The Books
The Old Woman Who Named Things
Paperback, 32 pages
Published by Sandpiper (2000-08-01)
List Price: $7.00
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Amazon Description
How does an old woman who has outlived all her friends keep from being lonely? By naming the things in her life she knows she will never outlive--like her house, Franklin, and her bed, Roxanne. When a shy brown puppy appears at her front gate, the old woman won’t name it, because it might not outlive her. Tender watercolors capture the charm of this heartwarming story of an old woman who doesn’t know she’s lonely until she meets a plucky puppy who needs a name--and someone to love.One Potato Review
This formulaic surface hides a truer, tricky soul. The puppy here may be cute and lost and archetypically winning, but the old woman of the title suffers a commitment (perhaps unique in the picture book firmament) of naming and generally associating with only those things which she knows will outlive her - a house, a car, a wheelbarrow -this having already endured her lifetime allotment of loss. Oddly, however, she remains cheerful in her neurosis (hey, whatever gets you through the day) and there is hardly any suggestion that the admittedly predictable ending amounts to more than a one-time exception. Stubborn but pragmatic, and brimming with ornery intelligence. For older readers probably, though young ones may conceivably delight to an old armchair named Fred.
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