The Willoughbys Return

July 1, 2020
The incompetent parents from The Willoughbys (2008) find themselves thawed by global warming. Henry and Frances haven't aged since the accident that buried them in snow and froze them for 30 years in the Swiss Alps. Their Rip van Winkle-ish return is archly comedic, with the pair, a medical miracle, realizing (at last!) how much they've lost and how baffled they are now. Meanwhile, their eldest son, Tim, is grown and in charge of his adoptive father's candy empire, now threatened with destitution by a congressional ban on candy (opposed by an unnamed Bernie Sanders). He is father to 11-year-old Richie, who employs ad-speak whenever he talks about his newest toys, like a remote-controlled car ("The iconic Lamborghini bull adorns the hubcaps and hood"). But Richie envies Winston Poore, the very poor boy next door, who has a toy car carved for him by his itinerant encyclopedia-salesman father. Winston and his sister, Winifred, plan to earn money for essentials by offering their services as companions to lonely Richie while their mother dabbles, spectacularly unsuccessfully, in running a B&B. Lowry's exaggerated characters and breezy, unlikely plot are highly entertaining. She offers humorous commentary both via footnotes advising readers of odd facts related to the narrative and via Henry and Frances' reentry challenges. The threads of the story, with various tales of parents gone missing, fortunes lost or never found, and good luck in the end, are gathered most satisfactorily and warmheartedly. Highly amusing. (Fiction. 8-12)

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July 1, 2020
Grades 4-6 Two articles in the newspaper directly affect the Willoughby household, where Tim, his wife, and their son, Richie, live with the retired billionaire who handed his confectionery business over to Tim years earlier. Thunderstruck by the news that Congress has banned candy, Tim fails to notice that an American couple (his parents), frozen in the Alps 30 years earlier, has thawed and appears unharmed. The book traces several story lines that eventually converge. One follows Tim's defrosted parents, now penniless and confused but possibly somewhat less reprehensible than in The Willoughbys (2008). Another looks at his bored, lonely son, Richie, and two others concern his impoverished but kindly neighbors, the Poore children and their father, who would like to sell you an outdated set of encyclopedias. While the text fills in the backstory so adroitly that reading The Willoughbys first isn't necessary, it makes this sequel even more satisfying. Once again, footnotes add to the fun. Lowry exaggerates and gently mocks the conventions of old-fashioned fiction, while capturing readers with her sure-handed storytelling and wry wit.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Setting aside the fact of Lowry's inherent appeal, this return to a beloved story is perfectly timed to coincide with the Netflix animated film of the original book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

July 20, 2020
Twelve years after the publication of The Willoughbys and 30 years after it takes place, Lowry’s quirky cast returns for another madcap adventure, balancing the original’s droll voice and elaborate plotting with a slightly more humane tone. With the Willoughby
siblings now grown, the eldest—Tim, now a candy manufacturing magnate—is living lavishly in Commander Melanoff’s mansion with son Richie, 11, when a draconian new law criminalizes candy and jeopardizes the family’s fortune. They represent a stark contrast to the Poores, aptly named neighbors whose patriarch is away on a futile mission to sell outdated encyclopedias. In their father’s absence, Winifred, 10, and Winston, 12, help their mother turn the modest home into a B&B (“bed and bathroom”) for much-needed funds. Their first guests? The newly defrosted Willoughby parents, who arrive fresh off a Swiss Alp clueless about the passage of time and increasingly eager to make amends with the children they once mistreated. Lowry’s arch narration, enhanced by amusing footnote asides, moves nimbly across many story lines, employing running jokes (the Poore children chastise their mother for “Marming” when she spouts platitudes à la Little Women’s Marmee) and resulting in an entertainingly absurd revival that recalls Roald Dahl’s oeuvre. Ages 8–12. Agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary.

September 1, 2020

Gr 4-7-Henry and Frances Willoughby have been frozen in the Swiss Alps for three decades. They left their children with the nanny, and 30 years later Tim Willoughby is grown up and runs a successful candy manufacturing company. One problem: Candy is now banned and Tim's fortune is lost. Richie, Tim's son, is lonely and becomes friends with Winifred and Winston Poore. The Poores are aptly named; they live next door in a hovel, eat gruel for breakfast, and reuse Band-Aids. Their dad is traveling the country selling encyclopedias and mailing rocks home to collector Winifred. Mrs. Poore opens a bed-and-breakfast to raise money. One day, Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby show up at her door. They're back from Switzerland, thawed out and in search of their children. With nothing for dinner, a desperate Mrs. Poore serves a salad of leaves she picks from her neighbor's garden with gruesome results. Lowry's latest resumes the irreverent humor and tongue-in-cheek asides of the first book. Literary references abound: Mrs. Poore's sentimental musings are called "marming," after Marmee from Little Women (a footnote lists all the actresses who've played Marmee in the movies). The story is also peppered with contemporary cultural references: A dazed Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby wonder what an Uber might be. Richie's materialistic lifestyle (he orders constantly from the internet), counterpoints poignantly with the loving but paltry existence of the Poore children. VERDICT An old-fashioned story with a knowing, modern feel. For fans of the first book.-Sarah Webb, City and Country Sch. Lib., NY

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