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Ellen & Otis #1
Ellen Tebbits
Ellen Tebbits has a secret that she'll never share with anyone. That is, until she meets Austine—and discovers that Austine has the same secret! Soon the girls are best friends who do everything together—attending dance class, horseback riding, and dodging pesky Otis Spofford. But then Ellen does something terrible, and now Austine isn't speaking to her. Will Ellen be able to prove how sorry she truly is?
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
104 people are currently reading
2345 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Cleary
261 books3,347 followersBeverly Atlee Cleary was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950. Some of her best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.
The majority of Cleary's books are set in the Grant Park neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, where she was raised, and she has been credited as one of the first authors of children's literature to figure emotional realism in the narratives of her characters, often children in middle-class families. Her first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian. Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw. For her lifetime contributions to American literature, she received the National Medal of Arts, recognition as a Library of Congress Living Legend, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children. The Beverly Cleary School, a public school in Portland, was named after her, and several statues of her most famous characters were erected in Grant Park in 1995. Cleary died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104.
The majority of Cleary's books are set in the Grant Park neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, where she was raised, and she has been credited as one of the first authors of children's literature to figure emotional realism in the narratives of her characters, often children in middle-class families. Her first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian. Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw. For her lifetime contributions to American literature, she received the National Medal of Arts, recognition as a Library of Congress Living Legend, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children. The Beverly Cleary School, a public school in Portland, was named after her, and several statues of her most famous characters were erected in Grant Park in 1995. Cleary died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 413 reviews
April 11, 2016
Beverly Cleary turns 100 this year! <3 We read ELLEN TEBBITS to celebrate.
Discussion on Monday 4/11/16 if you'd like to join us: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Discussion on Monday 4/11/16 if you'd like to join us: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
February 12, 2018
Beverly Cleary is a national treasure for early middle grade chapter books. I read this quick read for the first time and it was amusing. I like Ellen and I can relate to her realness, but spoiled rotten Otis steals the show. He is the perfect antagonist.
Ellen is looking for a friend and she bonds with Austine over being forced to wear long winter underwear. I'm glad this is no longer a thing. Still, it makes for some comedy gold. Ellen is learning the complexities of having a friend.
I do wonder why this didn't take off like Ramona did. I think this is good stuff too. There is a book about Otis. Ramona stole the show later and I would have liked to hear more from Ellen at some point too. It is a bit dated and a bit timeless. It is certainly an easier time for girls than now days with horrible bullying in 1st grade and onward. I'm glad I read this.
Ellen is looking for a friend and she bonds with Austine over being forced to wear long winter underwear. I'm glad this is no longer a thing. Still, it makes for some comedy gold. Ellen is learning the complexities of having a friend.
I do wonder why this didn't take off like Ramona did. I think this is good stuff too. There is a book about Otis. Ramona stole the show later and I would have liked to hear more from Ellen at some point too. It is a bit dated and a bit timeless. It is certainly an easier time for girls than now days with horrible bullying in 1st grade and onward. I'm glad I read this.
June 14, 2021
Honestly, it is really too bad that aside from Otis Spofford (which I still have to read) there are not with regard to Beverly Cleary’s 1951 novel Ellen Tebbits a whole slew of novels to be encountered which sequentially follow and depict Ellen’s life both at school and at home (like is of course the case with Cleary’s Ramona Quimby and equally with her still to be perused by me Henry Huggins stories).
For while I certainly have been enjoying reading about Ramona Quimby and her family, I do find the scenarios depicted by Beverly Cleary in Ellen Tebbits just a trifle more personally relatable, except perhaps for the fact that both Ellen and Austine not only take ballet lessons but also seemingly enjoy doing this, as my own childhood experiences with dance lessons were in truth anything but positive. But definitely, from how Ellen’s perfectionist and persnickety mother forces her to put on long woollen underwear at the first sign of autumn to the major falling out with best friend Austine and how long it actually takes for the misunderstandings to be cleared so that the two girls an patch things up, Ellen Tebbits has been a delightful and five star reading experience for me (textually humours as well as often almost painfully analogous to my personal experiences especially during Middle School). And as such, for one, I am as already briefly alluded to above rather majorly frustrated and disappointed that there are not at least five or six more stories about Ellen, Austine et al for me to read, and for two, I really do wish that I had encountered Ellen Tebbits not now (as an older reader) but in fact when I actually was in Middle School and would have found Ellen, Austine, their teachers and even “love to despise” Otis Spofford and his rather ineffectual mother perfect reading therapy for me (but as it stands, most definitely a novel I am going to be placing on my favourites shelf and will also be trying to one day obtain a hopefully first edition for my personal library).
And finally, yet another reason why Ellen Tebbits would have likely been a true personal reading gem if I had encountered this story during my childhood or as a young teenager is that Ellen Tebbits’ life as an only child (even if she is at times a bit lonely) would really have massively appealed to me whenever I had issues with my siblings (and this certainly did happen quite often). For yes indeed, Beverly Cleary’s presented text certainly does very clearly demonstrate that even though Ellen has some minor issues with her mother being at times a bit overbearing and of course focussing all of her attention on her daughter, there are thankfully and naturally also no cases of sibling rivalry or of parents playing favourites amongst their children found in Ellen Tebbits, which most definitely would have been appreciated and wonderful reading balm for childhood and teenager-hood me.
For while I certainly have been enjoying reading about Ramona Quimby and her family, I do find the scenarios depicted by Beverly Cleary in Ellen Tebbits just a trifle more personally relatable, except perhaps for the fact that both Ellen and Austine not only take ballet lessons but also seemingly enjoy doing this, as my own childhood experiences with dance lessons were in truth anything but positive. But definitely, from how Ellen’s perfectionist and persnickety mother forces her to put on long woollen underwear at the first sign of autumn to the major falling out with best friend Austine and how long it actually takes for the misunderstandings to be cleared so that the two girls an patch things up, Ellen Tebbits has been a delightful and five star reading experience for me (textually humours as well as often almost painfully analogous to my personal experiences especially during Middle School). And as such, for one, I am as already briefly alluded to above rather majorly frustrated and disappointed that there are not at least five or six more stories about Ellen, Austine et al for me to read, and for two, I really do wish that I had encountered Ellen Tebbits not now (as an older reader) but in fact when I actually was in Middle School and would have found Ellen, Austine, their teachers and even “love to despise” Otis Spofford and his rather ineffectual mother perfect reading therapy for me (but as it stands, most definitely a novel I am going to be placing on my favourites shelf and will also be trying to one day obtain a hopefully first edition for my personal library).
And finally, yet another reason why Ellen Tebbits would have likely been a true personal reading gem if I had encountered this story during my childhood or as a young teenager is that Ellen Tebbits’ life as an only child (even if she is at times a bit lonely) would really have massively appealed to me whenever I had issues with my siblings (and this certainly did happen quite often). For yes indeed, Beverly Cleary’s presented text certainly does very clearly demonstrate that even though Ellen has some minor issues with her mother being at times a bit overbearing and of course focussing all of her attention on her daughter, there are thankfully and naturally also no cases of sibling rivalry or of parents playing favourites amongst their children found in Ellen Tebbits, which most definitely would have been appreciated and wonderful reading balm for childhood and teenager-hood me.
January 2, 2015
Ellen Tebbits is the antithesis of Ramona Quimby at the same age. She and her nemesis, Otis Spofford (where did Cleary get these names?) attend a different school in the same town, but their lives couldn't be more different. The Quimbys and the Hugginses are clearly working-class folks who live on an economic knife's edge, while Ellen lives in a big old house full of nice things, with a perfectionist mom who cares more about her "nice clean floor" than about teaching her daughter cooking skills. Fathers are conspicuously absent from the Tebbits and Spofford households, getting never a mention; you don't know if they're off at work all the time, or (in Otis' case) simply not there. Otis' mom runs the local dancing school; how well I remember those dancing-school mothers! Like Ramona, I wasn't in the dancing-school echelon of our small town, but Ellen and Austine certainly are.
While physically very similar to Ramona (brown straight hair, brown eyes--makes you wonder what Cleary looked like as a child; no blonde, blue-eyed Barbiedoll princess heroines) she is very much the only-child-worrier: tidy, uptight, seeking approval from adults at every turn. Without Ramona's wild imagination and questioning attitude toward the world around her, Ellen just wants to fit in.
Her previous playmate having moved away, Ellen's at a loose end until she meets Austine (those names again!), the new girl in town. She and Ellen join forces against obnoxious Otis, and Ellen learns about the ups and downs of being a BFF.
I like the fact that Cleary's heroines are normal little girls who make mistakes, get dirty, tear their clothes and hurt other people's feelings without meaning to. They also get upset and learn from getting the corners knocked off their tidy existences sometimes. It may have been published in the fifties, but in smalltown rural America, it was still valid in the sixties. Yes, there was a school dresscode until about 1974; girls had to wear skirts to class, and in the winter, tights to keep from freezing, as the janitor wore long underwear and set the school thermostat accordingly. Yes, we played cowboys and watched Maverick and Rawhide and Gunsmoke and Bonanza and later on in the early seventies it was Texas Rangers and Alias Smith and Jones. After that, it was all "Indian mocassins" (which my mother wouldn't buy for me because they didn't last) and bluejeans (which I wasn't allowed to wear, either. America changed, but born in 1924, she did not).
Very quick read, even for its projected age group (8-9 yrs).
While physically very similar to Ramona (brown straight hair, brown eyes--makes you wonder what Cleary looked like as a child; no blonde, blue-eyed Barbiedoll princess heroines) she is very much the only-child-worrier: tidy, uptight, seeking approval from adults at every turn. Without Ramona's wild imagination and questioning attitude toward the world around her, Ellen just wants to fit in.
Her previous playmate having moved away, Ellen's at a loose end until she meets Austine (those names again!), the new girl in town. She and Ellen join forces against obnoxious Otis, and Ellen learns about the ups and downs of being a BFF.
I like the fact that Cleary's heroines are normal little girls who make mistakes, get dirty, tear their clothes and hurt other people's feelings without meaning to. They also get upset and learn from getting the corners knocked off their tidy existences sometimes. It may have been published in the fifties, but in smalltown rural America, it was still valid in the sixties. Yes, there was a school dresscode until about 1974; girls had to wear skirts to class, and in the winter, tights to keep from freezing, as the janitor wore long underwear and set the school thermostat accordingly. Yes, we played cowboys and watched Maverick and Rawhide and Gunsmoke and Bonanza and later on in the early seventies it was Texas Rangers and Alias Smith and Jones. After that, it was all "Indian mocassins" (which my mother wouldn't buy for me because they didn't last) and bluejeans (which I wasn't allowed to wear, either. America changed, but born in 1924, she did not).
Very quick read, even for its projected age group (8-9 yrs).
March 13, 2014
I have clear memories of reading this book as a child! But interestingly, reading it as an adult, it mostly just struck me as old-fashioned. Even though it's set in about the same time period as the Ramona and Henry Huggins books, it just seemed out of date, while the Ramona and Henry Huggins series seem timeless.
Many of the anecdotes take place within classrooms, and I was so surprised to find myself feeling that the classroom dynamics were inappropriate, even though they reminded me of just what my own elementary school days were like. For example, rather than assigning and rotating job duties fairly among all students - which is the norm in today's classrooms - the teachers simply handpicked students to do special jobs, making the students who were never chosen feel as though the teacher didn't like them.
There was another kind of childhood injustice depicted in the book that I think is still quite prevalent today. More than once, Ellen is called out for whispering in dance class, even though she is only trying to respond to Otis's bad behavior by asking him to stop. Ellen gets disciplined, but Otis does not. I remember feeling wronged as a child when I was disciplined for doing something bad while the other child who "started it" got away with their bad behavior. Like Ellen, I didn't dare speak up to defend myself, and even if I did, it would probably have been seen as talking back to the adult, or tattling on the other student. I know that both my kids have experienced this type of inequity already, and at the very least, I like that this book shows them that they are not the only ones who are sometimes treated unfairly due to a misunderstanding or an adult's incomplete view of a situation. Or, as in Ellen's case, perhaps a true bias, as the instigator, Otis, was the dance teacher's son!
Anyway, I think Ellen and Austine's friendship was realistic, and on the one hand I think it's nice for children to read about all kinds of relationship dynamics, so they get to understand that a whole range of experiences - including fighting with friends - is normal. On the other hand, though, I really disliked the way Austine so quickly replaced Ellen, and what would become of Linda after Ellen and Austine made up? Still, I really liked that Ellen and Austine resolved everything between themselves, not just apologizing, but also fairly understanding the other person's point of view.
Many of the anecdotes take place within classrooms, and I was so surprised to find myself feeling that the classroom dynamics were inappropriate, even though they reminded me of just what my own elementary school days were like. For example, rather than assigning and rotating job duties fairly among all students - which is the norm in today's classrooms - the teachers simply handpicked students to do special jobs, making the students who were never chosen feel as though the teacher didn't like them.
There was another kind of childhood injustice depicted in the book that I think is still quite prevalent today. More than once, Ellen is called out for whispering in dance class, even though she is only trying to respond to Otis's bad behavior by asking him to stop. Ellen gets disciplined, but Otis does not. I remember feeling wronged as a child when I was disciplined for doing something bad while the other child who "started it" got away with their bad behavior. Like Ellen, I didn't dare speak up to defend myself, and even if I did, it would probably have been seen as talking back to the adult, or tattling on the other student. I know that both my kids have experienced this type of inequity already, and at the very least, I like that this book shows them that they are not the only ones who are sometimes treated unfairly due to a misunderstanding or an adult's incomplete view of a situation. Or, as in Ellen's case, perhaps a true bias, as the instigator, Otis, was the dance teacher's son!
Anyway, I think Ellen and Austine's friendship was realistic, and on the one hand I think it's nice for children to read about all kinds of relationship dynamics, so they get to understand that a whole range of experiences - including fighting with friends - is normal. On the other hand, though, I really disliked the way Austine so quickly replaced Ellen, and what would become of Linda after Ellen and Austine made up? Still, I really liked that Ellen and Austine resolved everything between themselves, not just apologizing, but also fairly understanding the other person's point of view.
December 13, 2024
This book packed a surprise punch, especially for its size and innocuous cover. The story of this created and then splintered friendship is funny, touching, heartbreaking, and rolls back around the entire route of these emotions again and again within the book. Ellen Tebbits's pain resonated deep inside me. I say this was Beverly Cleary's best early book; possibly her best book of all, and that is saying a lot.
May 15, 2016
What a delight to revisit this! The woolen underwear, the independence of children to walk to each other's houses, and of course, the polite respect for parents and teachers. Most of the experience is in the classroom or dance class. Beverly Cleary's 100th birthday can be celebrated by listening to this. Andrea Martin delivers just the right emphasis; a charming experience.
April 22, 2016
Originally posted at Log Cabin Library
I read Ellen Tebbits over and over, until the edges of the book were so dog eared and the cover started to come off the spine. I really identified with Ellen growing up, especially her desire to have a best friend that she could share all of her secrets with. Being an Army brat and middle child, I grew up pretty lonely most of the time. Sure there were plenty of kids around, I even had my two sisters, but just as you get to know someone, we had to move again. And with one sister being five years older and the other four years younger, you were either to young or to old to play with. It really wasn't until ninth grade that I first met my " forever best friend." It was at the time where my dad retired and we started to what I like to call "put down roots." Like Ellen, we both worried about what other people thought of us. Me for wearing hand-me downs, Ellen cause her underwear bunched in the middle during dance class. This also happens to be one of my favorite scenes. I'm probably setting myself up to be the black-sheep on this one, but I always loved the scene where Ellen is in ballet class trying to do the warm ups and Otis is imitating her movements. Otis is meant to be seen as teasing Ellen, but he never says anything to her. He just moves like she does, hitching and leaping and clutching. For Ellen this is terrifying, because she doesn't want those bunching underwear to slide. Yet, I couldn't get the image of Otis in his spurs, and double barrels of guns at his hips out of my mind. It's kinda ridiculous that he is trying to do ballet in spurs, but somehow also funny to me. Yes, I feel horrible for Ellen, who must be mortified, but he is quite something. Secretly, I always imagined that he was kinda jealous of all the attention that the girls got from his mother, and perhaps what he wanted was to join in on the dance and not necessarily tease Ellen. But, I'm pretty sure Otis is well known for his teasing. re-reading Ellen Tebbits made me a little nervous at first. You know will your favorite hold up? And happily for me it does. Ellen does make a terrible mistake with her new friend, for which she eventually makes amend for and Austine is such a wonderful girl that you can't help and love. Re-reading Ellen was a lovely trip down memory lane to a time where you can walk two houses over to a friends house, ride your bike into town, go out for an ice cream cone, or even like in Ellen's case clap erasers with your best friend. I'll be picking up Otis Spofford and Ramona to read next.
I read Ellen Tebbits over and over, until the edges of the book were so dog eared and the cover started to come off the spine. I really identified with Ellen growing up, especially her desire to have a best friend that she could share all of her secrets with. Being an Army brat and middle child, I grew up pretty lonely most of the time. Sure there were plenty of kids around, I even had my two sisters, but just as you get to know someone, we had to move again. And with one sister being five years older and the other four years younger, you were either to young or to old to play with. It really wasn't until ninth grade that I first met my " forever best friend." It was at the time where my dad retired and we started to what I like to call "put down roots." Like Ellen, we both worried about what other people thought of us. Me for wearing hand-me downs, Ellen cause her underwear bunched in the middle during dance class. This also happens to be one of my favorite scenes. I'm probably setting myself up to be the black-sheep on this one, but I always loved the scene where Ellen is in ballet class trying to do the warm ups and Otis is imitating her movements. Otis is meant to be seen as teasing Ellen, but he never says anything to her. He just moves like she does, hitching and leaping and clutching. For Ellen this is terrifying, because she doesn't want those bunching underwear to slide. Yet, I couldn't get the image of Otis in his spurs, and double barrels of guns at his hips out of my mind. It's kinda ridiculous that he is trying to do ballet in spurs, but somehow also funny to me. Yes, I feel horrible for Ellen, who must be mortified, but he is quite something. Secretly, I always imagined that he was kinda jealous of all the attention that the girls got from his mother, and perhaps what he wanted was to join in on the dance and not necessarily tease Ellen. But, I'm pretty sure Otis is well known for his teasing. re-reading Ellen Tebbits made me a little nervous at first. You know will your favorite hold up? And happily for me it does. Ellen does make a terrible mistake with her new friend, for which she eventually makes amend for and Austine is such a wonderful girl that you can't help and love. Re-reading Ellen was a lovely trip down memory lane to a time where you can walk two houses over to a friends house, ride your bike into town, go out for an ice cream cone, or even like in Ellen's case clap erasers with your best friend. I'll be picking up Otis Spofford and Ramona to read next.
December 13, 2024
Like Ramona, Ellen is a spirited, out-going child. Not shy. When I was seven or eight years old, I would have identified with her problems, giggled over the situations, and wondered how it would feel to be an only child.
I bet that very few kids would realize that this was written over 60 years ago. Here's a passage that older readers will appreciate. Ellen and her friend are passengers in a car, and they are playing a car game to pass the time.
Each [girl] watched the signs on her side of the road for letters of the alphabet. Each letter had to be found in order or it did not count. ... The girl who had a Burma Shave sign on her side of the road at the right time was lucky because it contained in the right order both 'u' and 'v', two hard letters to find.
Here's a Burma Shave sign my sister and I read aloud every time we passed it:
When frisky
with whiskey,
don't drive,
cause it's risky.
I bet that very few kids would realize that this was written over 60 years ago. Here's a passage that older readers will appreciate. Ellen and her friend are passengers in a car, and they are playing a car game to pass the time.
Each [girl] watched the signs on her side of the road for letters of the alphabet. Each letter had to be found in order or it did not count. ... The girl who had a Burma Shave sign on her side of the road at the right time was lucky because it contained in the right order both 'u' and 'v', two hard letters to find.
Here's a Burma Shave sign my sister and I read aloud every time we passed it:
When frisky
with whiskey,
don't drive,
cause it's risky.
August 22, 2020
I was a huge Beverly Cleary fan in my childhood and this was my very favorite of her books. I must have read this at least a dozen times, and this summer it was fun to share it with my son. My mom read it to S and I listened in, and we all enjoyed it. Ellen's adventures are fun, Otis still makes me laugh, and I think that this book holds up really well for being as old as it is (it was my mother's favorite Beverly Cleary book when she was young, too)
November 26, 2016
This was one of my favorite books when I was in the third grade.
August 27, 2025
I love Ramona the Pest so I decided to read Cleary’s kids’ books that I haven’t read before. When I got to the beet and clapping erasers, I thought maybe I HAD read this before. I was sure when I got to the twin part. Still there were many parts I had totally forgotten and much to love about Ellen and Austine.
December 20, 2016
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
Ellen Tebbits is so utterly embarrassed by the fact that her mother makes her wear woolen underwear that when she changes her clothes before dance class she hides in the closet to avoid being teased. When she learns that another girl, Austine, must also wear the same kind of underwear, however, the two bond immediately over their secret shame and become the best of friends. As happens to many best friendships, however, theirs is tested when Ellen hurts Austine's feelings and struggles to find a way to apologize.
Though so much of what happens in this book would not happen today, the characters themselves have many of the same fears, concerns, and feelings as contemporary children. Though girls are unlikely to wear woolen underwear to school, they can all relate to the way it feels to be embarrassed by a family rule others don't have to follow. While today's teachers don't ask kids to clap erasers at recess, kids still understand what it's like to want to please a teacher and feel as though they fall short in some way. Above all, kids of every generation understand what it's like to be lonely, to be teased, to find a new friend, to hurt a friend's feelings, and to make amends and start anew.
More than any other author, Beverly Cleary understands childhood. Though her books reference customs, styles, and events of the time in which they were written, her descriptions of the thoughts and feelings of kids transcend time. I am pleased that a book like Ellen Tebbits remains in print and is still widely available on library shelves. Now that I have been reminded once again of the brilliance of Beverly Cleary, I want to go back and read the other titles of hers that I have missed, including the companion novel to this book, Otis Spofford.
Ellen Tebbits is so utterly embarrassed by the fact that her mother makes her wear woolen underwear that when she changes her clothes before dance class she hides in the closet to avoid being teased. When she learns that another girl, Austine, must also wear the same kind of underwear, however, the two bond immediately over their secret shame and become the best of friends. As happens to many best friendships, however, theirs is tested when Ellen hurts Austine's feelings and struggles to find a way to apologize.
Though so much of what happens in this book would not happen today, the characters themselves have many of the same fears, concerns, and feelings as contemporary children. Though girls are unlikely to wear woolen underwear to school, they can all relate to the way it feels to be embarrassed by a family rule others don't have to follow. While today's teachers don't ask kids to clap erasers at recess, kids still understand what it's like to want to please a teacher and feel as though they fall short in some way. Above all, kids of every generation understand what it's like to be lonely, to be teased, to find a new friend, to hurt a friend's feelings, and to make amends and start anew.
More than any other author, Beverly Cleary understands childhood. Though her books reference customs, styles, and events of the time in which they were written, her descriptions of the thoughts and feelings of kids transcend time. I am pleased that a book like Ellen Tebbits remains in print and is still widely available on library shelves. Now that I have been reminded once again of the brilliance of Beverly Cleary, I want to go back and read the other titles of hers that I have missed, including the companion novel to this book, Otis Spofford.
Read
August 22, 2009This book was written about 20 years earlier than most of the Ramona books, and it shows. Ellen's mother makes all her clothes for her and worries about her clean floor. (I'm not even sure I *have* a clean floor - or, some days, a floor at all!) The girls wear only dresses to school (and most everyplace else). Otis has a full cowboy outfit (with spurs) and we're told that MOST of the children in the school have a cowboy hat, or even a neckerchief. (When's the last time you saw that sort of cowboy mania? Oh right - back in the 50s, when this was published.) And let's not forget the infamous woolen undies. If it was old-fashioned back in the 50s, and this was the first I'd ever heard of it in the 90s, just think how foreign it must seem to today's third-graders! (And let's put a little note for the names. When is the last time you saw a class full of Ellens and Austines, Otises and Lindas? Ramona is a name that passes the test of time. Otis... not so much.)
But you know what? It doesn't matter. The kids still seem as real as when they were written. They bake brownies, they worry about their teacher not liking them, and they get into a whopper of a fight when Ellen slaps her friend. Everything that happens has a ring of truth to it, even if the details aren't quite like they would be today.
But you know what? It doesn't matter. The kids still seem as real as when they were written. They bake brownies, they worry about their teacher not liking them, and they get into a whopper of a fight when Ellen slaps her friend. Everything that happens has a ring of truth to it, even if the details aren't quite like they would be today.
June 2, 2008
This is an old favorite, and I pulled it from the shelf because I was too lazy to go downstairs and get a newer book. I read half of it while I was drying my hair.
Ellen Tebbits is an average girl living an average life in an average town. She's in third grade as the book starts, missing her best friend, who's just moved away. She bonds with Austine, the new girl, over their despised union suits (which my adolescent mind always translated as "onion" suits, which just doesn't make any sense) that they must hide from the other girls in their ballet class. Their friendship suffers a couple of blows, as most do, but in the end they make it all up, which also happens in real life.
I like the simplicity of the book, how Ellen is not trying to be a superstar or a heroine, but is just trying to make friends and stay away from Otis Spofford (who will go on to have his own book). She's the shy quiet girl with the active thought life and the homemade dresses ... hey, she reminds me of someone.
I suspect older children, maybe 10 and up, would find this a boring read, but younger kids--those who are moving on from the Little House books, perhaps--will enjoy it.
Ellen Tebbits is an average girl living an average life in an average town. She's in third grade as the book starts, missing her best friend, who's just moved away. She bonds with Austine, the new girl, over their despised union suits (which my adolescent mind always translated as "onion" suits, which just doesn't make any sense) that they must hide from the other girls in their ballet class. Their friendship suffers a couple of blows, as most do, but in the end they make it all up, which also happens in real life.
I like the simplicity of the book, how Ellen is not trying to be a superstar or a heroine, but is just trying to make friends and stay away from Otis Spofford (who will go on to have his own book). She's the shy quiet girl with the active thought life and the homemade dresses ... hey, she reminds me of someone.
I suspect older children, maybe 10 and up, would find this a boring read, but younger kids--those who are moving on from the Little House books, perhaps--will enjoy it.
December 11, 2016
In something that is a mystery to me, Lu (age 5) is really not that interested in having chapter books read to her ... with the exception of Beverly Cleary. And I think we all know that it's not as if I don't have a pretty deep list of books I already own that should have a similar appeal to the Clearys, but she is a discerning audience. The list of chapter books she has rejected reads like a who's who of children's literature across the ages. And she was immediately hooked by Ellen, despite having no idea what long underwear is. The beet was the most exciting thing she had ever heard. The slap was high drama (okay, well it is high drama). The horseback riding was hilarious.
I noted that my blood pressure still goes up every time Otis is on the page, as it did when I was a kid. He is a walking argument in favor of corporeal punishment in the public schools. He is a MENACE.
I noted that my blood pressure still goes up every time Otis is on the page, as it did when I was a kid. He is a walking argument in favor of corporeal punishment in the public schools. He is a MENACE.
October 8, 2020
In an effort to reclaim some joy in my life, I've decided to revisit some Beverly Cleary books. Ellen Tebbits has always been one of my favorites. She gets neglected, in favor of the flashier Ramona, but her story has held up well (with the possible exception of her winter underwear).
July 16, 2025
The image of Ellen having to wear her woolen underwear bunched up under her dance costume will stay with me as long as I have memory! I just love this book!
June 26, 2016
I love Beverly Cleary and ballet, so it was a great book. Myrna, age 7
August 15, 2017
หลายๆ อย่างในเรื่องนี้ทำให้หวนคิดถึงความรู้สึกในวัยเด็ก
ความรู้สึกที่มีแต่ (คนเคย) เด็กเท่านั้นที่จะเข้าใจ
น่ารักดีค่ะ :)
ความรู้สึกที่มีแต่ (คนเคย) เด็กเท่านั้นที่จะเข้าใจ
น่ารักดีค่ะ :)
April 22, 2022
This story did not age as well as the Ramon series. Everyone in this story is annoying to be honest.
March 8, 2022
Such a fun book. I loved getting to know Ellen and Austine and their friendship.
January 30, 2020
Re-read this for the NY VSC discussion.
12/8/2009:
**slight spoilers ahead but, really, you should have read this by now**
Just finished reading this with a 4th grader in a reading volunteer program, and I was delighted to see that my reading buddy loves Ellen and Austine as much as I do. Cleary makes it so easy to identify with Ellen: good, serious Ellen who wants to know if her teacher likes her, who wants a best friend, and WHO SLAPS HER BEST FRIEND. I love books that deal with guilt (hmmm, wonder why?), and this one covers guilt and just how hard it can be to apologize.
My reading buddy and I read another edition, but this is the edition I had growing up.
12/8/2009:
**slight spoilers ahead but, really, you should have read this by now**
Just finished reading this with a 4th grader in a reading volunteer program, and I was delighted to see that my reading buddy loves Ellen and Austine as much as I do. Cleary makes it so easy to identify with Ellen: good, serious Ellen who wants to know if her teacher likes her, who wants a best friend, and WHO SLAPS HER BEST FRIEND. I love books that deal with guilt (hmmm, wonder why?), and this one covers guilt and just how hard it can be to apologize.
My reading buddy and I read another edition, but this is the edition I had growing up.
June 7, 2013
I loved Beverly Cleary books growing up and read many of them but I do not recall having ever read Ellen Tebbits.
The kids and I had so much fun reading this together. We laughed, we groaned at the antics of Otis Spofford, we sat on the edge of our seats wondering if Ellen and Austine would make up and be best friends again. Best of all my kids learned the chant "I see London, I see France..." and have been having a grand time with it.
The kids and I had so much fun reading this together. We laughed, we groaned at the antics of Otis Spofford, we sat on the edge of our seats wondering if Ellen and Austine would make up and be best friends again. Best of all my kids learned the chant "I see London, I see France..." and have been having a grand time with it.
March 12, 2009
I did not like Ellen Tebbits. I do not even know why I am giving the book two stars instead of one. Maybe because it IS by Beverly Cleary... I felt Ellen Tebbits was too directed away from the main plot all through the story. She was also too stuck-up and pessimisstic. I did not like that kind of attitude all through the story.
July 5, 2012
Cute Story! :)
November 18, 2012
Beverly Cleary is a god that brought her books to earth. One of the best books ever. Its not so bad reading after all.
Read
August 7, 2013cute, authentic; typically excellent Cleary
April 3, 2016
Read this as a child but completely forgot it--looking forward to our Kindred Spirit chat about this one!
September 12, 2017
Oh, I just love Beverly Cleary books.
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