Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Scholastic Inc.
Pages
166
Description
A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.
Description
Hollis Woods
is the place where a baby was abandoned
is the baby’s name
is an artist
is now a twelve-year-old girl
who’s been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all.
When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won’t let anyone separate them. She’s escaped the system before; this time, she’s taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget.
Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family.
is the place where a baby was abandoned
is the baby’s name
is an artist
is now a twelve-year-old girl
who’s been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all.
When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won’t let anyone separate them. She’s escaped the system before; this time, she’s taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget.
Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
166 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
0439579317 / 9780439579315
Similar in this library
Lexile
650L
User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
What a wonderful, wonderful book! This 2003 Newbery Honor winner might be my #1 book of the year!
Hollis Woods received her name from the area in which she was abandoned as an infant.
Hollis Woods received her spunk after years of feeling neglected and unwanted.
Hollis Woods, like most people who
Shuffled by the system into one house after another, Hollis Woods, simply ran away when she felt it was time to get going.
Hollis Woods is an incredible artist who draws people and her surroundings in order to make sense of an upside down life. At the age of six when her school assignment was to draw a picture of something containing the letter W, Hollis drew a family to represent the word Wish or Want!
Years later when her wish and want came true, she pushed the family away.
This is a book exceedingly well written by an author who knows how to portray the emotions of a child struggling to belong.
Highly recommended
Hollis Woods received her name from the area in which she was abandoned as an infant.
Hollis Woods received her spunk after years of feeling neglected and unwanted.
Hollis Woods, like most people who
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learned hard knocks at an early age, built a hard impenetrable wall around her soul.Shuffled by the system into one house after another, Hollis Woods, simply ran away when she felt it was time to get going.
Hollis Woods is an incredible artist who draws people and her surroundings in order to make sense of an upside down life. At the age of six when her school assignment was to draw a picture of something containing the letter W, Hollis drew a family to represent the word Wish or Want!
Years later when her wish and want came true, she pushed the family away.
This is a book exceedingly well written by an author who knows how to portray the emotions of a child struggling to belong.
Highly recommended
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LibraryThing member Chiree
“Hollis Woods” is a contemporary realistic fiction told from the view of the twelve year old girl, Hollis. Hollis is an orphan who was abandoned as an infant and has been moved from one foster home to another so many times she has lost count. She is taken to the home of Josie, an elderly
I cried after reading the first two pages of this book. It is an emotional account of a young girl who is exposed to cruel, uncaring foster parents and insensitive teachers most of her twelve years. Not only does Hollis experience conflict with the foster parents and social workers who refer to her as “a mountain of trouble”, but she deals with the conflict within herself due to the low self esteem brought on from years of belittling comments. Hollis considers her self “tough” and able to survive alone in her conflict with rules and labels our society places on an unwanted child. She guards her feelings from being exposed to any one and would not look into any ones eyes. She “didn’t want anyone to see into (her) soul”. “Hollis Woods” is definitely a book that will bring conflict in your heart and touch your soul as you read her story.
In the classroom this book could be used to contribute to discussions about foster homes and the children that live in these types of situations. The teacher could arrange for a person from the local social services office to come and talk to the students. The book could be used to show students that even when they don’t think they are special they can be or are special to and loved by some one. The children could draw their “wish” picture and describe what they wish for that would make them feel special and loved.
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artist. Hollis recreates her memories and wishes in the exceptional pictures she draws and her connection with Josie grows through sharing their appreciation of art. Hollis dreams of returning to her past home with the Regans where she finally had found the family she wished for until an accident caused her to run away. As Josie becomes more forgetful and the fear of the “mustard lady” coming to move her again becomes reality, Hollis again makes a plan to run away. But this time she takes Josie with her to the only place she felt safe --- the Regans’ summer home. I cried after reading the first two pages of this book. It is an emotional account of a young girl who is exposed to cruel, uncaring foster parents and insensitive teachers most of her twelve years. Not only does Hollis experience conflict with the foster parents and social workers who refer to her as “a mountain of trouble”, but she deals with the conflict within herself due to the low self esteem brought on from years of belittling comments. Hollis considers her self “tough” and able to survive alone in her conflict with rules and labels our society places on an unwanted child. She guards her feelings from being exposed to any one and would not look into any ones eyes. She “didn’t want anyone to see into (her) soul”. “Hollis Woods” is definitely a book that will bring conflict in your heart and touch your soul as you read her story.
In the classroom this book could be used to contribute to discussions about foster homes and the children that live in these types of situations. The teacher could arrange for a person from the local social services office to come and talk to the students. The book could be used to show students that even when they don’t think they are special they can be or are special to and loved by some one. The children could draw their “wish” picture and describe what they wish for that would make them feel special and loved.
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LibraryThing member mdelaney03
Hollis Woods is in the foster system and although she had tried to run away from many of the different families she has been placed with, there was one that she really felt was like a family. This story shows her thoughts about that family and her struggles to find them and be reconnected with them.
LibraryThing member GraceM8
Pictures of Hollis Woods is a fascinating and a nice story. It got a newberry honor award and is about a little girl going through many problems and good times in her life.
LibraryThing member LindseyS5
The cover of the book tottaly made me think that this book was going to be boring. After the first couple chapters you really get into the book. As hollis lives with her gaurdian jose, she goes back and forth with flash of her summer with her old family. The book gets better and better as in moves
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toward the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member laurieleewalsh
Hollis is a foster child "in the system" and has given up hope of finding a real home, until she meets Regans. The story is told in flashbacks while Hollis is living with Rosie the artist/teacher with Alzheimers.
An accident happens with the Regans' son and Hollis blames herself and refuses to let
Hollis ends up helping Rosie and herself.
An accident happens with the Regans' son and Hollis blames herself and refuses to let
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herself be happy with them. Hollis ends up helping Rosie and herself.
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LibraryThing member hockey101
This book is good and it is about an abandoned girl who is twelve in the story and she takes pictures and makes them interesting.
LibraryThing member pencil_nerd
This book took me forever to read. It's very emotional for a third grader, no? I didn't actually finish it until I moved to California and was in 5th grade, so it took me about 2, 3 years to finish it (I was reading it around the same time I discovered Harry Potter, enough said). But now I
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absolutely love it, the story is so heartwarming, creatively put together. The flashbacks all eventually lead up to the present and the ending probably would've made me cry (read to find out if they were happy tears or sad tears) if I were an emotional person. I highly recommend it, it's one of those books that's hard to regret reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member lorabear
Why I Chose This Book: I am trying to read more of the books that have recieved a Newbery Honor Award....and this is one of them:)
What I Thought: I could not put this book down.....I was so happy when Hollis found her "w"!!!
What I Thought: I could not put this book down.....I was so happy when Hollis found her "w"!!!
LibraryThing member TheMightyQuinn
Twelve year old Hollis Woods runs from foster homes, even the ones that like her, the only things that matter are her pictures and her wish for a family until she runs from a home she can't forget and finds herself trapped caring for an artistic senile caregiver. This story is so well written,
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rounded, and packed with emotional events that its brevity is shocking. It's drawbacks might be that the story is so sophisticated younger readers may not grasp its entirety and older readers put off by its length, although it's possible that Hollis' natural emotional reactions balanced by her tough personality may act as a draw and recognizable identity to all readers. Newbery honor. Recommended for Middle school collections and the upper grades of elementary. Show Less
LibraryThing member rsamet
[Audiobook version] This middle-grade novel is about foster child Hollis Woods, a so-called tough kid with a history of running away, and a talent for drawing. Through her pictures she recalls her experiences growing up with various foster parents, and the story alternates between time periods.
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Hollis is a serious, independent girl who dreams of having a family, and how she becomes part of one. It is slightly reminiscent of S.E. Hinton's classic, The Outsiders, but for a younger crowd as the heavy material (no mentions of abuse, neglect, etc.), so this book (the text version--not the audiobook) is suited for grades 4-6, and would make a wonderful read-aloud book for a teacher to use in class. Recommended for children who like realistic fiction, art, or who are looking for shorter-length novels. However, the audiobook version, read by Hope Davis, is not recommended. Her reading of the story verges on monotone and makes this short book seem sluggish. I actually fell asleep listening to the first disc, and had to start again. In short, I would recommend the book, but not the audiobook. I actually fell asleep listening to the first disc, and had to start again. Show Less
LibraryThing member NET73546
Hollis is a foster child who moves into a new home with an elderly lady, Josie. Josie is losing her memory and so Hollis takes care of her. As the days go by Hollis continues to remember events from her previous foster homes as she looks at the pictures she has drawn of different events that have
In enjoyed this book. It kept your attention from one page to the next. From the things and events that Josie and Hollis could get into on a daily bases. It also showed what a young girl can do if she puts her mind to the situation.
This would be a good book to use when you are studying families. It shows that even though you think things are one way if you look deeper into the situation you may see it differently. As when Hollis looked back at her pictures she sees that some of the things that she had felt about the Regan family were not actually how she had drawn them. This would be a good book for children who are foster children. It might encourage students to illustrate how they feel in pictures as well as words.
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happened at the homes. But she has run away from each of the previous homes. One family that Hollis really cared for and wanted to become part of was the Regan home. But as usual something happens and Hollis runs away. Hollis realize that the Social Services are about to find out about Josie and then they will take her away and put Josie in a home. They run away to the Regan’s summer home and the Regan’s son finds them and the story ends with Josie going to live with her cousin and Hollis going to live with the Regans. In enjoyed this book. It kept your attention from one page to the next. From the things and events that Josie and Hollis could get into on a daily bases. It also showed what a young girl can do if she puts her mind to the situation.
This would be a good book to use when you are studying families. It shows that even though you think things are one way if you look deeper into the situation you may see it differently. As when Hollis looked back at her pictures she sees that some of the things that she had felt about the Regan family were not actually how she had drawn them. This would be a good book for children who are foster children. It might encourage students to illustrate how they feel in pictures as well as words.
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LibraryThing member ERMSMediaCenter
A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.
LibraryThing member pjacx
Intense and lovely. I visit this book again and again.
LibraryThing member extrajoker
first line (of the prologue): "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."
first line (of the first chapter): "The house was falling apart."
This sad but ultimately hopeful Newbery Honor book deals with a troubled
first line (of the first chapter): "The house was falling apart."
This sad but ultimately hopeful Newbery Honor book deals with a troubled
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foundling child named Hollis Woods, who records important people and places in her life through a series of hand-drawn pictures. The pictures are evoked through the text, rather than illustrations, and outline Hollis's experience in various foster homes. Show Less
LibraryThing member iecj
Hollis, named after the woods where she was found, has difficulty finding a permanent foster family. She runs away from just about every home that shes placed in. She finally begins to feel at home with Josie, but knows that she will be removed if the authorities find out that Josie is losing her
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memory and that Hollis is really taking care of them both. As the story progresses, Hollis remembers one other family, the Regans, who she thought might make a permanent place for her. This a very engrossing story that is appropriate for middle school readers and above. Show Less
LibraryThing member abbylibrarian
Hollis Woods knows that she will never stay in one place for long. She stays for awhile and then she runs. But all that changes when she spends one summer with the Old Man and Steven and Izzy. She finally feels what it's like to belong, to be a family. But then something messes it all up, and
The story flips between the present (Hollis being placed in foster care with a retired art teacher who is slowly losing her mind) and the past (Hollis's pictures of times spent with her summer family). I loved the flashback parts, seeing Hollis happy with a family. The present parts were a bit hard to take. Hollis is determined to make it work with her new foster parent, but the lady is not even able to take care of herself half the time.
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Hollis knows she can't ever go back. The story flips between the present (Hollis being placed in foster care with a retired art teacher who is slowly losing her mind) and the past (Hollis's pictures of times spent with her summer family). I loved the flashback parts, seeing Hollis happy with a family. The present parts were a bit hard to take. Hollis is determined to make it work with her new foster parent, but the lady is not even able to take care of herself half the time.
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LibraryThing member Lulu2010
The book "pictures of hollis woods" is composed of two stories that are being told by Hollis Woods herself, one of the stories is in past tense and the other is in present tense. Hollis was a child that has been in custody of Social Services her whole life. She actually got her name from the place
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she was born because she was abandoned and no one knew her name so they just named her after the town. She is 12 at the time of this story and she has been in many homes, but nevers stays at one for any length of time. She always runs away. One summer she went to live with The Regan's at their summer home in upper New York in the mountains. Hollis wanted to climb to the top, but was told not to because it was dangerous, but she did it any. She fell down the mountain and the Regan's son came to rescue her in his fathers truck and they had a wreck coming down the mountain and he was badly injured. Hollis blamed herself and ran away even though she wanted to be with them and they wanted her as well. After several months they were reunited and they adopted Hollis, and she got her perfect family! Show Less
LibraryThing member susanbevans
In Patricia Reilly Giff's Pictures of Hollis Woods, talented 12-year old foster kid Hollis Woods has made a "career" of sorts running away from her various foster families. On Long Island, her new eccentric guardian Josie, a retired art teacher, is different. Despite her sadness at missing her last
Hollis is a beautifully written character. She is complex and introverted, but by using her talent as an artist, she is ultimately able to overcome her defensiveness and become part of a loving family. The character and plot development keep the reader glued to the book, unable to put it down for even a minute. Pictures of Hollis Woods is a touching story of love and hope that would be a good read for both young and old alike.
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foster family the Reagan's, Hollis allows herself to become increasingly attached to Josie. Hollis' affection for Josie, and her growing worries about Josie's forgetfulness, make up the backdrop for this wonderful story of love, loss and regret.Hollis is a beautifully written character. She is complex and introverted, but by using her talent as an artist, she is ultimately able to overcome her defensiveness and become part of a loving family. The character and plot development keep the reader glued to the book, unable to put it down for even a minute. Pictures of Hollis Woods is a touching story of love and hope that would be a good read for both young and old alike.
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LibraryThing member BGMSTeachers
Hollis is a foster child and an artist. The reader must piece together what has happened to her in another family through flashbacks. Currently Hollis is staying with an elderly woman who has dementia. Very hopeful story about relationships.
LibraryThing member kmacneill
Hollis is an orphaned girl with an ability to draw and run away. After an incident occurs with a family where she finally feels like she belongs, she runs away unable to deal with the fact that they might not want her anymore. She finds a home with an elderly women who is slowly loosing her memory
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but has a great artistic talent like Hollis. When social care workers want to take Hollis away to a better suited care giver, Hollis devises a plan to escape. In the end she finds the family that wanted her all along and she finds her family. The authors language is descriptive and paints a picture with it. All while I read I was imagining the story with the authors cues. I think that this would be great to point out to students and encourage them to use their imagination while reading and also to write to encourage imagination. I think it would be great to have students draw scenes from the book which will make a connection with Hollis and also have them remember memorable scenes. Show Less
LibraryThing member eal_04
Pictures of Hollis Woods is a book about a young girl who is an orphan but whenever she is put into a home she runs. She is a runaway. She does not stay in any home for a long period of time. Until, she was put into a home with an elderly lady who is an artist and relates to Hollis, because she too
This book was not my favorite. It did have explicit details it just felt as if I could not get into the book as well as others.
In a classroom, we could read the book aloud in class and have a class discussion over what we read that day. Also, we could have the children make up their own questions and talk over it in class.
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is an artist. Staying with this lady she thinks back when she stayed at another home that she enjoyed. She just did not stay.This book was not my favorite. It did have explicit details it just felt as if I could not get into the book as well as others.
In a classroom, we could read the book aloud in class and have a class discussion over what we read that day. Also, we could have the children make up their own questions and talk over it in class.
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LibraryThing member bkoopman
Hollis Woods is afraid, so she runs. She is afraid of abandonment, she is afraid of feeling and she is afraid of commitment. Hollis has suffered tremendously, but has also been loved, but her suffering would not allow her to feel deeply enough to allow that love in, until someone needed her.
When children confuse us, rejecting even the kindest invitations, we would be wise to consider that perhaps there are parts of them and their histories that we simply do not understand. Perhaps the need is not to be invited, but rather to be needed. Hollis Woods can serve to remind us of the power of being needed.
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Through the frailty of Josie, who has a common interest (art) and an authentic need (she is loosing her memory), Hollis learns that each day holds special moments that create pictures worth holding onto for a lifetime. She learns to love, and as importantly, to allow herself to be loved. When children confuse us, rejecting even the kindest invitations, we would be wise to consider that perhaps there are parts of them and their histories that we simply do not understand. Perhaps the need is not to be invited, but rather to be needed. Hollis Woods can serve to remind us of the power of being needed.
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LibraryThing member CChristophersen
A story of a twelve year old foster girl who has a tendency to run away from her current home whenever there is tension and arguing. She sees herself as a mountain of trouble. Her pictures are a diary of her life and tell her story. After leaving the family that wants her to become a member of
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their family Hollis goes to the quirky artistic Josie. Something happens where Hollis needs to run again and this time take Josie with her to a special place. Show Less
LibraryThing member debnance
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
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Hono Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2005)
Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Award (Nominee — 2005)
Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2005)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2005)
Sequoyah Book Award (Nominee — Children's — 2005)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (Nominee — 2005)
Great Stone Face Book Award (Nominee — 2004)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Children's Fiction — 2004)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2004)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2005)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2005)
Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2005)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — Grades 3-5 — 2004-2005)
South Dakota Children's Book Awards (Nominee — 2005)
Newbery Medal (Honor Book — 2003)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2006)
Iowa Teen Award (Nominee — 2005)
Mark Twain Readers Award (Nominee)
Nēnē Award (Nominee — 2004)
Christopher Award (2003)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominee — 2006)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — Middle School — 2005)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-9 — 2005)
Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2005)
Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Nominee — 2006)
South Carolina Book Awards (Nominee — Junior Book Award — 2005)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2003)
CCBC Choices (2003)
Notable Children's Book (2003)
Teacher Favorites Award (2003)
Call number
J4D.Gif