Mrs. Christie's Farmhouse

by Caroline Browne

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385132743
• ISBN13: 9780385132749
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Age Range: 6 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 3

Customer Reviews

ANOTHER ONE OUT OF PRINT - SUCH A PITY

Mrs. Christie's Farmhouse by Caroline Browne was first published in 1977 and is one of the gatherings of older books that should not be lost. It is an absolute pity that this one is out of print as it is so much better than many of the books for children being published at this time. This work has a very strong British flavor to it which is not surprising as Caroline Browne was born in Kenya and eventually attended art school in London. While she and her family currently live (I am assuming they still do) in Paris, they never-the-less have an old farmhouse in Brittany. This is the story of Mrs. Christie and Rachael, a little girl, who both live together in the busy city (London) and find that it is far too noisy for them and the nights are far too lonely. They decide to pack up and leave and move to a quite farmhouse which Mrs. Christie knew of. Bag, baggage, and cat they take a train to the country and move into a beautiful old farmhouse near a small village. I fear to report to you that they found a goat in the garden, a cow in an unkempt field, a turkey in the yard and two hens by the back door. If that were not all, the garden was quite overgrown and a complete mess. Both Mrs. Christie and Rachel absolutely loved it, and the cat was quite fond of it too! Alas, the king, whose castle was close by was a very, very organized individual who liked everything just so and so. He decides to take his gardeners, men and servants to the old farm house and put everything in order. BIG mistake King! Now I am not going to throw in any spoilers here for you, so I will stop with the plot. This is an absolutely delightful and simply written little tale but the real strength of this book is the art work. Each illustration is immaculate and each is detailed in the extreme. The hodgepodge of plants, animals, people, birds, flowers, trees, houses, clothing and general and their actions (or inactions, as the case may be), is an absolute delight to the eye. This is one that you can take and examine each picture carefully, dozens of times, and still find something new that you missed before. Each illustration goes perfectly with the text. This one is best read by the child alone or as a read-a-long as the art work is so detailed that it is difficult to read to a larger group. The story is cute and I am please to tell you that there is no hidden moral or profound lesson to be learned here; it is simply a story about a very disorganized old lady, a disorganized young girl and an obsessive/compulsive King. I realize that the trends in children's literature dictate that lessons should be learned but the only one I can see with this one is that sometimes it is best just to leave things alone and enjoy the moment. Actually, the old lady, little girl, cat and I would probably get along quite well. Don Blankenship The Ozarks