Nobody's Family Is Going to Change

my title is meant to be sarcastic. I was deeply, deeply impressed by this book. I was searching for books for my niece and began reading Nobody's Family. the mature language threw me off, and as an older reader I admit I frowned at first. but what the book is really made of is fantastic stuff. in real life, children do use crude language, they do treat each other meanly- not that this is right, but why pompously shield children from what they're already exposed to? children are much stronger and more exposed to adult situations than people think, and this book handles that subject very well. more than that, it might be key to helping readers how to overcome realistic difficulties- through determination, faith in their ideals, and reaching out to others.

I discovered this book when I was in the tenth grade. I had read Harriet the Spy, and loved Louise Fitzhugh's books. This is the last book that Fitzhugh wrote before her untimely death from a brain hemmorhage.Eleven year old Emma and her eight year old brother Willie don't really get along. Their parents won't let them grow up to be what they want. Overweight Emma wants to be a lawyer like her father, while slim Willie wants to be a Dancer. Emma's father is against female lawyers, and finds Willie's dancing most irritating.I really liked the part when Martha, the babysitter asked them if they wanted custard or ice cream for dessert, and Emma asked for both and Willie asked for neither. ... Other than that, this is a great book, and I would reccomend it to any teacher or student. Buy it at once.

This was a very interesting book, and it has kept me thinking about it for the two days since I finished it. I enjoyed Louise Fitzhugh's (author of Harriet the Spy) other books, and purchased this one solely for this reason, knowing nothing about this book. I am a third-grade teacher, and after reading this book, and considering carefully, do not not feel it is appropriate for elementary school. It is very appropriate for middle school. It was written in 1975, and some of the issues in the book reflect that--when American society was still going through the Women's Liberation movement. It is the story of two kids--a 7-year-old boy, and a teen-aged girl--in a black family. It deals with issues of not getting along with your parents, and finishes with the kids coming to grips with that, and ends by the kids feeling better about themselves and gaining self-confidence. The reason I feel it is inappropriate for elementary school is that these issues are dealt with in a teenage way, menstruation is mentioned several times, and the word "faggot" is used as an insult between kids in the dialog. But actually, while some younger children could read this book and understand it, a lot of the deeper meanings the book is intended to convey would go right over their heads. This would be a great book for kids and parents to read together and discuss.

In 1975, my mother chose this book in hard-bound to give me for my 5th grade graduation. I read it right through and really liked it, but never realized the affect it would have on me. As my life has progressed and through all the seemingly impossible glass ceilings I've bumped my head into, I've turned to this book and remember Emma and Willie. They had to be themselves even though 'those who knew better' didn't want to allow them to. I used this book (and The Phantom Tollbooth) in a composition for a college English examination because unlike any other piece of media, I continue to learn from this novel. Now, at age 33, I'm buying a copy for my mother to learn from. I think she's ready for it!

Louise Fitzhugh captures the angst, strenght and healthy resistence in adolescent girls. She opens up possibilities for her characters, not stereotyping them by gender constraints. A faboulous, timeless book