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The Terrible Thing That Happened at Our House
The Terrible Thing That Happened at Our House
Author: Marge Blaine, John C. Wallner (Illustrator)
A youngster relates the terrible problems that occurred after her mother went to work and how the family solved them.
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ISBN-13: 9780590423717
ISBN-10: 0590423711
Publication Date: 8/1983
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1

3 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Terrible Thing That Happened at Our House on + 60 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
told from the point of view of an elementary school girl, talks about how "terrible" it is that mom went back to work. but with a bit of compromise and giving from all members of the family, the whole family realizes that they can still be happy, and be a "real" family.
hoopridge avatar reviewed The Terrible Thing That Happened at Our House on + 252 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was my favorite when I was a little girl. The story is simple: a mother gets tired of being a stay-at-home mom and goes back to work. The family has a hard time adjusting.

Sounds simple enough, but the story is told from the tween daughter's point of view, which makes Mom going back to work seem like the worst event ever to happen on the planet. She thinks that it's a "terrible thing" that her mom would not want to take care of her and her brother anymore and that they have to dress themselves, eat in the school's cafeteria, and actually DO DISHES after dinner.

Of course, she has a meltdown and the family decides to all pitch in and work together as a family (gasp!) to run the house and their lives.

This was obviously written in the 1970s, when the Women's Lib movement was strong and gaining momentum, but the story is not preachy or anti-Women's Lib at all. The pictures are wonderful, full of 70s colors and graphics.

This book is hilarious and timeless, really. It's not a "terrible thing" at all!
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