Suki, I'm amazed that you mentioned Harriet the Spy, because I don't think it came up in our conversation, and it was absolutely one of my very favorites as a child. In fact, my sister and our close friend Jill and I copied Harriet and carried notebooks around and spied on people and wrote things down. However, I re-read the book last year after and was shocked at how dark and subversive it was. It wasn't what I remembered. I know I didn't understand when I was young how useless Harriet's parents were, and that Harriet was crushed by grief over the loss of her nanny. A truly complex book.
One of the things I remember particularly liking in Harriet the Spy was its "dark and subversive" content. Both of my grandmothers died young, and I remember telling people that our beloved housekeeper was my "substitute grandmother." (She was a wonderful person who I should write about sometime!) Now you've got me wanting to reread it!
Suki, I'm amazed that you mentioned Harriet the Spy, because I don't think it came up in our conversation, and it was absolutely one of my very favorites as a child. In fact, my sister and our close friend Jill and I copied Harriet and carried notebooks around and spied on people and wrote things down. However, I re-read the book last year after and was shocked at how dark and subversive it was. It wasn't what I remembered. I know I didn't understand when I was young how useless Harriet's parents were, and that Harriet was crushed by grief over the loss of her nanny. A truly complex book.
One of the things I remember particularly liking in Harriet the Spy was its "dark and subversive" content. Both of my grandmothers died young, and I remember telling people that our beloved housekeeper was my "substitute grandmother." (She was a wonderful person who I should write about sometime!) Now you've got me wanting to reread it!