Mother Carey's Chickens

by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Book Overview

Mother Carey's Chickens is a novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin published in 1911

The book tells the story of a poor but happy family of four children who, in spite of being fatherless, make the lives of others better. Their home life becomes complicated when Julia, a snobbish cousin, comes to live with them. The Carey children suffer many disappointments (Gilbert must forgo college, for example), but Julia is transformed when she realizes...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CHXV6W3X
• ISBN13: 9798888306710
• Release Date: September 2023
• Publisher: Bibliotech Press
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Refreshing and delightful

I had to hunt this one down. I love the movie "Summer Magic" which was based on the book. I have rarely read a book so fast. It was so refreshing to read of another, less uptight era where neighbors cared about each other and happily gave of their time and means to help a family they had never met. The Carey's have a magical quality that is all their own, bringing joy to those around them. Mrs. Carey refers to her children as her chickens, thus the title. Mrs. Carey is the perfect mother, mixing love with her admonishing. And Nancy's high spirits are contagious. Compared to today's fiction, this may seem like a goody-goody-dreamworld-story, but it was a wonderful story. It made me wonder if such a world may really exist someday. It was so positive and edifying. I wish that Kate Douglas Wiggins had written a whole series about the Carey family.

This is a "breath of fresh air" kind of book in a our world.

Kate Douglas Wiggin penned a wonderful piece of literature with an uncanny gift for providing serenity. It is an old-fashioned story about an old fashioned family. The Carey family faces seemingly insurmountable problems but persevere with dignity and grace. The characters are real, not goody, goody, but they possess an innate goodness that comes with careful parenting and being bred in a time of high moral standards. Perhaps it seems a bit whimsical to dream of such bygone ideals, but this book gives one hope of discovering them again.