The other day, I read that Harriet the Spy broke ground on the way children's literature was written. There had never been a character quite like Harriet before who spoke the way she spoke (basically...not so nicely) and who didn't really grow or change by the end of the novel. This gave me a new perspective when I read the book this time around. I remember my mom giving me this book to read when I was younger and it was one of my favorites because I, too, kept a notebook full of secrets. I remembered her tomato sandwiches and how her friends discovered her notebook, but nothing else. What I found interesting from an adult perspective was, in fact, the way she did not learn a lesson by the end but rather embraced her gossipy nature. Very interesting.
Harriet lives in Manhattan and spends her time spying on her neighbors, her friends and enemies and anyone else who crosses her path. After her long-time nurse leaves to get married and after her friends discover her observations, she heads on a downward spiral of tantrums and depression. But Harriet stays the same and finds she cannot stop herself from her prodigious note taking. Eventually, her friends will come around.
Interest level: Grades 5-8 Reading level: Grade 4
Genre: realistic fiction, humor
Comparable titles: The Great Gilly Hopkins, Judy Moody, Because of Winn Dixie
Book Connections: a play made of food characters, Observation Journals, School Newspaper, tomato sandwiches with cake and milk in the afternoon
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