Now that her beloved mother has died, nine-year-old Ociee Nash is the only girl in the Nash family. Even in the modern times of 1900 it's hard to get good grades, learn good manners, and stay out of trouble on her papa's Mississippi farm. Ociee is always up for adventures with her adoring brothers. Deciding his daring daughter needs a woman's influence, Papa Nash sends Ociee to live with her lovable Aunt Mamie in the big city of Asheville, North Carolina. There Ociee makes some fascinating friends, including one of the Wright brothers, but doesn't give up her adventurous ways. Atlanta author Milam McGraw Propst was awarded Georgia Author of the Year and a national Parent's Choice Award for the first book in the Ociee Nash series, A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street, which then became an acclaimed film in 2003 as THE ADVENTURES OF OCIEE NASH.
A nice uncomplicated read with likable characters and no earth-shattering complications (just what I needed after many of the recent books I've read and left feeling depressed). I look forward to enjoying the second book. Unfortunately, that's probably as far as I can go with the series, because I can't find a library in this country that has books #3, #4 and #5!
Wow, is this book bad! It establishes a whole new standard of boring. I thought it was short enough to read in a night, but it cost me almost a week of my reading life to force myself through this drivel, a few unbearable pages at a time. I kept pressing on, waiting for it to become interesting, but, alas. The author's sad attempt at dialogue isn't worth the proverbial plugged nickel--it is so forced and phony that you can't even begin to imagine real people holding such unnatural conversations. You might say I don't appreciate it because it is a book just for children. If true, it was written to teach children to hate reading; kids are generally even less tolerant of unnatural and phony than adults. What is the author trying to do with all the weird dialogue? It certainly isn't story-driven since there's no plot to speak of, and you can't say it is character-driven, since the characters are so weak they couldn't drive anything. If it was supposed to be some kind of Anne of Green Gables or Little House imitation, it fails miserably in the attempt. Thank goodness this ordeal is now over and I can move onto a decent book.
This book is suitable for readers of all ages. The dialog is to be expected for a story set in the late 19th century, in the south. It's a simple story about life, kindness, respect and love, as told by a main character who is only 10 years old. Ociee has a keen ability to empathize with just about everyone she meets, which makes her quite endearing.
It wasn't until I got to the end of the book that I realized that Ociee Nash was a real person and the author is her granddaughter. There was also a movie released in 2003 called "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" co-starring Ty Pennington and Keith Carradine, among others. The movie is available to watch instantly via Netflix.
A great story about a girl named Oicei whose mother had died and it was only her dad and brothers. She like to run, climb, Chase boxcar and jump on them, Chase anyone down who came upon their Mississippi farm. She is a irregular girl who wears the jeans and thinks of herself as one of the boys. She also cooks and cleans the house trying to do what her mom would do if she was still there. Her life changes she needs to learn how to be a girl, whatever that means.
After watching the wholesome movie upon which this book is based with my granddaughter, I decided to read the book and enjoyed it as a fast read. I recommend it as historical fiction with moderate adventure and basic life lessons for elementary readers.
This was a cute little story. It was not fast paced and exciting, just a nice story about a period of time in the life of a young girl in the late 1800's. She was an exceptional young lady, very brave and polite. She had hardships in her family but did all she could to make the grownups in her life proud. I believe this is a series based on a real person, don't think I'll be reading the other books though.
I began this book to support North Carolina authors. I really enjoyed the peaceful ambience created by old-timey values, horse-drawn carriages clopping along glorious mountain scenes, the cozy home of Aunt Mamie who papers each room with flowers. All this serves as background for the healing of a 10 year old girl's heart. This is the perfect book for reading by chapter to a child at bedtime.
Sigh...well, there goes a few hours of my life that I won't get back. Sweet enough story I guess, but overall a mindless read that in few ways (ok, maybe no way) left me better off for having read it. Thrilled it was a free kindle download.
i know this was based on a true story of her grandma when she was young, but it was a really slow read. i almost gave up on the book but stuck through. i felt like i was on the verge of something exciting to happen, but nothing ever did.
This is a series that would probably be fun for girls about 10 years old. It is actually more of historical fiction as the stories are based on the life of the author's grandmother.