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Private - Keep Out!
The hilarious adventures of a girl growing up immediately after the war.
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 12, 2021
The 10 year old girl in me would have given this 5 stars, but I deducted one because I'm all grown up now. Our narrator is a female Dennis the Menace who is always in trouble. In the U.S she could be compared to Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Pest, always favorites when I read them to my daughter. There's just something about brave, funny, trouble making girls that you have to love.
The setting is a small mining village in England in 1948 and this book seems to be a favorite of adults who remember it fondly. A good, funny choice if you need a book for an 8-12 year old girl.
The setting is a small mining village in England in 1948 and this book seems to be a favorite of adults who remember it fondly. A good, funny choice if you need a book for an 8-12 year old girl.
Read
February 23, 2022Disappointing. I really looked forward to this one.
June 8, 2012
Just brilliant (& horrendously under-rated).
One of my favourite books as a child, but more importantly, one of the few which I can happily re-read today (and still laugh & cry at the same parts!).
The adventures of our heroine, her family & "our Prince" are honest, touching & very, very funny.
Highly recommended for anyone who has ever been part of a family.
(If there was a sixth star, I would have given it to this little gem.)
One of my favourite books as a child, but more importantly, one of the few which I can happily re-read today (and still laugh & cry at the same parts!).
The adventures of our heroine, her family & "our Prince" are honest, touching & very, very funny.
Highly recommended for anyone who has ever been part of a family.
(If there was a sixth star, I would have given it to this little gem.)
December 6, 2020
*4.5 stars
This is a reread from my childhood. I have all three of the books, and I remember I used to love the colourful lettering on the covers!
It was so interesting rereading now as an adult and a mother, because parenting and childhood was so very different back then, in that place and time. It's about a big working class family in a Northern colliery town, six kids constantly rowing, a long-suffering mother (who must've been strong as an ox) who alternates between disciplining with threats and slaps and bursting into tears with both terror and empathy when bad things happen to her kids; a local quarry as a playground where you're always at risk of being beat up by other local kids (or even grown men, at one point).
The narrator is the protagonist, written a bit like a diary, it's a slice of life of this young girl fighting her corner (she is not what those around her think she should be, but she simply can't be anything else), and it is excellently written in terms of point of view - you really are inside a child's head and it's both hilarious and shocking (basically now, I can't see that what she is subjected to a lot of the time is anything but abuse, both physical and verbal), but it feels so real because it's a reminder of what it was like to be a kid, and what real kids (not storybook kids) can be like. Gwen Grant manages to pull this off without making the children in the book completely unlikeable. There are little moments of kindness peppered throughout, and that, along with your own honest memories of growing up, makes this a compelling read in the end.
This is a reread from my childhood. I have all three of the books, and I remember I used to love the colourful lettering on the covers!
It was so interesting rereading now as an adult and a mother, because parenting and childhood was so very different back then, in that place and time. It's about a big working class family in a Northern colliery town, six kids constantly rowing, a long-suffering mother (who must've been strong as an ox) who alternates between disciplining with threats and slaps and bursting into tears with both terror and empathy when bad things happen to her kids; a local quarry as a playground where you're always at risk of being beat up by other local kids (or even grown men, at one point).
The narrator is the protagonist, written a bit like a diary, it's a slice of life of this young girl fighting her corner (she is not what those around her think she should be, but she simply can't be anything else), and it is excellently written in terms of point of view - you really are inside a child's head and it's both hilarious and shocking (basically now, I can't see that what she is subjected to a lot of the time is anything but abuse, both physical and verbal), but it feels so real because it's a reminder of what it was like to be a kid, and what real kids (not storybook kids) can be like. Gwen Grant manages to pull this off without making the children in the book completely unlikeable. There are little moments of kindness peppered throughout, and that, along with your own honest memories of growing up, makes this a compelling read in the end.
July 15, 2021
ei mäletagi, kas olen enne elus nii vägivaldse sisuga raamatut lugenud. "Timur ja tema meeskond" veidi konkureerib, aga seal suur osa ajast ikkagi piirduti ähvardustega kellelegi peksa anda; siin sõjajärgses Inglismaa kaevanduslinnas praalimise peale palju aega ei kulutata ja minajutustaja, suure pere noorim tütar, saab praktiliselt vahetpidamata kõrvakiile, lakse, togimist ja täismõõdus keretäisi - emalt-isalt, õdedelt-vendadelt, naabrilastelt ja suvalistelt täiskasvanutelt (k.a. pühapäevakooli õpetajad jne). kõike seda võetakse kas just stoilise rahuga (peategelane on varakult selgeks saanud, et parim, mida ta teha saab, on ohtralt nutta ja/või kaevata, siis on lootust, et ka keegi teine saab karistada), aga igatahes elu normaalse osana.
päris masendavast sisust hoolimata on see hästi kirjutatud ja meeleolukas raamat, selline kena lasteraamatuklassika, mida vist tänapäeva lapsed eriti hinnata ei oska, küll aga loevad nostalgiaga need, kes seda oma lapsepõlvest mäletavad. lapstegelase vaatepunkt on väga veenvalt kirja pandud ja kuigi mulle iseenesest ulakad lapsed eriti ei meeldi, on see ikkagi värskendav vaheldus, kui üks pisike plika pigem kogu aeg ise jamasid põhjustab kui et teiste omade all kannatab.
jutustaja-laps ihaldab jõulukingiks "Väikeste naiste" raamatuid ja lõpuks need ka saab, ma täitsa tahaks teada, kuidas ta õdede Marchide lõputule headusele-õilsusele-kasvatatusele reageerida võis. ikka üsna öö ja päev on need maailmad, aga mul ei ole mingit kahtlust, et Gwen Granti kirjapandu on realistlikum kui Louisa May Alcotti.
päris masendavast sisust hoolimata on see hästi kirjutatud ja meeleolukas raamat, selline kena lasteraamatuklassika, mida vist tänapäeva lapsed eriti hinnata ei oska, küll aga loevad nostalgiaga need, kes seda oma lapsepõlvest mäletavad. lapstegelase vaatepunkt on väga veenvalt kirja pandud ja kuigi mulle iseenesest ulakad lapsed eriti ei meeldi, on see ikkagi värskendav vaheldus, kui üks pisike plika pigem kogu aeg ise jamasid põhjustab kui et teiste omade all kannatab.
jutustaja-laps ihaldab jõulukingiks "Väikeste naiste" raamatuid ja lõpuks need ka saab, ma täitsa tahaks teada, kuidas ta õdede Marchide lõputule headusele-õilsusele-kasvatatusele reageerida võis. ikka üsna öö ja päev on need maailmad, aga mul ei ole mingit kahtlust, et Gwen Granti kirjapandu on realistlikum kui Louisa May Alcotti.
January 6, 2013
Favourite as a child, favourite as an adult!!.... Brought a tear to my eye passing on my books (also knock and wait) to my 8 year old daughter ... Now she adores them too!!!
May 4, 2018
A natural writer
April 4, 2025
I discovered this book thanks to Lucy Mangan as this was one of her favourite books during her childhood.
I loved this book. This book is set in 1948 up north and is a sort of a diary from the main character who is the youngest of 6 children. The narrator is probably around 10/11 and is always getting into trouble. Her dour sense of humour is just brilliant and parts of the book made me laugh a lot! The family dynamics were pretty feral at times but made for great comedy. Some of the brutality reminded me of some of the rougher kids in my neighberhood when I was younger.
I would have loved this as a child but I still love it now and probably understand the jokes more.
An excellent read. Well done Lucy Mangan for encouraging Vintage to republish this book. I must look out for the sequels.
I loved this book. This book is set in 1948 up north and is a sort of a diary from the main character who is the youngest of 6 children. The narrator is probably around 10/11 and is always getting into trouble. Her dour sense of humour is just brilliant and parts of the book made me laugh a lot! The family dynamics were pretty feral at times but made for great comedy. Some of the brutality reminded me of some of the rougher kids in my neighberhood when I was younger.
I would have loved this as a child but I still love it now and probably understand the jokes more.
An excellent read. Well done Lucy Mangan for encouraging Vintage to republish this book. I must look out for the sequels.
November 23, 2020
A charmingly written book told through the eyes of a young girl growing up just after WWII. She's accident prone, carefree and obnoxious, qualities you are left bemused by at the end. She's learning to get along with her siblings who are all positively awful to her (she thinks). She tends to offend easily with her outspokenness. It's a really good book.
October 19, 2019
Lovely little book as recommended by Lucy Mangan. They did things differently way back when but I rather loved this little girl.
December 28, 2019
Very funny and just as fantastic as Lucy Mangan said it would be
July 14, 2020
An absolute treasure. I loved it. It's funny, VERY well-written and beautifully observed. It really does deserve its classic status and I'm so glad it's back in print.
August 10, 2021
Laugh out loud funny.
My own childhood was a good couple of decades later and not so full of casual physical reprimands but there are enough other similarities that it is a very poignant read.
My own childhood was a good couple of decades later and not so full of casual physical reprimands but there are enough other similarities that it is a very poignant read.
abandoned
March 27, 2022I found a reference to this book of a book list. V sadly it just isn’t ‘me’ - it’s way too edgy! & so I will be dropping it off at the charity shop when next I’m passing…..
May 4, 2023
I think everyone should read this
May 14, 2023
It is really fun.
Read
August 15, 2025Great
sony-or-android
November 5, 2019Not Found rec. by Lucy Mangan
August 11, 2019
Hmm! Thought I'd enjoy this book a lot more than I did! I possibly would have liked it if I read it when I was seven or eight, but meeting Lizzie for the first time as an adult I just found her irritating and unbelievably bratty! So much slapping from her siblings, and especially from various adults - some not even related to her - not that that makes it acceptable...! Okaaaay. It's fair to say I probably shan't bother with the sequel! (Sorry to all those who see what I don't - this is just my opinion!).
March 8, 2011
I love this book! Such a funny, light read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
January 22, 2018
read again - still hilarious
February 17, 2023
Read this with the kids and we all howled with laughter.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews