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    Pictures of Hollis Woods
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    Pictures of Hollis Woods
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    Pictures of Hollis Woods
    Audiobook3 hours

    Pictures of Hollis Woods

    Written by Patricia Reilly Giff

    Narrated by Hope Davis

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    This Newbery Honor book about a girl who has never known family fighting for her first true home "will leave readers . . . satisfied" (Kirkus Reviews).

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 10, 2002
    ISBN9780807209219
    Unavailable
    Pictures of Hollis Woods
    Author

    Patricia Reilly Giff

    Patricia Reilly Giff is the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Several of her novels for older readers have been chosen as ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. She won the Newbery Honor for Lily's Crossing (a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book) and Pictures of Hollis Woods. She lives in Connecticut.

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    Reviews for Pictures of Hollis Woods

    4/5

    489 ratings52 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Hollis Woods is a notorious runaway - a runaway from foster homes. She is 12-years-old and has not been able to find a home that fits her needs. She tells her story in the present and through the description of pictures of the summer past.Hollis was a great character. I found her to be a loving, little girl. Even though this was a fast YA read, it had depth and suspense. Wanting to know what really happened during that particular summer was the driving force for me to read this in virtually one sitting. A delightful book - one for tweens and adults alike.Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
    • 4/5
      This was a touching story about hope, love and the meaning of family. I loved orphaned Hollis, she was such a sweet, caring young girl who just wanted to belong. Overall, a beautifully written novel and a wonderful read.
    • 4/5
      A girl looking for a family has trouble not running from her foster homes, until she finds a family in which she feels she belongs. But even then she ends up running, but this time to keep them happy, or so she thinks. The story shifts between remembrances of the family she loves and life with her current foster parent, whom she grows to love as well, and these two parts of the plot are woven together very well, with both stories unfolding at the perfect pace.
    • 5/5
      Heart breaking story of a teen's experience of the rollercoaster of foster care and the attachment issues that follow. Main character has some bright, redeeming features, and the outcome of the story is positive and encouraging. Would strongly recommend for teens, especially if they have experienced foster care, as well as Foster and Adoptive parents.
    • 4/5
      Nicely done first person narrative by an abandoned child who is unable to stay for long with any foster family with which she is placed.
    • 4/5
      A great story!
    • 5/5
      Hollis Woods has been an orphan since she was found. She's been a heck of a lot of trouble for the foster families she's been a part of, usually sticking around for a few months, then running away. But she is a prodigy as an artist. In some chapters, Hollis is telling about her current foster situation, with an elderly woman, also an artist, who Hollis really cares about, but who is beginning to suffer from dementia herself, and therefore is not a competent guardian. In other chapters we get glimpses of a past family that Hollis was a part of. A family she clearly loved very deeply. But something went wrong and she left.Hollis Woods is a sad and lovely girl. Though the DSS folks clearly found her to be an awful pain, the vision the reader gets is of a girl who has never felt like she belongs anywhere or with anybody, making her a very sad character. It builds to a conclusion that warms the heart.
    • 4/5
      I read this several years ago and it's a short but sweet book. Great ending and I loved the way Steven helped Hollis and Josie out during the winter.
    • 4/5
      A narrative unfolds in a series photographs. Artsy characters--art lovers would truly appreciate the nuances of the relationship that saves Hollis. Readers will have real emotional responses to what happens to this complex teenage girl needing a family.

    • 4/5
      Buddy read with GR friend Laura. I could have easily read this book during a single day, if scheduled that way. It was very hard to stop reading as I wanted to keep reading, and I did read it over 3 days, my buddy taking a bit longer because she got even busier with real life than I am. Whatever you do, don’t pick page 125 as a stopping point. Luckily, the chapters are short and it’s easy to read just one more if you don’t want to stop. I had seen and enjoyed the tv movie when it first aired. I remembered one scene at/near the end of the movie but was surprised and glad that I remembered no other details of the story, even as I read the book all the happened was not familiar and no memories of the story surfaced as I read it. The story was like new to me, and from what I remember of the movie, I think it changed a great deal from the book, especially the details of that one thing at the end of the movie and near the end of the book. Great story. Wonderful and memorable characters including an especially unique cat. I cried at the end, mostly happy tears. I would have adored this book when I was 9-12 years old and I loved it even now. I might watch the movie again. I have the DVD home from the library. I want to see the art, particularly Hollis’s. I remember a bit about how Josie’s art looked. Recommended for those who have interest in orphan/foster child stories, for artists and those interested in art, those who enjoy (complicated) family stories, those who can appreciate reading about older people with memory problems, cat lovers, most girls ages 9-12.
    • 5/5
      In my option this is a great book. The characters are 100% believable. Hollis has constant flashbacks; one is given between each chapter, which paints this clear and real character in your mind. Her flashbacks are detailed and told in a casual voice. For example she says, “You know how it is.” It is like she is talking directly to me. I also love how the book is told from first person point of view. Hollis refers to herself and uses “I” time after time. I would rather be talked to than told about something. First person point of view talks to me verse talking about. The big message of the story is to not be afraid to take adventures. Hollis took an adventure and now that is all she can think about!
    • 4/5
      Ever since she was abandoned as a one-hour-old baby, twelve-year-old Hollis Woods has lived with a series of foster families, running away from them whenever she felt like it. Now she has landed at the home of Josie Cahill, a retired art teacher who encourages Hollis’s artistic talent. Not only does Hollis decide that she needs Josie, but Josie desperately needs Hollis because the old lady is starting to forget things and Hollis vows to make sure that no one will put Josie in a retirement home. A poignant, coming of age chapter book for middle schoolers, readers will learn about Hollis’s troubled past and be concerned about her future, but may find themselves pleasantly surprised by the touching ending.
    • 4/5
      I saw the Hallmark movie of this book a few years ago and really liked it, so decided to read the book. The book (as usual) was even better. It is a quick and easy read, but it really pulls you in. The characters are all fully developed (except I kept getting the stucco woman and the mustard woman mixed up) and you really care about them. Books like this always make me want to run out and sign up to be a foster parent or something. I definitely recommend this one.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. I really enjoyed the storyline and could not put the book down. I think kids who have gone through foster care or are going through foster care would like this story. They could relate to the character of Hollis. I think a lot of times kids don't really know what to think when they get a good family. Especially after not having a family for a while. I love that she finally realizes that the family does not blame her for the accident and is able to go back to them and love them like she did all along. I even checked out the Hallmark hall of fame movie because I was excited to see it after reading the book.
    • 5/5
      Summary: Hollis Wood was born unwanted and unloved. She was named for the woods she was born in and abandoned with only a note. She wasn't even left with a blanket. As Hollis points out, even a baby deserves a blanket. She is sent from foster home to foster home over the years. She acts tough and like she doesn't care that she is unloved. But truly she is desperate for a family. Her wishes for a family became clear at a young age when she did a classroom assignment for the letter W and put all the things she wished for like a Mother (M), Father (F) and so forth. Tired of feeling unwanted, she often skips school and runs away from the homes once she has had enough. She is described as a mountain of trouble. She is also a very talented artist, always drawing pictures of the events in her life and how she sees things. At the age of 12 she is placed with a new family where she finally feels she belongs. After a unfortunate tragedy she runs again. Soon after that she is placed with another person, from whom she feels much love. She becomes the adult in the situation taking care of the older lady whose memory is beginning to fade. When the foster care realizes the fate of the older lady she has been placed with, and threatens to take Hollis to yet another home, Hollis and the woman run. Their adventure leads Hollis on a journey of discovery that leads her to discover that not only was she loved and worthy of that love. Personal Reaction: I absolutely loved this book. I didn't wan to put it down. Towards the end, it made me cry, and books rarely ever make me cry. I kept wondering through out the book when they would explain what had happened with the Regans that made her leave. Then when I realized what had happened, I wondered when she would realize they still loved and wanted her. It really draws the reader in and pulls on the heart strings. Classroom Extension: I think at the age group the kids would be that would be reading this, I would ask them to do a quick write up summarizing the book.Ask the kids to write a short story on what family means to them.Look for other books that talks about families, esp those that are different from what is thought of as the average family.
    • 4/5
      Hollis goes to live with a new foster home. Josie, her new foster mom, is an artist who nurtures Hollis' artistic ability but suffers from dementia. Over time, Hollis becomes the caregiver to Josie. She is haunted by an unfortunate incident with her last foster family, where she crashes their car. They loved her and she feels like she ruined everything. Eventually, she is reunited with the family.I think this book would be best used in a literature circle in early middle school. Many students would be able to identify with Hollis' struggles to belong in a family.Overall, this book was enjoyable. I particularly liked how Giff used descriptions of Hollis' art to move the plot.
    • 4/5
      Hollis Woods is a 12-year-old orphan who has run away from every foster home she's ever lived in. As a last-ditch effort, she is placed with an elderly lady who is "good with girls like you." In her new home, Hollis is finally happy, until she realizes that her foster mother has a fading memory, and she must hid this fact from the state in order to stay where she is. This book is simply precious. Hollis seems so real--snarky but sad, brave but insecure, and willing to do whatever it takes to care for her foster mother. This short book could be appreciated by adults as well as people in 5-8th grades.
    • 4/5
      Pictures of Hollis Woods was a good book that gives a girl a chance to live a good life. After battling foster home after foster home Hollis Woods is finally happy when she gets placed in a home with an old lady named Josie. Josie and Hollis find a connection through art,But being happy there brings back the memories of another family. Patrica Reilly Giff does a great job with the characters they really came to life. Hollis is a girl with a strong personality that impacts the book till the end.This book may possibly give you a taste of what foster homes might be like and what the perspective is on a girl who has been flip flopped through them her whole life. Even though this book was great i gave it four stars because some pieces in the book fell a little flat. Some points in the book it almost made me lose interest.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book about the meaning of family and growing up. Giff's style of switching between flashbacks and present made the story very interesting. Hollis is a wonderfully relatable character.
    • 5/5
      Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff was an amazing book and i rated it five stars. This book was really inspiring! It shows how much she grows and how loving she becomes throughout her experiences. This book was deffinitly a real page turner. Hollis Woods grows alot throughtout this book. Throughout each family she goes through she gets stronger and stronger each day. Each chapter i read i couldint wait to get to the next one to see what will happen next. I think Patricia Reilly Giff did an amazing job at showing Hollis Woods true colors. I love Hollis Woods personality! Hollis is very honest. If she doesnt like something going on in her new family she will deffinitly speak her mind. I think everyone should speak there mind because its not good to keep things to yourself, it is good to share what you are thinking. This story becomes really interesting because Hollis Woods gets adopted by an elderly lady who truely cares for Hollis, Hollis starts to grow feelings for her. When she starts living with the old lady she starts thinking about how close she was with her past recent family it will boil down to which family she will pick. This story is very insirational! It shoes how strong she became when she didnt have alot in her live, she had very little because everyone was poor. I think the real message in this book is you dont know how good you have it until its gone.
    • 5/5
      Hollis Woods is a foster child, and she's been billed as trouble. Ever since the past summer, she's run away from homes when she gets tired of being there. She's given a new chance, however, when she goes to live with an older woman named Josie, who connects with Hollis through their artistic ability. In between the chapters narrating "The Time with Josie," Hollis slowly explains what happened that caused her to start running.Because of the similarity in plot - an independent heroine in search of a place to belong - I couldn't help but compare and contrast Hollis' story toThe Great Gilly Hopkins. But after awhile, I stopped the mental comparison. Hollis has a different personality and different desires from Gilly. Even though she's "trouble" because of her running, Hollis shows kindness in her unwillingness to leave Josie alone when it becomes clear that the older woman has become more than normally forgetful. She does want a family, but she makes one where she is instead of trying to recreate the past. I really enjoyed this story, and I cheered for Hollis all the way.
    • 4/5
      This is a book that was assigned in class. I can see it being a good mentor text for a read aloud given I don't have any students who are 'freshly' in foster care. I have one such student this year and felt that the book would have been tough for her to have read to her.
    • 4/5
      Hollis Woods, named after the forest she was abandoned in as a newborn baby, has been in and out of many different foster homes. Struggling with her own sense of self-worth, Hollis runs away from each foster family before she is ever able to be a part of it. After running from the Reagans, a family she actually wanted to be a part of, she is comforted only by the pictures she has drawn by which to remember them. Hollis finds sanctuary with her new foster mother, Josie, when she finally learns what it feels like to be needed. This time she doesn't run from Josie, instead she runs with her. They run to escape the system that will separate them because of Josie's failing memory and therefore unsafe guardianship. On their run, Hollis realizes that their escape isn't what either of them want or need. As Josie longs to be back in her own home with her cousin, Beatrice, Hollis dreams of being back with the family she was almost a part of, the Reagans. This is a heartfelt story about the importance of family told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old artist and the drawings that saved her.
    • 4/5
      I carried this book in the school library and one weekend brought it home to read. I really enjoyed it. Quick read, powerful with a nice ending.
    • 5/5
      I can understand why this book has won numerous awards now that I've read it. It's simply a beautiful story. Hollis Woods, abandoned at birth, has grown up in more foster homes than she can count. She's a troubled child who runs away at the first opportunity. The story really begins when she is sent to live with a retired art teacher, Josie Cahill. Hollis is something of an artist herself, and due to Josie's relaxed, easygoing nature, Hollis soon decides she'll stay with Josie. Before long, however, she encounters a problem. Josie is forgetful...very forgetful. When Josie's memory problems are discovered, Hollis realizes she will be taken from her home. She decides to do whatever it takes to stay with Josie and care for her. The story is told through a series of pictures, flashbacks to a family who loved Hollis and offered to adopt her, and present-time narration. The result is not a bit confusing, but an engaging, well-rounded portrait of Hollis Woods and her circumstances. The ending is beautifully written and very satisfying. During the book, I laughed and cried. It's a book you'll definitely want your children to read, as it's a touching story of what truly makes a family.
    • 5/5
      This book was great! I couldn't stop reading it! I thought really sad when she... Well you'll have to read the book :) Hehe hehe
    • 5/5
      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 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
    • 5/5
      The novel, Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Giff encompasses how the love of a family momber pulls through hard times. In the beginning, Hollis or Holly struggles with being moved from home to home. Throughout the middle she perseveres through the time in the winter of staying with someone that needed her. By the end she has learned that she has a family and they love her. 166/166
    • 5/5
      Pictures of Hollis Woods, written by Patricia Reilly GiffThis is a wonderful story about a girl who was abandoned at birth and shuffled through the foster care system. The girl, Hollis, is a 12 year old artist who dreams of having a family of her own. I loved this book. It was a heartfelt story about survival, courage, and longing to belong to a family. It demostrated the true kindness and compassion people can share with one another. I liked how the family in the story wanted and needed the girl to become part of their family, to make their family complete.Extension Activity: After reading the book, discuss how our family is important to each of us. Then have the students write a story about the importance of family.
    • 5/5
      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