Alice-Miranda’s adventures don’t officially begin until April of 2011. I was surprised by this book – a chapter book (almost 250 pages of story) that is simple fun featuring a character who always (and I mean always) sees the best in everyone and everything. Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones is the optimists’ optimist, and makes the reader smile as much as she does the adults that surround her in this first story of her adventures.
Summary: Alice-Miranda is a precocious seven (and a quarter) year old girl who has decided that it is time she went off to boarding school. Yes, it is a little early, but she knows she can do it and her parents know that, once she has set her course, their daughter cannot be stopped.
When Alice-Miranda arrives at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies, she feels that something is not quite right. Every adult she meets is unhappy, and the headmistress, Miss Grimm, refuses to come out of her office and take part in the lives of the girls in her care. Alice-Miranda, not one to sit quietly and let things remain broken, begins to fix the things she sees lacking in the school, whether Miss Grimm likes it or not. (Really, why shouldn’t she, Alice-Miranda thinks. Everyone deserves some happiness.) Cook gets a long overdue holiday, Mr. Charles gets to plant flowers again, and the secret of Miss Grimm’s grimness is solved through Alice-Miranda’s spirit, smile, and unfailing optimism. Why, even the mean-spirited head girl doesn’t get her down!
Themes:
Persistence
Optimism
Age Appropriateness:
Any
Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: none
Dear Mrs P,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jacqueline Harvey and I am the author of the Alice-Miranda series. I live in Sydney, Australia. Your review is certainly the first I have seen from the USA (it came through the other night on Google Alerts). I'm so glad you enjoyed the book and I hope lots of children over there will too. I am a teacher and work in a school for girls. My husband and I just travelled recently to New York and I am hoping very much that we can travel for a couple of months in the US next year sometime - and visit schools. In NYC I had the privilege of spending time in three schools and had a ball. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and thanks!
Best wishes,
Jacqueline Harvey