This was lovely, and a nice story about a quirky woman and her more predictable neighbors coming to appreciate each other. ( )

Shy Miss Twiggley keeps to herself living with a dog, a cat, and some bears in a treehouse on the edge of town, but the mayor's wife thinks this kind of nonconformity is unacceptable. But then a natural disaster shows the value of thinking (and living) outside the box.

The cliched plot and bland moral didn't do much for me. Putting the story into verse didn't help much either. ( )

50548

Aw, what a sweet fantasy. Now, I hoped that Miss Twiggley would be allowed to just choose to be a hermit, but it turns out she's just shy and needs to be brought out of her shell. Still, it's good that the village learns a lesson in tolerance, too.

I still want to live in a weeping willow tree with just a dog (not even a color tv) when I'm old. ( )

Absolutely charming! A real keeper. Miss Twiggley and her dog Puss live in a tree. The people in town come by to visit but Miss Twiggley is shy and hides. Puss goes into town for the groceries and shopping and is chased home by the town dogs. A hurricane washes out the town and many people find their way to Miss Twiggley's. She is there waiting for them with a big pot of stew and many beds. All shyness is set aside in an emergency. This is a great book and would be good to read aloud to children 4-8. ( )

Originally published in 1966, and then reprinted in this 2002 Purple House Press edition, Miss Twiggley's Tree is the tale, told in rhyming verse, of an eccentric woman, her canine companion, and her arboreal home. "Funny Miss Twiggley / Lived in a tree / With a dog named Puss / And a color TV," the story begins, going on to relate how Miss Twiggley, a shy spinster with a tendency to hide from visitors, overcame her social trepidation when a hurricane threatened the area, and learned to interact with her neighbors. The townspeople, on the other hand (including the rather officious mayor's wife), learned that eccentricity doesn't have to be a bad thing, and that living in a tree has its advantages...

This is a sweet little tale, one with a good message about learning to accept differences, and look beneath the surface, and it boasts its creator's lovely artwork, which has a charming vintage feeling to it. Dorothea Warren Fox was a well-known illustrator in her day, whose work appeared in many magazines, as well as in Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care. I don't think I was quite as blown away by this one, as the friend who recommended it to me (although I thank her for making me aware of it!), but I did appreciate the humor to be found in both story and artwork, and the heartwarming conclusion. Recommended to young readers who enjoy rhyming tales, and to anyone with a taste for vintage picture-books. ( )

This is a very cute book indeed. The shy main character Miss Twiggly lives in a large weeping willow tree with her dog and a coupe of bears for company. When a month long rain floods the nearby town the townspeople (and dogs) find shelter in the big tree. Wonderfully detailed and lively artwork, story rhymes - what a wonderful find! ( )

I've still got the copy I had when I was a kid. One of the best books EVER. Miss Twiggley is an eccentric old lady who lives in a tree with her dog (Puss) and who hangs out with bears. She's terribly shy around townspeople, but she must overcome her fears when the town is flooded in a terrible storm. ( )

Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriateness: Primary
Review: This picture book is a great example of fantasy because the story is not believeable, (it includes a talking dog and an old lady who is friends with bears) but it presents positive values and the theme of helping others. It is light-hearted and deals with things such as shyness and bullies, which children may be able to relate to.

Media: Mixed media ( )

A rhyming story about a lady and her dog who live in a tree. They associate with bears rather than people. But when a terrible storm floods the town, Miss Twiggley and Puss (her dog) make room for all of the villagers, and they discover it is fun to have company. (I really like the old-fashioned art work throughtout this book.)

Sweet story about helping others in their time of need, and I love the old-timey feel of the illustrations. I just wish the text could have been tightened up. Aside from it being too wordy, I also felt like it took too long to get to the meat of the story, then the ending felt rushed. ( )

"Funny Miss Twiggley lived in a tree
with a dog named Puss and a color TV.
She did what she liked
and she liked what she did.
But when company came...Miss Twiggley hid."

With that poetic beginning, Dorothea Warren Fox takes young readers through Miss Twiggley's evolution from a kindly, shy eccentric to local hero, with some lessons on treating others as you would be treated.

When Miss Twiggley's town is flooded from "a wild hurricane," people and pets take to boats made of whatever floats by. They end up at Miss Twiggley's large willow tree. Twiggley, her dog and visiting bears get to work outfitting her tree house by stringing up hammocks, cooking stew and making the land-livers feel welcome--even the busy-body mayor's wife, who had previously made it her business to talk smack about the tree-dwelling heroine. (It occurs to me that FEMA could instill some of Miss Twiggley's ethic into its mission!)

Some would find this 1966 publication outdated. There is no ethnic or cultural diversity in the town (unless you count Twiggley and her arboreal habitat). And the rhyming style for young children's books that was all the rage when I was a kid in the 1960s is seldom used anymore. Yet Twiggley is strong and self reliant, not the hapless, helpless female so often portrayed back then. This is a sweet, endearing story with subtle lessons about kindness and compassion. Kids love the marvelous illustrations of the tree house, complete with damp-but-happy townsfolk and critters alike. This book is a classic, and a favorite of my youth. My kids love it, too. Give this gem as a gift to youngsters, and pass Miss Twiggley on to a new generation! ( )