A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana (Today Show Book Club #3)

I was able to laugh through this memoir..I have since picked up her second memoir and I am saving that for a rainy (or snowy) day when I can kick back and read it all day long-

I just picked this book up at a rummage sale. Whoever donated it to the sale has my undying gratitude because this book was the sweetest and funniest book I have read in quite some time. I am a fan of memoirs and biographies but this one is so unlike any others that I am now hooked on Kimmel's writings. I want more Zippy!

Like Zippy, who is four years older than I am by the way, I grew up in a small midwestern town but not as small as hers! I would be considered big city girl in comparison! But the midwestern attitude is so familiar that reading this book was like traveling down memory lane for me! She's the youngest in a family of three kids. Her older brother and sister were already in Junior high by the time she arrived. Her mother refers to her lovingly as an "after thought." That is how the book started out (well, almost). Named Haven at birth, her dad decided to call her Zippy since she could never sit still. You can say that her memories of childhood reeked of love, laughter and cigarettes.

Zippy is precocious. Zippy is curious. Zippy is Zippy, a character that you will never forget. My favorite part is the scene where her sister told her that she's adopted. Outraged, she stomps in and asks her mother if that's true. Her mother stops reading for a moment and says, yes, you are. A band of roving gypsies with a pack of wolves that stand up and preach during a full moon came through the area. The whole conversation had me repeating it to my husband as it was so hilarious and something exactly like what my father would spin out to me when I was a child.

I haven't raved about a book in a real long time though I have read lots of really good books ~~ but this book is something I am going to urge my book club to read sometime in the next year. It is something I think we'll enjoy because not only is it funny and engaging, but it talks about a childhood that is now lost in the mists of time. Building your own bike? Who does that anymore? There are many instances in this book that I remember doing as a kid or have heard my parents do when they were kids. I know that Christmas is more different today than it was in the early 70s. It seems to be a simpler time back then even though it was harder especially after the Vietnam War ended. It was a time of change but Zippy had a happy childhood and those memories are funny and bittersweet.

This book comes highly recommended. If you need a laugh, this book is a good place to get one! It is just a really good read and perfect for a summer read!

6-28-07

This book is a fascinating escape; it brings the reader back to childhood and also reminds us of questions we have long since given up asking. A great hammock swinging summer read!

It was a required read for our book club. Can't say I would have picked it on my own. Felt like reading someone's journal although I liked the style of writing, you could visualize every event. It was a nice finish to our reading season, we take the summer off. I would recommend it to certain individuals but not everyone.

This is a good summer read with some sweet memories of "the good old days." Pick it up or put it down as you will, the characters (they live right in your neighborhood or under your roof) are easy to remember. And, while it seems to be a bit fluffy it does give the reader a good glimpse inside the life and love of a 60's family, warts and all!