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Our Australian Girl - Alice #4
Peacetime for Alice
It's 1919 . . . and Alice is busy looking after Mama, practicing her dancing, and trying to cheer up her brother Teddy now that he's back from the war. Alice soon comes up with a brilliant idea—a big event that is sure to make Teddy happy again. Will Alice's grand plan work out in the way she hopes? And will Alice and her family be able to leave the sorrows of the past behind? Follow Alice on her adventure in the final of four exciting stories about a gifted girl in a time of war.
122 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 2012
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About the author
Davina Bell
34 books58 followersDavina Bell is a writer for young people of many ages, and a children’s book editor. Her award-winning and Notable picture books include All the Ways To Be Smart, All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors, Under the Love Umbrella, The Underwater Fancy-dress Parade, Oh Albert! and Hattie Helps Out. She is also the author of the Alice books in Penguin’s best-selling Our Australian Girl series, the Lemonade Jones series of Junior Fiction, and the Corner Park Clubhouse series (Middle Grade). Her debut young-adult novel will be published in June 2020.
Having been a Senior Editor at Penguin Books, she now works on the children’s list at Affirm Press in Melbourne. A lover of words and ideas in many forms, Davina regularly travels the country, speaking to children and adults about books and writing. The magic of picture books continues to enchant her.
Having been a Senior Editor at Penguin Books, she now works on the children’s list at Affirm Press in Melbourne. A lover of words and ideas in many forms, Davina regularly travels the country, speaking to children and adults about books and writing. The magic of picture books continues to enchant her.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 6, 2012
And now I am done with the Alice books, and only have the final Nellie left! Aww. I do hope they decide to do a few more series in the future, these are just lovely :)
July 18, 2018
Not as bad as the 3rd book but still not very believable or age-appropriate. This whole series seemed more like a simplified adult story rather than books that were actually written for children. So disappointing.
July 7, 2021
Ugh.
If you like idiotically sentimental Hallmark Channel schlock, then this book is for you. I personally wouldn't give this to a 12 year old girl, because she might get the impression this is good writing.
It is not.
In this instalment we find out that "Pudding", the youngest child, does not even know her own given name. She's five years old now and can at last speak, but no one ever told her what her name is? Mummy is still recovering months later from a life-threatening bout of flu, and seems quite content to let her seven year old daughter continue to cook meals and her under-15 kids be the grownups. We learn that "Papa Sir"'s father (yes, really, everyone calls him that, even though he's the bestdaddyintheuniverse, not the tyrant such a nickname might lead you to believe) left them "pots of money" (and I quote), so Mummy needn't have actually ever worked at all, leaving her kids to run the house. No wonder her neighbours looked askance. This is the same woman who wouldn't have servants because "she wanted to do the work herself." Or a least let her kids do it.
Dear old codependent Alice is in full swing, from curing her brother's PTSD to helping another veteran regain his memory, simply because she IS the star-dusted best little dancer inthewholewideWORLD, remember?
The sugary, glutinous sentimentality never stops; after the first chapter there's no comedy, no relief, nothing even approaching the reality of post WW1 Australia. I found myself skimming over the cringe making bits, which were far too many. "Our Australian Girl" indeed.
Ugh, ugh, ugh. Likewise YUCK.
If you like idiotically sentimental Hallmark Channel schlock, then this book is for you. I personally wouldn't give this to a 12 year old girl, because she might get the impression this is good writing.
It is not.
In this instalment we find out that "Pudding", the youngest child, does not even know her own given name. She's five years old now and can at last speak, but no one ever told her what her name is? Mummy is still recovering months later from a life-threatening bout of flu, and seems quite content to let her seven year old daughter continue to cook meals and her under-15 kids be the grownups. We learn that "Papa Sir"'s father (yes, really, everyone calls him that, even though he's the bestdaddyintheuniverse, not the tyrant such a nickname might lead you to believe) left them "pots of money" (and I quote), so Mummy needn't have actually ever worked at all, leaving her kids to run the house. No wonder her neighbours looked askance. This is the same woman who wouldn't have servants because "she wanted to do the work herself." Or a least let her kids do it.
Dear old codependent Alice is in full swing, from curing her brother's PTSD to helping another veteran regain his memory, simply because she IS the star-dusted best little dancer inthewholewideWORLD, remember?
The sugary, glutinous sentimentality never stops; after the first chapter there's no comedy, no relief, nothing even approaching the reality of post WW1 Australia. I found myself skimming over the cringe making bits, which were far too many. "Our Australian Girl" indeed.
Ugh, ugh, ugh. Likewise YUCK.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews