The Family Under the Bridge

Book Title: The Family Under the Bridge

Author: Natalie Savage Carlson

Category: Fiction, Children's Literature

Age Group: Everyone! (Aimed at kids, but can be enjoyed by all ages. Would make an excellent family read aloud.)

Part of a Series? No (But I have read and really enjoyed another of her books, The Letter on the Tree!).

My siblings and I are avid readers, frequenting our local library often (we've been known to go at least once a week to pick up more books), and we hardly ever turn free books down. We also peruse the book sections of second hand stores whenever we get the chance.

Some books I read once and never think of again. Others I enjoy, but never come back to. Still others I come back to, again and again. The Family Under the Bridge is one of those. I first saw it on a free book table at a homeschooling event, and it went into my arms along with probably a dozen other books. I think it pretty safe to say that of that armload, The Family Under the Bridge is the one I've come back to the most. It's just a thin little book, not even topping 200 pages, but it's so sweet.

I admit, this book is set in winter (and around Christmastime, come to think of it), but that never occurred to me when I sat down to write this review. All I was thinking was that I wanted something short & sweet to review. Often those are my favourite books (please see Baby, and any of the Sarah, Plain and Tall books). The more I reminisced about the story, the more I realized that reviewing it mid-summer seemed kind of funny. But here we are. Because it is such a good story.

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DESCRIPTION:

Armand is happy with his life as a tramp. He's free to move about as he pleases. He didn't intend to give up his little corner under a Parisian bridge to three children and their mother. But when he comes back from a day spent wandering the city and enjoying himself, he finds three young ones nestled under a tarp in his corner beneath the bridge.

Kicked out by her landlord after her husband died, the children's mother is working a job at a laundry. She fears splitting her family up, and so the children hide under the bridge alone by day.

Armand might be a bit grumpy, but he isn't without a heart, and the children know it. They weasel their way right into it. Armand finds himself with a ready-made family, and he's the honorary grandfather.

Any decent grandpa wouldn't let his grandchildren sleep beneath a bridge, so Armand sets out to procure them a home. The question is, can he?

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OPINION:

I can't very well tell you the answer to the above question. That would be cheating. I try to avoid giving spoilers. You'd better just take the time to read The Family Under the Bridge for yourself.

Now, do I like it? Absolutely. Love it. In case you couldn't tell yet. It's short, yet packed full of good storytelling. Hilarious in parts, sad in others, a really good book when all's said and done. Sure, it's set in wintertime, but I just read it when the fancy strikes. The season doesn't matter all that much. Although...if you collect Christmas or winter-themed books that only get pulled out around that time of year, you might wish to consider adding The Family Under the Bridge to your collection.

Your local library might have a copy of The Family Under the Bridge, but if not, try somewhere like Thriftbooks.com or Amazon.ca /Amazon.com.

P.S. I hear that you can read a sample of it on the Amazon.com listing.