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About The Willoughbys Return
Product Description It's been 30 years and with rising temperatures melting icy mountain tops the previously frozen Willoughbys have thawed out and are about to return! From living legend and Newbery medalist Lois Lowry comes a hilarious sequel to New York Times bestseller The Willoughbys—soon to be an animated film starring Ricky Gervais, Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, and Sean Cullen on Netflix! Although they grew up as wretched orphans, the Willoughby siblings also became heirs to the the Melanoff candy company fortune. Everything has turned out just splendidly, except for one problem: Richie Willoughby, son of Timothy Willoughby, is an only child and is quite lonely. Winifred and Winston Poore have long admired the toys of their neighbor Richie Willoughby and finally befriend the mysterious boy next door. But just as Richie finally begins to make friends, selling sweets is made illegal, and the family's fortune is put in jeopardy. To make matters worse, Richie's horrible Willoughby grandparents—frozen atop a Swiss mountain thirty years ago—have thawed, remain in perfect health, and are making their way home again. What is the point of being the reclusive son of a billionaire when your father is no longer a billionaire? What is the future without candy in it? And is there any escaping the odiousness of the Willoughbys? These are the profound questions with which Newbery medalist and ignominious author Lois Lowry grapples in The Willoughbys Return. From School Library Journal 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., NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Review " The Willoughbys Return offers plenty of delightful silliness for younger readers too, from its nuttily arch dialogue to its winningly absurdist plot and subplots.... Lowry proves yet again that she has the imaginative power to transport."— New York Times Book Review "An entertainingly absurd revival that recalls Roald Dahl’s oeuvre."— Publishers Weekly "Archly comedic.... Lowry’s exaggerated characters and breezy, unlikely plot are highly entertaining."— Kirkus "Lowry exaggerates and gently mocks the conventions of old-fashioned fiction, while capturing readers with her sure-handed storytelling and wry wit."— Booklist About the Author Lois Lowry is the author of more than forty books for children and young adults, includ
