Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America

Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America
Average customer rating:

Kozol Misunderstood

A Great perspective

Failure to Thrive

Failure to Thrive

to mr. Westfall

Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America
Jonathan Kozol
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0307345890
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Book Description

The story that jolted the conscience of the nation when it first appeared in The New Yorker

Jonathan Kozol is one of America’s most forceful and eloquent observers of the intersection of race, poverty, and education. His books, from the National Book Award–winning Death at an Early Age to his most recent, the critically acclaimed Shame of the Nation, are touchstones of the national conscience. First published in 1988 and based on the months the author spent among America’s homeless, Rachel and Her Children is an unforgettable record of the desperate voices of men, women, and especially children caught up in a nightmarish situation that tears at the hearts of readers. With record numbers of homeless children and adults flooding the nation’s shelters, Rachel and Her Children offers a look at homelessness that resonates even louder today.

Customer Reviews:

Kozol Misunderstood.......2003-06-14

I have been reading several reviews of books by Jonathan Kozol and I am disappointed. For starters, everyone seems to be blaming minority mothers for their "out of control baby making." I think the point of his books have been missed. Kozol is always looking at how societal ills effect children. He is not apologizing for families that are larger than can be afforded - he is sympathizing with the children that are born to them. He is sympathizing (better word empathizing) with the children who attend horrible run down schools and like in welfare hotels. As a public school teacher in Chicago, his revelations are very real. We do teach in terrible buildings. We do have homeless children. Would I ever think to point the blame at them? Am I pleased with the choices their parents have made? Not always, but I am also not the one to judge -- I am there to teach their children.

As for all of the people who suggest all "these people" need to do is get up off their couches and get a job: I would like to know if you would be willing to hire these people with substandard educations and possibly no permanent residence. Middle and upper class America is quick to condem those without work, but also the last group of people to provide employment to those in most need. Before condeming the people in these situations, I firmly believe we all need to take a hard look at ourselves.

A Great perspective.......2002-12-12

Reading through the book Rachael And Her Children you are brought into a entirely new world. A world where the homeless are not just figures with hands held out asking for spare change. Kozol brings us into the lives of these homeless story by story case by case sharing his personal interviews with these misfortunate people. Instead of putting a empty face on what we normally walk by and think nothing of, Kozol shows us that these individuals were not just mere vermin but people whom grew up like any of us but for any which reason now are homelss. Kozol does an excellet job in showing us not only these poeples lives but also educates the reader in exactly how big of a problem homelessness in America actually is. After reading this book my understanding, knowledge, and compassion of how homeless are actually treated is rought into full perepective. The book has great readabillity and is compelling enough to keep you flipping the pages. I would recomend this book to anyone and think very highly of it

-Matt

Failure to Thrive.......2001-11-26

The term used in this book that describes the endangered status of an infant is "failure to thrive." As I translate the phrase, "failure to thrive" indicates the hopelessness of a child's future, the result of neglect from society, the dwindling of life. Jonathan Kozol's review of homeless families in America is a chilling depiction of the actual heartache and suffering endured by the homeless. So often does society lose sight of what it truly means to not have a place to call "home."

Failure to Thrive.......2001-11-26

to mr. Westfall.......2001-05-23

This book was based on true encounters with homeless individuals and their families. It contains real life situations, although the names are changed, due to protection for homeless individuals. It is a good look at what homelessness is about. It isn't about a lot of lazy, drug addicted people that are hopeless because of their own indolence. They are normal people that had a job, but the tides have turned and they were in the depths of homelessness. It is a tragedy that could happen to anyone. It is a good book to learn about the tragic events that follow homelessness. It is important to know that homelessness is a universal tragedy. It could happen to anyone at anytime. After reading this book I began to sympathize with homelesss individuals because they are brave. Homelessness was not as easily escapible as I thought. It takes a lot out of an individual. It drives them to a point where they think the world is ending.

Book Description

Presented for the first time in audio, here are the charming and adventurous memoirs of an exceptional doll named Hitty. Her story begins in Maine in the early 1800s, where she is transformed from a piece of sturdy mountain-ash wood into the valued playmate of a young girl named Phoebe Preble. When the inseparable pair join Phoebe's father on a journey aboard his whaling ship, Hitty's one hundred years of exciting adventures begins! Join this doll of great charm and character as she travels all over the world, from India to Philadelphia to New York. Whether she is traveling with a snake charmer, attending the opera, meeting Charles Dickens, becoming a doll of fashion, posing as an artists' model, or being stolen away on a Mississippi riverboat, one thing is certain... no doll has led a life like Hitty's! The 1930 Newbery Award winner.

Customer Reviews:

geography for the fun of it.......2007-09-19

hitty....oh what fun we had reading this together as a family. i certainly did not know what i was geting in to when i started reading it aloud. very well written book; descriptive; memorable. after reading each chapter we wanted to rush to the library to find out about the place she had been. we also cooked a few things from different countries. we did not have a plan; it was so spontaneous; i think that is what i loved about it so much....learning at its best. my older children, after five years still remember vividly certain paragraphs. and we all smile thinking about how much fun we had reading this book together. i can hardly wait to read it to the younger ones. recently i purchased it for my shelf. it is certainly a keeper. copywork, narration, cooking, art, geography/history, a little science, etc... a years worth of curriculum in one book. all you need is a math book and your set. honestly, each chapter is like a springboard and it should not be hard to find a topic to learn more about. make some happy memories, read hitty aloud to your children. they will love it! (and you will, too...)

This book is awesome!.......2007-05-29

Many may remember Hitty from decades ago; I was introduced to her just a few years ago. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years is a wonderfully written, beautifully illustrated "children's" book that should be on everyone's reading list, regardless of age.

Hitty: Her First 100 Years- Rachel Feild by A. Walker.......2006-04-28

This book was interesting and fun to read. Ride along with, the doll, as she tells her life story. Watch as she goes from one owner to the next. This book is an adventure to read. Hitty has seen so much you forget she is a doll. This book pulles you in like a vacuum cleaner. You'll love it when she travles to New York. You'll jump out of your seat when she goes whale hunting or when she gets stuck in a tree. There is a couple of settings but it doesn't jump around. The message that i got out of the story is live life to it's fullest I would recomend this book to preteen girls that like history and fiction. This book was fantabouls!!!!!!!!!!

Old Fashioned Charm .......2005-09-30

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, as originally written by Rachel Field in 1929, is delightful. The story follows the adventures of a doll, carved by a peddler from a piece of mountain ash, as told in her own words. From being proclaimed a "heathen" goddess on a South Seas Island, traveling with a snake charmer in India, being alternately a fashion plate and a demure Quakeress in the midst of the Civil War, Hitty and her story are truly captivating. Rachel Field has given the world a wonderfully exciting and deeply touching glimpse at history through the eyes of this remarkable doll. The charm of this old fashioned story is enduring, powerful enough to endear itself to each new generation of readers that discovers it.

Lucky to have read the original.......2005-02-05

After reading some of the other reviews, I feel myself fortunate to have read Hitty in the original. I was unaware it had been edited. I can't think of anything offensive, other than one passage of dialogue spoken by a black family, which might sound sterotypical to modern ears. But, similar dialogue occurs in Huckleberry Finn. Has that been "scrubbed"? I don't think so.

Anyhow, what a beautiful story. It's really interesting to see the world from her point of view. She spent years hidden away in a couch, among other places, which was like a time machine for her. I had fun answering this question: Did Hitty know that by the time she was sold at auction in the Preble house, that she had outlived Phoebe? That Phoebe had grown up, married, had children and died? She never says so, but I think she does know. She has the strength and maturity not to have to be explict. I really hope Hitty had warm, fond memories of her first owner, Phoebe.

Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years

Average customer rating:

read and decide for yourself
One of the best!
Doorway to a Classic
Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
Unthinkable

Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
Rachel Field
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0689817169

Amazon.com

Following the "life" of a wooden doll may seem like a strangely passive way of learning American history, but it turns out to be a remarkably gripping approach. In the course of her first hundred years, the peddler-carved doll Hitty travels from Boston to India, is abandoned for years in an attic, is shipwrecked in the South Seas, meets President Abe Lincoln, and at one point lives with a snake charmer. Seen through her hand-painted eyes, the 19th-century world is a miraculous and usually wonderful place, with some mysteries never to be fathomed. Rachel Fields wrote this Newbery Medal-winner in 1929; 70 years later Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers did what to some is the unthinkable: they adapted the classic. In their defense, they did a gorgeous job and did in fact give Hitty a much-needed new lease on life. As Wells says in her note to the reader, "no one I spoke to had actually read Hitty in at least thirty years, and that seemed a real shame."

Of course, as in any adaptation, something of the original is lost. Wells even makes a few significant changes to the story. But purists take note: Wells has the utmost respect for the importance of Hitty, and Susan Jeffers's richly imagined illustrations are definitely worthy of this classic. Don't let another hundred years slip by without reading this gem! (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Based on the 1930 Newberry Award Winner

On a cold Maine night in 1829, an old peddler carved a small doll out of a piece of mountain ash wood. Her name was Hitty and she was no ordinary doll.

Hitty's first owner, Phoebe Preble, takes her from Boston to India. From the hands of Phoebe Preble, Hitty travels on with a snake charmer, a Civil War soldier, a riverboat captains daughter, and a former slave. Along the way she meets presidents and painters, relating each adventure in vivid detail.

Rachel Field's masterful novel Hitty: Her First Hundred Years was first published in 1929; it was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1930. In this full-color adaptation, the award-winning team of Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers has taken Hitty down from the shelf and dusted her off for a new generation of younger readers. The short, fast-paced chapters and pictures on every spread bring life to this beloved classic, and make it perfect for sharing with the whole family.

Customer Reviews:

read and decide for yourself.......2007-07-08

Oh I am saddened to see so many negetive reviews of this retold version of Hitty. I read reviews on both this version and the original version and then checked out the retold version from the library (old version not in). Beautiful story! Now I have read the original as well. There ARE differences! Honestly, I can see why so many Hitty enthusiasts are upset. But to someone never reading the original, the rewrite is still a very wonderful story. It's perfect for the younger reader, or one who is put off by a longer novel (like the original). I don't know if I agree with some of the changes that were made (not just editing but complete deviations from the original). If you just judge the new Hitty based on its own merits without comparing it to the original, it is a lovely story.

Many great works of literature have "junior editions" or the like. A classic like Treasure Island is a difficult read for any child. But it can be presented in a simpler version that still conveys the same story.

My advice, read the new Hitty. If it dearly loved, buy the original as well.

One of the best!.......2006-05-24

I LOVE this book. I have to say I was disgusted with the criticism it recived. For those that said they hate it,they don`t appreciate good childrens literature. For those that did like the book,good for them! I read the original,and though it is very well written,it would not hold the interest of young children. What is scandalous is not liking this book. This is a beautiful book and anyone who knows anything about childrens literature would be proud to own it.

Doorway to a Classic.......2006-01-30

"Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years" by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers is a picture book based on the original award winning book by Rachel Fields. It does not contain the full text or even an edited version of the original story. It deviates for political correctness and leaves some parts out completely, but it retains the spirit of the adventures a small wood doll over the span of a century.

The illustrations are the main asset of this book. Jeffers creates a large, rounded, rosey cheeked Hitty that is vastly different than the small, angular Hitty of Dorothy Lathrop's original illustrations. These colorful, friendly illustrations will draw a reader into the text and the story of the adventures of Hitty.

As a adult, I knew people who had enjoyed the Hitty book and had modern versions of the Hitty doll. Yet, the original book looked to be long and boring. I finally read the Rosemary Wells version of Hitty's story, as if they were the Cliff's notes to understanding Hitty. I enjoyed Hitty so much, that I did read the original version after I read this version. I would highly recommend the original text written by Rachel Fields and illustrated by Dorothy Lathrop. It is the real story of the REAL Hitty, who does indeed exist at the Stockbridge Library in Massachusetts. However, if the reader is young, or like I, uncommitted to the story, this version is a doorway to the classic version. No, it is not the original, but it is introduction to viewing one small doll as an adventuring heroine of a book.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years.......2004-12-26

This book has beautiful illustrations, always a plus for me when purchasing a book. However; I did not realize the book is an adaptation of the original; when I found that out, it went right back to the store where I exchanged the book for the original book by Rachel Field. It is sad that Rosemary Wells felt it necessary to depart from the original charming story of Hitty. I do not recommend this book.

Unthinkable.......2003-03-11

I am a thirteen year old reader who is simply outraged. Having not read this book, I suppose that I shouldn't be writing this, but I hope you read it anyway. To rewrite such a marvelous book as Hitty is simply scandalous. There is absolutely no point in destroying a masterpiece. The oringinal book is so rich with character. Why should we need to "update" a book about a doll that was already old-fasioned from the original publishing date?
On principle, I would never read this book.

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Rachel and Her Children (R)
Jonathan Kozol
Manufacturer: Fawcett Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0499903390

The Lost Night: A Daughter's Search for the Truth of Her Father's Murder

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You are there
Great combination
Lost and Found - a past reclaimed
New York Times Sometimes wrong but not this time
A wonderful memoir, not a crime story!

The Lost Night: A Daughter's Search for the Truth of Her Father's Murder
Rachel Howard
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452287421

Book Description

On June 22,1986, Stan Howard was stabbed in his bed, his ten-year-old daughter Rachel sleeping in the next room. Unable to fully process the tragedy, Rachel coped the only way she knew how by trying to pretend the murder never happened. More then fifteen years later, Rachel became engaged, and the need to confront the night of her father's death before entering the next phase of her life grew strong. Her father's murder remained unsolved, and many questions unanswered and unasked. In The Lost Night, Rachel shares her father's story, and her keen investigation of memory, truth, and how a family moves on from a tragedy for which they may never find the answers. BACKCOVER: “The Lost Night is enthralling, a skillfully narrated story that begins as a tale of detection but becomes something more.”
—The New York Times

“No novel based on Ms. Howard's life, no matter how skillfully crafted, could have been as believable as The Lost Night. It is a quintessentially American narrative of self-creation and redemption, a postmodern Gatsby with a hard-earned, doubt-tinged happy ending. I don't know when I've read a better first book.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Powerful.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“The Lost Night illuminates a bond between a father and a daughter that neither time nor death can undo.”
—The Washington Post Book World

Customer Reviews:

You are there.......2006-08-18

Met the author at a book signing and was impresssed by her impeccable poise and story-telling ability. Then I went home and read the book. Wow. I had the same experience as the other readers. This is an excellent and poignant memoir.
One feels the you-are-there quality of a little girl awakening in the middle of the night to see her father covered with blood on the floor. The people in her book are like characters in a Dickens novel, yet they are (were) all very real. Howard captures the cultural milieu of Merced California in the mid '80's. Her father loved Rod Stewart with a passion and the lyrics of his songs weave through the true story of a child trying to make sense of what is going on around her.
The child matures into an adult and becomes a writer! What an awesome contribution to the memoir genre. I do hope that the killer is eventually caught.

Great combination.......2006-07-23

This is a wonderful combination of memoir and true crime. I felt as though I realy got to know the author. Her willingness to examine the fragility of memory and adjust her conclusions accordingly made her more appealing. The change in her attitudes toward the people in her life caused me to re-examine my own feelings toward people in my life. This book is a definite addition for anyone's library.

Lost and Found - a past reclaimed.......2006-02-28

Lost and Found - a past reclaimed

I finished Rachel Howard's "the lost night" at 3 this morning. From the minute I cracked its spine, the pages turned themselves, inviting me to ignore every routine chore of mine: dirty dishes, daily exercise, even meals (though I did manage to go to work and feed the cat).

Masterfully written, the book tells a riveting story of the murder of Rachel's father when she was only 10 years old. How she handled the loss of this beloved man, her protector and playpal, is a glimpse into how children cope with tragedy of this magnitude. The experience retrospectively defined Rachel, her relationship with her family and also with her stepmother Sherry, her father's third wife when he was murdered. Rachel, the product of divorce, was spending a few summer weeks at her father's home during this time. She was witness to his last waking minutes and remembered details that would replay themselves with increasing vividness as time went by.

But memory is elusive...and selective. The author comes to realize that her memories were circumscribed by the limited frame-of-reference of a young life.

What I found so compelling here is the child's perspective. I have read (and probably own!) just about every true-crime/courtroom/forensic book that exists, yet I never read such an account from a 10-year-old point-of-view. Rachel illustrates the sometimes graphic, sometimes muted terror-of-the-night children of murdered parents are heir to, their wispy and unexpressed--indeed unconscious--suspicion of significant-others, and their necessary dependencies on adults who, often not comprehending the nuances involved, believe that by trotting the kid to therapy, they absolve themselves of the pain of revisiting the circumstances themselves. In Rachel's case, her father's family remained largely silent with her about that night. They may have felt that openly speaking about the murder with someone so young would somehow legitimize it for her. In fact, their passivity had the opposite, and quite damaging, effect on a young mind hungry for assurance and validation.

Palpable throughout Rachel's memoir is its raw honesty. The writing is often brutally introspective, devoid of the self-pity and lachrymose language which the author might easily --and justifiably-have indulged. She is seeking information and answers, and by the last page, I realize she has found those things, and some peace along the way.

Therese Hercher

New York Times Sometimes wrong but not this time.......2006-02-05

William Grimes has always been one of my favorite NY Times reviewers. Although he tends to be negative, when he waxes effusive, I take notice. When I saw this....
------
"As a memoirist, she succeeds BRILLIANTLY. "The Lost Night" is ENTHRALLING, a skillfully narrated story that begins as a tale of detection but quickly becomes something more."
--William Grimes, NEW YORK TIMES

I figured I'd take a chance. Well, it's been sitting on my nightstand for 6-months now and damn if it's not enthralling. Although I was hoping for a bit of a who-done-it, I couldn't put it down. The descriptions of the messed-up Central Valley(to put it delicately)were terrific. With some sex, drugs, and even some 80s Rod Stewart in the mix, for good measure, it was a joy to read.

A wonderful memoir, not a crime story!.......2005-10-23

This book is much more memoir than a "true crime" or crime investigation book. It does center itself around the author's father's murder when she was 10, but from there, it goes on to tell very well how this event affected both her life and the life of her family and extended family. I got a strong feel for the parts of California she was writing about, and for her father's large family and how they dealt with his death in their own ways.

The book also examines the issue of memory---how memory is not a set-in-stone thing---how different people remember things differently, and we can feel very sure we know how something happened, and another person is very sure it happened differently.

Some might feel unsatisfied that the murder is not solved in these pages, but I was not. That was never really the point here. This is an examination of how murder affects a family, and of the time and place and people that set up the scene. The author leaves us free to form our own opinion as to what happened, and she also is amazingly free with writing about her own changes of perspective and doubts about her feelings about the past. She is a skilled writer and sounds like a strong, caring person. I thank her for this book.

Rachel Weeping for Her Children. Family Constellations in Israel

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Rachel Weeping for Her Children. Family Constellations in Israel
Bert Hellinger
Manufacturer: Carl Auer International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Love's Own Truths: Bonding and Balancing in Close Relationships
Touching Love:(Volume 2) A Teaching Seminar With Bert Hellinger and Hunter Beaumont
The Art and Practice of Family Constellations. Leading Family Constellations as Developed by Bert Hellinger
Love's Hidden Symmetry: What Makes Love Work in Relationships
Insights. Lectures and Stories

ASIN: 3896704249

Product Description

The family constellations of Bert Hellinger make visible the often startling entanglements of individuals and families in their past and present. This image allows for deep, soul-touching movements of the soul towards resolutions previously unconsidered. Not only the participants, but also observers, are touched and moved in new directions. This transcribed documentation of a family constellations workshop allows readers to experience this process and join in the movements towards peace and resolution in their own souls. The setting of this workshop in Isreal, a land burdened by a grief laden past and present, adds a dimension of depth and poignancy to the healing power of love.

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Hitty (Her First Hundred Years)
Rachel Field
Manufacturer: The Macmillan Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MST09W

Newbery Medal Bookshelf: The Winter Room, Hitty Her First Hundred Years, Beverly Cleary, Island of the Blue Dolphins, E. L. Konigsburg

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Newbery Medal Bookshelf: The Winter Room, Hitty Her First Hundred Years, Beverly Cleary, Island of the Blue Dolphins, E. L. Konigsburg
Scott O'Dell , Beverly Cleary , Rachel Field , and Gary Paulsen
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0440360390

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RACHEL AND HER CHILDREN
KOZOL JONATHAN
Manufacturer: Crowell Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PGN2I6

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Rachel And Her Children Homele
Jonathan Kozol
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0517012359
Release Date: 1989-10-17

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