Kid’s book review
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
– reviewed by Olivia, age 9
Harriet M. Welsh doesn’t go to play and have fun after school. She goes to work. She has a spy route all planned out, and she writes her secret thoughts about everyone in her special notebook.
But when Harriet and her classmates play their own new and improved game of tag, Harriet’s notebook gets bumped out of her hands and she loses track of it. Then she realizes that her precious secret notebook has fallen into the wrong hands.
Her friends look through the notebook, finding out the sometimes awful truth about what Harriet thinks of them, and Harriet’s friendships are torn apart.
Harriet finds out that her friends have formed a club that is against her. She wants to fix the tattered friendships, but will she succeed?
I am like Harriet in a lot of ways. Sometimes I say things that offend people, and it takes a long time for me to fix it by saying sorry. I am sometimes secretive, and I did try to have a notebook like Harriet, but there was nothing very interesting to write about.
One of my favorite parts was when Harriet thought that her nanny Ole Golly was going out with “the boyfriend,” and she spied on them. I liked it because it was kind of funny how Harriet was so horrified by how Ole Golly changed her tone of voice and her opinions when she was with the boyfriend.
Harriet the Spy will keep you wanting to turn the page, and Harriet’s adventures will get wilder and wilder throughout the story. Harriet and her troubles will keep you hanging on to every word. When you meet Harriet and her best friends, Sport and Janie, you’ll realize how odd people can be.
You’ll be feeling along with all of them, scowling when Harriet’s enemy Marion Hawthorne gets nominated as class officer, and wanting to get home for Harriet’s daily cake and milk.
Harriet the Spy will keep you on the edge of your seat, and that is why I recommend this book to you.
Kids! Send your book reviews or list of favorite titles to kids@maplewoodlibrary.org
