R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on + 1452 more book reviews
Ant MacPherson is the key character in this little read. She is quite different from other members of her family and believes that her "real" parents are out there somewhere. She just doesn't know where. To Antonia (she prefers to be called Ant), her sisters, Elizabeth and Kate, are "perfect." Pistachio, her old dog, seems to be the only one who understands her. Constant companions, Kate feels that she must protect her pet however she must. Her mother doesn't appear to like the dog so Ant tells tales to protect the dog. She doesn't view them as lies but her family does. Keeping a diary, she fantasizes what her real parents must be like and wonders when they will rescue her from the MacPhersons.
The MacPherson story mirrors the situation in many families which have three children. The three daughters, like our own family, split into two groups with the ballerina sisters working together against their tomboy sister. Our three daughters split, too, with the older two against the younger. She never played with dolls because the older sisters refused to let her play dolls with them. Her toy friends were stuffed animals that she cherished. She had so many that we bought a net to store them and hung it from the ceiling of her room. Like many parents, we did not realize why our youngest played so often alone. Her older sisters were readers but she stacked books to make stools and chairs for her stuffed animals.
This is a most interesting tale that rings true for parents and children alike. When Ant discovers that her parents are real, the reader smiles and thinks like I did: "Yes!"
The MacPherson story mirrors the situation in many families which have three children. The three daughters, like our own family, split into two groups with the ballerina sisters working together against their tomboy sister. Our three daughters split, too, with the older two against the younger. She never played with dolls because the older sisters refused to let her play dolls with them. Her toy friends were stuffed animals that she cherished. She had so many that we bought a net to store them and hung it from the ceiling of her room. Like many parents, we did not realize why our youngest played so often alone. Her older sisters were readers but she stacked books to make stools and chairs for her stuffed animals.
This is a most interesting tale that rings true for parents and children alike. When Ant discovers that her parents are real, the reader smiles and thinks like I did: "Yes!"
