visit exotic locations both far and near. (Notice the world map at the end of the book to help trace Hitty's journeys.) Hitty is a wonderful doll heroine. Her human companions can be naughty or nice, but Hitty makes her own eventful way through decades. Be ready to enjoy this book -- whether a seasoned reader or young chlld who delights in dressing and decorating their well-loved dolls -- you will find HItty will capture your heart. And if you do love dolls, doll houses, and creating clothes and household items for your dolls from scraps of fabric, bits of shiny paper, beads and buttons, your imagination will also be captured by reading any of the several books by Rumer Godden. I especially recommend "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower," "The Kitchen Madonna," and "Candy Floss." If they have not recently been reprinted you may be able to find them at your local library.

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Summary: Fascinating
Review: I read it when I was 10 years old and I still love it . Get a copy today.(I'm 70)

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Summary: A contemporary appeal, to a vintaged story...
Review: I've heard pros and cons, and I respect all and agree with various points from each comment. But I guess I was drawn to this revised version because I feel it has brought another element to a classic story that might otherwise be missed. I also own the original, first edition, Hitty. As a collector of vintaged children's books, especially those with doll/toy genres, and being an author/illustrator as well, I am all too familiar with the way children grow into appreciating books/stories. It is never an easy task to tackle a classic and re-dress it to appeal to a more modern and sophisticated audience...yet keep the integrity of what originally made the book a classic. I believe both Wells and Jeffers did a wonderful job, modifiying just enough to give us a beautifully made continuation of a story worth re-introducing into a new generation of imaginations.

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Summary: If the author knew Hitty...
Review: If the author really understood the character of Hitty, a real doll for whom Rachael Field wrote imaginary adventures, perhaps she would have written her book with more respect for the original story. The changes she made: (adding an elephant (?) to Phoebe and Hitty's coral beads, making the antique shop where the story ended into a pawn shop, etc. did not make the story easier to understand or more relevant. Any child who can read the adaptation could read the original. The illustrator certainly had never seen the real Hitty, as her doll bent in ways the real Hitty could not. It boils down, in my opinion, to frivolous changes to a story and pictures that need no changes. I would not have objected to a real picture book, with few words, if pictures and words had been faithful to the original and made the book appealing to pre-reading children.

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Summary: absolutely the best of the best; "Hitty" comes to life
Review: If you are a doll collector this book is a must, it brings this little wooden marvel to life and soon you must find your own "Hitty". I loved the great detail of the book and the continued excitement of her journeys. She is my "travel doll" and even went to Mayo's clinic with me, the good doctors there signed her journal and thought she was wonderful. My eight grandchildren are also enlightened with Hitty:Her First Hundred Years. Happy reading

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Summary: Literary Analysis of the Book
Review: In Rachel Field's adventure book Hitty Her First Hundred Years a doll named Hitty is passed from owner to owner,allwhich are different from one another. {Rachel Field uses literary devices devices and character traits to describe every character.} In Hitty, Rachel Field describes the characters and the setting using literary devices. She uses imagery to help you picture what is happening. An example would be, "There was no moon, scarcely any light except for a star or two that showed through the palm trees." The use of her words adds suspense to the story. "Nothing escaped her sharp black eyes." That imagery makes you feel suspense and a little scared of what will happen next. Rachel Field not only uses imagery but she also uses similes. "She was like an unbroken colt or wild bird." The author describes the characters with adjectives and character traits. "I am usually a very brave doll, but not now." Rachel Field uses many words to describe the other characters also. "Clarissa was a quiet child, older by some years than my other owners, for she celebrated her tenth birthday soon after I was found. The author's use of word's makes this book filled with adventure and suspense. The varied character's add to this story's brilliance.

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Summary: Another dumbed down version
Review: It was bad enough when they made Nancy Drew stupid, why was it necessary to dumb down Hitty also?! I was stunned to discover this new version of one of my favorite childhood books and more stunned to discover it had been dumbed down considerably. Avoid this one and buy the original instead.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning classic
Review: My mother passed her copy onto me and now it has passed to my daughter. I buy copies for all my nieces. It's a real treasure. The text is marvelous and the illustrations are never to be forgotten. I understand there's a new version out, but I can't imagine it holding a candle to the original (I haven't heard good things). I have so many wonderful memories of that book: Hitty stuck in the horsehair couch, life with the little Quaker girl, weeks spent in a crow's nest. It brought my own traditional dolls (not Barbie!) alive for me. It also presents a vivid historical portrait of the lives of American girls. Don't let this one go out of print!

Rating:
Summary: A stunning classic
Review: My mother passed her copy onto me and now it has passed to my daughter. I buy copies for all my nieces. It's a real treasure. The text is marvelous and the illustrations are never to be forgotten. I understand there's a new version out, but I can't imagine it holding a candle to the original (I haven't heard good things). I have so many wonderful memories of that book: Hitty stuck in the horsehair couch, life with the little Quaker girl, weeks spent in a crow's nest. It brought my own traditional dolls (not Barbie!) alive for me. It also presents a vivid historical portrait of the lives of American girls. Don't let this one go out of print!