turrean's review against another edition
4.0
The four star review must be entirely without reference to any other work besides others by the same author! I've read this so many times since I was child; I'm completely incapable of giving it an unbiased rating. Yes, Streatfeild's stories are very similar, as are her characters. I suppose the cozy tone may grate on the nerves. But I've always loved how the author made her adults point-of-view characters alongside the children, and even referred to them by first name. The children's career aspirations are fascinating, too.
I wish all her other novels would be released in eBook form, too.
I,own this one as an ebook, published as "The Bell Family."
I wish all her other novels would be released in eBook form, too.
I,own this one as an ebook, published as "The Bell Family."
felinity's review against another edition
2.0
This is one of the very rare Streatfeild books I don't like. Everyone was too busy being a character, except Ginnie who was just annoying.
avrilhj's review against another edition
3.0
This version is a reprint in the Vintage Children's Classics series and it's interesting to see what the editors have decided need to be explained for twenty-first century children in the additions at the end of the book: 'Make do and mend...'; words like 'ermine', 'perambulator' and 'verger'. There's a brief biography of Noel Streatfeild, an explanation of the background to the book (it was originally a radio serial) and a couple of quizzes. There is also, for no reason that I can discern, a 'Who's Who' that describes the characters about whom the reader has presumably just read. This book from the 1950s, published only 19 years before I was born, is definitely being presented as just as exotically historical as Little Women (1868) and The Railway Children (1905), both also in the Vintage Children's Classic series. I'm starting to feel like a relic myself!
This is definitely not one of the best of Streatfeild's books. The reader has less access to the characters' inner lives than in most of her other children's books, presumably because the book started as a radio play. The children are all versions of children that we've seen before. And while I think we're meant to find Ginnie amusing and to be on her side, 'Miss Virginia Bell' came across to me as a self-centred little madam!
The Bell Family is most interesting when read alongside Streatfeild's 'autobiography' A Vicarage Family. Alex Bell is another idealised version of 'Jim Strangeway' or William Streatfeild, and Cathy Bell is the sort of mother who could make life in an impoverished vicarage liveable and fairly comfortable, where poor 'Sylvia Strangeway' or Janet Streatfeild, as portrayed by Noel, failed miserably. There are some wonderful passages that sound like Noel is describing her own father and her reaction to him: 'Alex never got really cross. He thought it wrong to be cross and so struggled to keep that he was feeling cross to himself. Jane said Alex's keeping feeling cross to himself was worse than snapping out as ordinary people did, who were not parsons. She thought trying hard gave him a martyred face, which made other people lose their tempers looking at it'. But it's impossible to imagine Janet, portrayed as 'Sylvia', as ever saying: 'Do you think I'd miss one minute of watching my children grow up for all the money in the world?' Is Noel writing for the child who felt that her mother didn't like her?
It's also interesting to compare this realistic book with Streatfeild's romances written as Susan Scarlett. I've recently read Babbacombe's and in both The Bell Family and Babbacombe's there is a family money box which constantly needs to be raided for emergencies and so the amount to be saved for is never reached. But in Babbacombe's the money in the box is for a fur coat for the mother of the family, and she is given a fur coat by the wealthy family into which her daughter marries. The ways in which the Bells come into needed money are a little more realistic, although still magical in the context of the book.
Recommended for fans of Streatfeild, but I'd definitely start non-fans off on Ballet Shoes.
This is definitely not one of the best of Streatfeild's books. The reader has less access to the characters' inner lives than in most of her other children's books, presumably because the book started as a radio play. The children are all versions of children that we've seen before. And while I think we're meant to find Ginnie amusing and to be on her side, 'Miss Virginia Bell' came across to me as a self-centred little madam!
The Bell Family is most interesting when read alongside Streatfeild's 'autobiography' A Vicarage Family. Alex Bell is another idealised version of 'Jim Strangeway' or William Streatfeild, and Cathy Bell is the sort of mother who could make life in an impoverished vicarage liveable and fairly comfortable, where poor 'Sylvia Strangeway' or Janet Streatfeild, as portrayed by Noel, failed miserably. There are some wonderful passages that sound like Noel is describing her own father and her reaction to him: 'Alex never got really cross. He thought it wrong to be cross and so struggled to keep that he was feeling cross to himself. Jane said Alex's keeping feeling cross to himself was worse than snapping out as ordinary people did, who were not parsons. She thought trying hard gave him a martyred face, which made other people lose their tempers looking at it'. But it's impossible to imagine Janet, portrayed as 'Sylvia', as ever saying: 'Do you think I'd miss one minute of watching my children grow up for all the money in the world?' Is Noel writing for the child who felt that her mother didn't like her?
It's also interesting to compare this realistic book with Streatfeild's romances written as Susan Scarlett. I've recently read Babbacombe's and in both The Bell Family and Babbacombe's there is a family money box which constantly needs to be raided for emergencies and so the amount to be saved for is never reached. But in Babbacombe's the money in the box is for a fur coat for the mother of the family, and she is given a fur coat by the wealthy family into which her daughter marries. The ways in which the Bells come into needed money are a little more realistic, although still magical in the context of the book.
Recommended for fans of Streatfeild, but I'd definitely start non-fans off on Ballet Shoes.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-book-112.html
inarasbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
katekat's review against another edition
4.0
I have always loved Noel Streatfeild's books and as a child I got my library to ILL them for me or hunted through second hand book stores to find all of them. She tells the perfect "girls stories". I was always able to find one character in each book that was my favorite. They definitely stand up to re-reads.
scraps_n_needles's review against another edition
4.0
***4.75 Stars***
Book review: This is heckin’ adorable. “The Bell Family” is a kids book written by Noel Streatfeild (author of “Ballet Shoes” and the other Shoes books that are mentioned in “You’ve Got Mail”). I absolutely loved this family and their story. The story follows a vicar’s delightful family and their adventures -and misadventures- for about a year. To provide context, “Ballet Shoes” is one of my favorite books of all time and this might now be my second favorite of hers. “The Bell Family” was originally a very popular radio program in England. She took those stories and adventures and novelized it. I thought some sentences were awkwardly phrased and I wonder if that happened because of how the story came to be written. And the story just sort of ends. There is a sequel, but I think it is out of print. (Also, this was originally published in the United States as “Family Shoes.”)
Book review: This is heckin’ adorable. “The Bell Family” is a kids book written by Noel Streatfeild (author of “Ballet Shoes” and the other Shoes books that are mentioned in “You’ve Got Mail”). I absolutely loved this family and their story. The story follows a vicar’s delightful family and their adventures -and misadventures- for about a year. To provide context, “Ballet Shoes” is one of my favorite books of all time and this might now be my second favorite of hers. “The Bell Family” was originally a very popular radio program in England. She took those stories and adventures and novelized it. I thought some sentences were awkwardly phrased and I wonder if that happened because of how the story came to be written. And the story just sort of ends. There is a sequel, but I think it is out of print. (Also, this was originally published in the United States as “Family Shoes.”)
crazygoangirl's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet book about a poor Vicar’s family set in London that I enjoyed more than I thought I would! And such a pretty cover 😊
Alex and Cathy Bell, their 4 children and dog live in St. Mark’s Vicarage in Southeast London. They’re a poor but hard-working, talented, happy and ingenious family. I liked Ginnie best because she’s the only one ingenuous enough to ‘tell it like it is’, to the silly rich relatives, especially Veronica, who in Grandmother and Mrs. Gage’s words - I would take a slipper to if I were able! Such a silly, vain pest of a girl!
As we follow the travails of the Bell family in this heartwarming tale of family bonds & friendships, Streatfeild weaves in important lessons on honesty, hard work and self-respect. I thought it would be a simple, fluffy sort of story, but was pleasantly surprised at its depth and layers. I would love to read it again with my 9-yr-old son so that he may learn how people without privilege live, love and are happy! I’m not sure if all Streatfeild’s books feature the Bell family, but I will definitely read more from her when I’m able. I enjoyed her simple, succinct writing style.
A wonderful read 😊
Alex and Cathy Bell, their 4 children and dog live in St. Mark’s Vicarage in Southeast London. They’re a poor but hard-working, talented, happy and ingenious family. I liked Ginnie best because she’s the only one ingenuous enough to ‘tell it like it is’, to the silly rich relatives, especially Veronica, who in Grandmother and Mrs. Gage’s words - I would take a slipper to if I were able! Such a silly, vain pest of a girl!
As we follow the travails of the Bell family in this heartwarming tale of family bonds & friendships, Streatfeild weaves in important lessons on honesty, hard work and self-respect. I thought it would be a simple, fluffy sort of story, but was pleasantly surprised at its depth and layers. I would love to read it again with my 9-yr-old son so that he may learn how people without privilege live, love and are happy! I’m not sure if all Streatfeild’s books feature the Bell family, but I will definitely read more from her when I’m able. I enjoyed her simple, succinct writing style.
A wonderful read 😊
balancinghistorybooks's review
3.0
Number 87 on my Classics Club list, The Bell Family by Noel Streatfeild was first published in 1954. As I so adored Ballet Shoes when I read it for the first time a couple of years ago, I had very high hopes for Streatfeild’s other works. The Bell Family has recently been reissued by Vintage Children’s Classics, with a darling cover designed by Alice Tait, and I was able to borrow a copy from my local library.
The novel follows, as the title suggests, the Bell family, who are carrying out their ‘eventful lives’ against the busy backdrop of London. I adore the premise which is described in the blurb as follows: ‘Meet the big, happy Bell family who live in the vicarage at St Mark’s. Father is a reverend, Mother is as kind as kind can be. Then there are all the children – practical Paul, dancing Jane, mischievous Ginnie, and finally the baby of the family, Angus, whose ambition is to own a private zoo (he has already begun with his six boxes of caterpillars)’. Streatfeild sets the scene immediately: ‘The Thames is a very twisting sort of river. It is as if it had to force its way into London, and had become bent in the process… In the smaller bulge to the left is the part of south-east London in which the Bells lived. The people around where the Bells lived are not rich; mostly they live in small houses joined on to their next door neighbours. It is a very noisy part of the world. People shout a lot, and bang a lot, and laugh a lot’.
The novel is almost like a series of short stories; the family are followed throughout, but a different event takes precedence in each chapter. In this manner, I was reminded of Michael Bond’s delightful Paddington novels, which use a very similar structure, and Rumer Godden’s children’s stories, which are written in the same quaint and amusing way.
As with the other Vintage Children’s Classics, this edition of The Bell Family contains a wealth of extra information, ranging from an author biography to a quiz which you can take once you have finished reading. As a child, I would have been delighted by this interactive aspect, and it still charmed me somewhat as an adult reader.
Streatfeild is very perceptive of her characters, and The Bell Family is certainly a nice book to settle down with. However, there is not really much of substance within its pages. It did not have a memorable cast of characters such as those within Ballet Shoes, and it paled rather in comparison. Whilst the Bell children were quite sweet, there was nothing overly distinctive about them, and I doubt I will remember much about them in a year or so. I imagine that I would have enjoyed The Bell Family far more had I been a child on my first encounter with it.
The novel follows, as the title suggests, the Bell family, who are carrying out their ‘eventful lives’ against the busy backdrop of London. I adore the premise which is described in the blurb as follows: ‘Meet the big, happy Bell family who live in the vicarage at St Mark’s. Father is a reverend, Mother is as kind as kind can be. Then there are all the children – practical Paul, dancing Jane, mischievous Ginnie, and finally the baby of the family, Angus, whose ambition is to own a private zoo (he has already begun with his six boxes of caterpillars)’. Streatfeild sets the scene immediately: ‘The Thames is a very twisting sort of river. It is as if it had to force its way into London, and had become bent in the process… In the smaller bulge to the left is the part of south-east London in which the Bells lived. The people around where the Bells lived are not rich; mostly they live in small houses joined on to their next door neighbours. It is a very noisy part of the world. People shout a lot, and bang a lot, and laugh a lot’.
The novel is almost like a series of short stories; the family are followed throughout, but a different event takes precedence in each chapter. In this manner, I was reminded of Michael Bond’s delightful Paddington novels, which use a very similar structure, and Rumer Godden’s children’s stories, which are written in the same quaint and amusing way.
As with the other Vintage Children’s Classics, this edition of The Bell Family contains a wealth of extra information, ranging from an author biography to a quiz which you can take once you have finished reading. As a child, I would have been delighted by this interactive aspect, and it still charmed me somewhat as an adult reader.
Streatfeild is very perceptive of her characters, and The Bell Family is certainly a nice book to settle down with. However, there is not really much of substance within its pages. It did not have a memorable cast of characters such as those within Ballet Shoes, and it paled rather in comparison. Whilst the Bell children were quite sweet, there was nothing overly distinctive about them, and I doubt I will remember much about them in a year or so. I imagine that I would have enjoyed The Bell Family far more had I been a child on my first encounter with it.