kristin0713 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Before I hand this to DD to read, can someone tell me if it is as bad as Ginger Pye? We all found GP to be the worst read-aloud ever, just painful to get through. The Moffats has a lot of really good reviews though. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 :lol: I liked Ginger Pye, especially Uncle Bennie (ETA: I had my oldest do TONS of studied dictation from it :lol: ), but I liked the Moffats more. I don't know what you disliked, but the Moffats is funny and has no pet angle. But maybe my endorsement of its humor is a sign you shouldn't read it! :lol: I think the Moffats is more about regular kids, whereas Ginger Pye was so focused on the dog and the mystery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Hmm...I have no idea. We have both, but JB only read Ginger Pye so far. She really liked it. I do know what you mean about some books being painful to read aloud. I had that same feeling with The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (which I remember enjoying as a kid...but it was the worst book ever for me to read aloud...in my opinion, of course)...and I found the My Father's Dragon 3 book series just awful, despite most people loving them. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Before I hand this to DD to read, can someone tell me if it is as bad as Ginger Pye? We all found GP to be the worst read-aloud ever, just painful to get through. The Moffats has a lot of really good reviews though. Thoughts? What!? How can anyone not like Ginger Pye? :P We really enjoyed it as well as Pinky Pye and the Moffats. Maybe you will find Moffats more to your liking as it really is a bit different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlisonK Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 We loved Ginger Pye too! Now, I guess I need to put the Moffats on our reading list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caclcoca Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 We listened to the Moffats in the car a few years ago. We loved it! The kids still talk about some parts of that story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I like Ginger Pye okay. I did not like The Moffatts so much. It was one of those books I could recognize as being enjoyable for some, but something about it did not jibe with us. If you didn't like Ginger Pye, skip it, I say. May I suggest The Saturdays instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Bwahahahahaha! I HATED Ginger Pye! I thought I was going to love it, and the themes were interesting, but I wanted to quit it so badly. Doggone kids wouldn't let me! :lol: I felt like the author did not know how to keep a train of thought or write a chapter that wasn't so painfully long I wanted to weep for it to end. I felt like each chapter started well enough, but then seemed to veer off on a completely different tangent! Drove me nuts! I have hesitated on The Moffats too! Should just chuck them at the kids. And then make them keep reading even if they want to quit! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 We've done all of Elizabeth Enright's books as read-alouds but I frankly can't remember. I wasn't thrilled by either Ginger Pye and thought the Moffat books were weaker(though Rufus M and which ever ones took place on the island were much more engaging) That said, we found the Melendy Quartet completely charming. The Saturdays was a somewhat slow start but The Four Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and especially Spiderweb For Two were wonderful. Those are my favorite Enright books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I have hesitated on The Moffats too! Should just chuck them at the kids. And then make them keep reading even if they want to quit! LOL I think they are just amusing tales about a regular family, with a definite feeling of life in the past. I liked them fine, and I think Eve Garnett's Family From One End Street has a similar feel. Parts of it are just too crazy! I do think Estes's style is a bit unusual and that's why I had one kid do tons of dictation from it. They are sort of about something and yet about nothing at the same time. Definitely avoid The Curious Adventures of Jimmy McGee if you're doubting you like her. That one is entirely fanciful. May I suggest The Saturdays instead?The Saturdays (and the rest of the series) is similar in feel. I felt the Moffats and Ginger Pye (and Family from One End Street) were more madcap than The Saturdays, with maybe the exception of Oliver at the circus. My kids really thought the whole thing about the unsavory character in Ginger Pye was hilarious. I think they still mention it sometimes. The Saturdays seemed a lot more serious and ... straight, if you know what I mean. We have read all the Melendy books except for Spiderweb for Two. They are okay but I don't think anyone here felt passionate about them. There was something special about the concept of The Saturdays that made it a lot crazier and funnier than the others. It sounds like I am advocating for books featuring crazy romps. Hmm. It's so interesting how different everyone is and what they like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 LOL I like crazy romps. I think my issue is meandering. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 We've done all of Elizabeth Enright's books as read-alouds but I frankly can't remember. I wasn't thrilled by either Ginger Pye and thought the Moffat books were weaker(though Rufus M and which ever ones took place on the island were much more engaging) That said, we found the Melendy Quartet completely charming. The Saturdays was a somewhat slow start but The Four Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and especially Spiderweb For Two were wonderful. Those are my favorite Enright books. Just a quick clarification -- I think you accidentally confused two similar authors, here -- Elizabeth Enright and Eleanor Estes. Easy to do! I personally thought Estes' Moffats felt a lot like Enright's Saturdays in content (kinds of plot episodes) and characters and initially thought they were written by the same author. :) Books written by Elizabeth Enright that she is best-known for: - Melendy Quartet (Saturdays, Four Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, Spiderweb for Two) - Thimble Summer - Gone-Away Lake books written by Eleanor Estes that she is best-known for: - Moffats series - Ginger Pye, Pinky Pye - The Hundred Dresses - The Witch Family In answer to the original question: while I thought Ginger Pye was quirky and different in the writing style, we all enjoyed it as a read-aloud. So that may disqualify us in giving you the assessment you are looking for re: The Moffats. ;) The Moffats seemed to have a more traditional, episodic type of writing -- each chapter a complete anecdotal incident, all based around a very gentle misadventure. Maybe a bit more similar to something like Beverly Cleary's Emily's Runaway Imagination, or Ellen Tebbits -- gentle misadventures, but not so, hmmm, I guess "extreme" or funny perhaps? -- as the Henry Huggins series by Beverly Cleary (to further muddy the waters with a third author of 1940s-1950s vintage children misadventures! :laugh: ). Anyways, no need to keep persevering with an author with whom you're not connecting. There are a TON of great children's books out there for read alouds, so move on! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I like GP, but I did find it a bit more awkward as a read aloud, & I wasn't the one reading it!! :lol: We had an audio form of it & the narrator made it quite boring which annoyed me because I quite love the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oishearsy Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I guess I need to put the Moffats on our reading list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I think it's similar in style to the Moffats. We liked all of Estes books and spent a great year reading aloud all the Moffats books at lunch. We've also enjoyed Ginger Pye and Pinky Pye. But I think if you hated GP you probably won't like the Moffats. I'm not sure that I agree that the Melendy book are similar in style but we also love those so I'd second (or third or fourth) The Saturdays and the others in that quartet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I'm not sure that I agree that the Melendy book are similar in styleI think they're similar in concept (episodic tales about old fashioned family) but not in writing style or the specifics of their adventures. Re Estes: her book The Alley is somewhat similar to Ginger Pye in that everything circles around the issue of a crime that must be solved by children. My daughter refused to read The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode because it begins by having the boy characters agree that girls are awful; it takes place in the same neighborhood as The Alley, years later. The characters in both are the neighborhood kids, on a quest of sorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Bwahahahahaha! I HATED Ginger Pye! I thought I was going to love it, and the themes were interesting, but I wanted to quit it so badly. Doggone kids wouldn't let me! :lol: I felt like the author did not know how to keep a train of thought or write a chapter that wasn't so painfully long I wanted to weep for it to end. I felt like each chapter started well enough, but then seemed to veer off on a completely different tangent! Drove me nuts! I have hesitated on The Moffats too! Should just chuck them at the kids. And then make them keep reading even if they want to quit! LOL Yes! This exactly. The plot has potential. The characters are charming. We all wanted to love it but it was just so painful! I couldn't wait for each chapter to end and the kids lost interest every time we tried to read it. Worst.readaloud.ever! The Moffats looks appealing but if the writing style is the same I just can't go there again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 DD has an Eleanor Estes addiction. She loves them all and listens to them repeatedly. I personally like any of the Moffat books over Ginger Pye. (I like Pinky Pye better too.) I've only read The Middle Moffat aloud, though. Kindle has read the rest. I didn't find it particularly challenging...a few antiquated words here and there, a little bit long. You know, it's interesting. I find Estes's books a bit on the boring side sometimes, but then there's just something that keeps you reading. Each chapter always ends on a zing and a smile. Maybe pick up one of the Moffat books on audiobook? Or, let Kindle read to you? If I would have read Ginger Pye instead of The Middle Moffat first, I'm not sure we would have continued on with Estes's books. The whole crime thing in Ginger Pye didn't work for me. And, I just prefer the Moffat family over the Pyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 We thought Ginger Pye was absolutely adorable and we read to way older than the genre would even be recommended for . And pinky Pye was an even bigger hit!!!! But we thought The Moffats fell flat. So, maybe they are different enough that you should give The Moffats a try!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Ginger Pye was painfully boring for us, but everyone has enjoyed the Moffats series. It is not out favorite, but still MUCH better than Ginger Pye imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I like Ginger Pye, and so did my kids, but I don't enjoy doing it as a read-aloud. If I remember right, the chapters are really long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 It all comes back to Pinky Pye. Mew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Before I hand this to DD to read, can someone tell me if it is as bad as Ginger Pye? We all found GP to be the worst read-aloud ever, just painful to get through. The Moffats has a lot of really good reviews though. Thoughts? I agree. It's been a decade or so, and I still remember that Ginger Pye was awful! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I agree. It's been a decade or so, and I still remember that Ginger Pye was awful! ;) Then I'll have to vote you the unsavory character! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Then I'll have to vote you the unsavory character! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Just a quick clarification -- I think you accidentally confused two similar authors, here -- Elizabeth Enright and Eleanor Estes. Easy to do! I personally thought Estes' Moffats felt a lot like Enright's Saturdays in content (kinds of plot episodes) and characters and initially thought they were written by the same author. :) Right you are! How embarrassing... Of the Moffats books we liked Rufus M. and Pinky Pye more than the others... Overall, we liked all of the Enright books more than the Estes books and they do have a similar feel and similar cover art in the modern editions.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 We'll, we loved Ginger and Pinky Pye, too, but I THINK we first listened to GP as an audiobook. I ended up loving Moffats, but the first time I tried to read it (alone), I just didn't get the appeal it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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