Pictures of Hollis Woods

"This picture has a dollop of peanut butter on one edge, a smear of grape jelly on the other, and an X across the whole thing. I cut it out of a magazine for homework when I was six years old. 'Look for words that begin with W,' my teacher, Mrs. Evans, had said.
"She was the one who marked in the X, spoiling my picture. She pointed. ' This is a picture of a family, Hollis. A mother, M, a father, F, a brother, B, a sister, S. They're standing in front of their house, H. I don't see one W word here, young lady.'
"I opened my mouth to say: How about W for wish, or W for want, or W for 'Wouldn't it be loverly,' like the song the music teacher had taught us?
"But Mrs. Evans was at the next table by that time, shushing me over her shoulder."
PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS is one of this year's most beautiful and most well-crafted tales. With the piles of new books I have waiting for me to read, it is rare for me to read a book twice, no less twice in successive days. But that's how strongly this one has affected me.
"...'Drawing is what you see of the world, truly see.'
" 'Yes, maybe,' I said, not sure what she meant.
" 'And sometimes what you see is so deep in your head you're not even sure of what you're seeing. But when it's down there on paper, and you look at it, really look, you'll see the way things are...' "
Hollis Woods is an artistic foster child whose troubled past has been marked by a succession of stops:
"There was the green house where the door didn't quite close; the wind blew in and up the stairs, rattling the window panes. The white house: crumbs on the table, kids fighting over a bag of Wonder bread. The yellow house: sooty, a long-haired woman with braids, no rugs on the stairs, the loud sound of feet going up and down..."
But Hollis Woods dreams of having a family. And she nearly got her wish thanks to the Regans--the Old Man, Izzie, and Steven--who had taken her in for a summer in Upstate New York.
Then something destroyed that perfect picture, and Hollis, who has now been placed in the home of the beautiful, old artist, Josie Cahill, is trying to come to terms with what happened last summer...and trying to deal with the secret of why Josie might have to be taken away from her, too.
"I frowned. 'Look at a picture one way and you'll see one thing,' I said. 'Look again and you might see something else. That's what the Old Man...' I shook my head. 'A friend of mine said that once.'
" 'Ah, yes,' Beatrice said, sketching in an eye, bushy eyebrows, sharp lashes as she spoke. 'But that's the world, isn't it? You have to keep looking to find the truth.' "
PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS is a poignant story of family and how those without traditional families frequently fall prey to The System. It includes the mystery about the summer's tragedy, and a love story about water. The author, who grew up around the corner from my Dad's family in Queens and not far from the community of Hollis Woods, sketches vivid landscapes of the woods and the water--the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River. Both simple and deceptively complex, this book could be taught to high school students as well as older grade school kids.
Patricia Reilly Giff also fills her canvas with some of the most memorable people you'll ever meet, and who you'll certainly want to stay in touch with long after finishing the book. In fact, I'm not near ready to put this book down--it promises to be my first Lunchtime Read Aloud, once school resumes in September.
Richie Partington
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Hollis Woods? Even her name does not sound real. It is certainly not a surprise that Hollis has no parents, and is considered to be disobedient and rude. Hollis is broken from not having her one wish fulfilled. Trying to find a family after being abandoned, Hollis Woods, thinks she strikes out! Excited she chooses the last day of her miserable homeless life to tell the world her proclamation. Only it had been raining and the mountain roads are very slippery. After hours of climbing Hollis' feet do the unthinkable and she starts to descend the mountain. After injuring herself and the one's she had become to love so much she is full of shame and runs away.
She is sent to yet another home with another face, with plans to run away yet another time as she has done in the past. But wait, a special bond forms between Hollis and with this lady. Is this the best alternative for a family? Long days of no school, filled with art that continually brings praise to her, and a care free attitude, all this seems perfect till Mustard Woman comes and finds out that this current foster woman has Alzheimer's and is planning on taking Hollis away from her beloved Josie. What does Hollis do now? Does she run and leave Josie behind with no one to take care of her or is she going to be ripped away from Josie and taken to another family? In the middle of winter there is only one thing to do. Pack up the car and take off, with Josie driving. How things will turn out is beyond Josie but is it also beyond Hollis?

This was such an enjoyable read I could not put it down. Chock full of vibrant descriptions that I felt as if I were in a gallery looking into the past of this young child. This book continually leaves the reader guessing what will happen not only in the future of this bright young artist and Alzheimer's ridden caregiver, but about what happened in the past of this child in need of a family.
CSH3301

Love. This book made you feel for the characters and made you want to find out what happened to each as the story progressed. Recommended, especially for middle school age (but I enjoyed it as an adult, too).

I absolutely fell in love with Hollis from the beginning. She has qualities of not being wanted that longer in all of us. This story should be shared by many to see just how others Love us no matter what.

Hollis Woods, a 12 year-old orphan named after the woods in which she was abandoned only an hour after her birth, draws her memories on paper as she goes from one foster family to another with hopes of one day having a real family of her own. When she goes to live with absent-minded artist, Josie, and experiences the love and responsibility of caring for another person, she finally realizes that she, too, can allow others to care for her and love her. Her past is slowly revealed, intertwined with the present in this wonderfully-crafted story.

Hollis Woods, 11, has been an orphan since the day she was born. Her true love is drawing and she does it well. Hollis has been in and out of foster homes, running away from each after being there only a short while. She even ran away from the foster home she loved the most and from the family who loved her, too. They loved her so much they wanted her to stay.
The story alternates from the present to the past. Hollis is now under the care of an old artist who is starting to show the signs of aging with her forgetfulness. The past is described through pictures that Hollis has drawn, wonderful pictures that are like snapshots of her time with the Old Man, Steve and Izzy, the family that she always wanted. Through these pictures the reader learns what happened at that house and why Hollis made the difficult decision to leave.
Giff has written a charming story of friendship and family. This title is appropriate for middle readers, probably 4-6 grade.

In Pictures of Hollis Woods, Giff creates a wonderful photograph of the perfect family. Not a family without problems, but perfect for Hollis Woods, an orphan who can't seem to fit into one home.
The story is told in retrospect, and the pictures that Hollis has drawn (she happens to be a wonderful artist who can draw, but can't relate to people nearly as well) are like a photo album of her perfect family. Hollis thumbs, figuratively, through the photo album as she is trying to live with yet another foster parent. As an artist herself, a new foster parent loves Hollis for who she is - an artist. Unfortunately, her new foster parent has problems too. She is old and forgets too many things. Will Hollis be placed with yet another family and never finish her perfect family photo album?

Pictures of Hollis Woods was a book that helped me understand the life of the less fortunate. This book was about a twelve year old girl who has been to many different foster homes. Hollis is her name and she loves to paint pictures. She was sent to an older ladies home. She really likes it there and doesn't want to leave so they both run away to another home so that the foster lady wouldn't find them and take Hollis away. Later in the book, Hollis finds out that she really did belong at the last foster home that she had been in. After she realized this, she decided to go and find the family again. She ended up having a happy life with this family and never had a bad moment again in her life.

I really liked this book because it was a book that makes you feel lucky for the things that you have. I also really liked this book because it was a book that you could not put down because you wanted to know what happened next. The last, reason that I liked this book was because it could really happen and most people don't realize that. This book will also make you feel like you were inside as well as paint a picture in your mind because Patricia Reilly Giff does such a great job writing these books that they paint a picture in my mind as well makes me feel like I was there. As you can see, this book was a great book as well as a good perspective on life.

Since being abandoned at birth, Hollis been yearning for family her whole life. Juggled in and out of foster homes, she is forever on the run until placed with Josie, a retired, eccentric art teacher who admires Hollis' artistic talents and connects with her instantly. It doesn't take long for Hollis to realize that Josie is going senile and, if they want to stay together, Hollis needs to outwit the social workers who regularly check-in on her. Flashbacks are regularly interspersed in the story and reveal that Hollis had recently found the perfect family she'd been dreaming of, but left them under tense circumstances, the details of which are only gradually made clear. The two story threads intertwine to create a heartwarming novel of family and belonging. Hollis' character is beautifully developed and as the novel nears end, the reader intimately understands her hopes, dreams and longings. A strong sense of place pervades the story with descriptive language that is plain, yet powerful. Pictures of Hollis Woods will captivate readers, especially fans of Ann Matthews Martin's A Corner of the Universe or Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder.

Reading this book about an orphan who longed for a home and a family to love her was a treat. Hollis Woods was brought up in unloving foster homes that didn't understand her and were always tearing her down, always thinking the worst of her. Out of her deeply rooted hurts, she pushed people away until the Regan family took her for a summer. By their looking for the good in her, they found it. But because of misunderstanding and a tragic accident, Hollis runs away from the only family she ever felt loved by, a family she wanted to belong to. Moving in with Josie, an old artist with signs of Alzheimer's, Hollis feels accepted and needed, but their relationship is doomed, too. Every other chapter features Hollis's flashbacks to explain the accident with the Regans in the unique form of pictures Hollis had drawn. Hollis is a believable and lovable character the reader can fully empathize with. She can help us see others who might have a reputation for being 'trouble' as merely hurting.

Pictures of Hollis Woods is by far my favorite book. It tells the story of a girl named Hollis who has been through such a hard life, that she shuts everyone out of it. She trys to hide how sad she is inside by being angry and mean. " I read in a book once that if a person looks into your eyes they can see into your soal. I didn't want anyone looking into my soal." Hollis is an artist that was left on the road to die as a baby, and since that travels from foster home to foster home. Hollis dreams of a family, and wants nothing more then to belong.Each chapter of the book switches settings (from the preasent to the past). The chapters that are set in the past time tell us about a foster home Hollis lived in, how it was everything she ever wanted. Each past chapter leads up to the middle of the book where we find out one of the main reasons that Hollis is so sad, and then the rest of the chapters continue in preasent time. Pictures of Hollis Woods is an inspiring story that will have you looking for the things in life that matter. I truly feel sorry for the people who rated this book one star because oviously they don't have a brain big enuff to understand the story. That or they're too shallow to understand the story.

This piece of realistic fiction is truly a masterpiece. This book is about a 12 year old girl named Hollis Woods who has been in numerous foster homes throughout her young life. She ends up running away from each home after a certain period of time. She comes to stay with this lady named Josie, an older woman who is quite the artist. Hollis, who is an exceptional drawer, forms a bond with Josie. Something happens that challenges Hollis's chances to stay with Josie. At the beginning of each chapter you read about Hollis's various drawings that revolve around the Regan family. This family was the closest she had ever come to having a real family. You have to read to see why she runs away from each family and particularly the Regan family. You get to feel what it's like to be a foster child like Hollis. You definitely bond with Hollis and come to see her point of view on life. Readers of various interests will be drawn into this story.

Hollis is a foster child. Her foster parents seem to always find the bad in her and she ends up running away.

Now she's been sent to stay with an elderly woman, Josie, who loves her and gives her room. But Josie is slowly growing forgetful. How long will Hollis be able to stay with her?

Newbery Honor book and truly worthy of that award.

The book "pictures of Hollis woods" was a wonderful book. It was funny, sad, happy, exciting and I loved it. I would give it five stars out of five. I loved it so much that I have read it over and over again.

This book is about a 12-year-old girl named Hollis Woods. Her mother abandoned her in the woods when she was a baby. Now she is being moved from foster home to foster home. She runs away from all of them. Even the Reagans, this family loved her and she loved them to. They were the one family that enjoyed having her around. She still thinks about them often but her focus is on something else now, Josie Cahill. This is her new foster mom, whom she loves very much. There is only one problem, Josie's growing forgetfulness. If the agency ever found out then they would take her away from Josie forever.

Read what happens to Josie and Hollis, as Hollis continues on her journey to finding a family she can stick with.

I enjoy reading childrens fiction and a 5th grade teacher recommned this book to me. I loved it, cried in several places (I'm quite a softy,)and have since purchased more to give to others. I liked the use of flashbacks giving us glimpses of Hollis's past and how she got to the situation she currently is in. Could see the ending coming but it didn't make it any less moving.

BEACAUSE in my daughters school they only let her to read 1 book at a time and you have to have another book after you finish the book you are reading. I got her this one she loves the story but my daughter is not adopted I read it myself because I am a teacher its really creative the way she talks about trying to fit in . Also I love that after each paragraph she talks about her summer with the Regans.

Great job PATRICIA REILLY GIFF!

Pictures of Hollis Woods is about an orphan girl who lives in foster homes. The problem is, she can't ever stay in one place for more than one or two weeks! We find out later in the story that she really has found a family though. But why did she leave? What happened? Well, you're just going to have to read the book then, won't you?!

I LOVED Pictures of Hollis Woods!!! I love how it gives lots of flashbacks of her past experiences and journeys. Going back and forth from all those families, never finding the right one to love you, until finally finding a loving, caring family. It was great. It's just amazing how that actually happens right here and now. It shows me how truely blessed I am to have a family that loves me.

when i first read 'pictures of hollis woods', i was just starting seventh grade. i think that the main character not being able to fit in with the orphanages she goes to can also apply to teenage life, in a sense. some teens cant fit in with other classmates or friends, and they could kind of, confide, if you will, in hollis' character.
i also think its nice how the book goes from hollis' life with josie, and then to flashbacks, which help explain the book more fully.
all in all, its a good book; its worth the read.

Hollis Woods is a treasure, a schmaltzy tug at the heart. It is a short novella, a quick read that will leave you with a warm feeling. I'm guessing it was written for the YA audience, but I enjoyed it just the same. Great writing and great story telling.

Pictures of Hollis Woods was a very personal book for me, as my family keeps foster children. My parents have seen hundreds come and go, and a few of them reminded me of Hollis. She is a precious gifted child that only wants a family. She's been through many homes since birth and has two families that are possible "forever" homes. This story is illustrated in it's own way through Hollis' drawings, and the reader sees her true thoughts and feelings. Will she live with Josie, the eccentric artist, or with the Regans, who want to keep her, but after the accident.... A great story that teaches the values of family, love, and perseverance.

A definite must read. Pictures of Hollis Woods is a touching story of a young girls struggle to find ehr place in this world. Even when Hollis found what she so desperatelty needed she couldn't accept it. Her fear of disappointing the family that had shown her such love and acceptance over-rode her personal need for love.

Hollis paints pictures of her life so that we can understand her past. Her paintings in words are deep and touching. Through her paintings we come to realize that Hollis believes that she is disposable. Until she believes in herself and feels needed, she will never leave her vicious circle of running.

This book is truely touching to anyone. This is a story of a girl looking for a family. Hollis was born with nothing and never thought she would have anything until she was brought into a family that loved her and she loved them. When something goes wrong she runs not knowing she was ever going to find them again. With her luck one day she does and continues to live happily ever after with them. There is a small loving twist to the story and Hollis ends up with two families! I think this book should be read by everyone that feels lost because Hollis will help you find your way home.She had nothing and in the end got everything!

Hollis Woods is an awesome book. It follows her journey with new foster parent, Josie. We are allowed to learn about Hollis as we view her pictures, which are sketches she's drawn of important events in her life. This movement from Hollis' life with Josie to her past experiences, allow us to piece together who Hollis really is as we root for her to end up in the proper home with her own family.

i really, really loved this book. hollis woods is a whole lotta trouble, as so many people have told her. it seems like no one wants to keep her in their life. or she just doesn't want to be in theirs. but anywho, this is written averagely, nothing spectactular. but it's good.

read it, and then see what you think.

it's good. so i recommend it.

I really enjoyed reading this book this summer! In and of itself, it is an excellent novel. Being a reading teacher, I couldn't help but read it from that perspective as well. This book is perfect for teaching prediction, and inference. I can't wait to get back to school and read this to my 5th graders!

this book is great. they came out with amovie too but read the book first. Its about a girl named hollis who just wants a loving home. when she finds one she feels like its been taken away~ twice.this book makes you feel how lucky you really are.

Hollis is the girl every educator and social worker experiences frustration with. This story paints the entire picture of a troubled child's life and what it takes to "fix it." Often what kids need isn't something they can find in school. Every teacher and social worker should read this book!