2024 the best childhood movies review

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"An American Childhood more than takes the reader's breath away. It consumes you as you consume it, so that, when you have put down this book, you're a different person, one who has virtually experienced another childhood." — Chicago Tribune

A book that instantly captured the hearts of readers across the country, An American Childhood is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard's poignant, vivid memoir of growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s and 60s. 

Dedicated to her parents—from whom she learned a love of language and the importance of following your deepest passions—Dillard's brilliant memoir will resonate with anyone who has ever recalled with longing playing baseball on an endless summer afternoon, caring for a pristine rock collection, or knowing in your heart that a book was written just for you. 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper & Row Publishers; 1st Perennial Library Ed edition (January 1, 1989)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060915188
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060915186
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1040L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
Reviewer: Amieux
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Mid-Century Memoir
Review: Admittedly, I am late to the ball here. No reviews since 2015 ..... hmmmm. I came to this book quite unexpectedly: my best friend who lived a parallel life here in the South stumbled upon this book as an audio. She knew that I had grown up in Pittsburgh at the same time as Annie Dillard and felt I'd enjoy it. Well, I found it to be a captivating book. And not just because it was a nostalgia read for me, but rather because it details the physical, emotional, and spiritual life of growing up in a big, multi cultural city during the fifties and sixties. And Dillard does not over glorify the baby boomer experience, but rather shows the hidden side of a restless generation that saw right through mid-century consumerism and the prevailing philosophy that everyone 'has his place.' (Her grandmother's black chauffeur had his own glass) Pittsburgh was definitely a melting pot and nationalities 'stuck together' and settled in their own neighborhoods where they worshipped, ate, and celebrated like they did in the 'old country.' Dillard does an exceptional job with character development and transitions the emotions of those around her back to herself as she ponders and develops her own positions. I found the book to be interesting and insightful.

Reviewer: E. Piper
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A RICHLY TOLD TALE OF GROWING UP IN THE 50'S
Review: I read this book because I have recently moved to Pittsburgh and a friend told me about Annie Dillard and how much he enjoyed this book and others she has written. I have a copy of "The Writing Life" which I haven't read yet and decided that I would read "An American Childhood" first and bought it for my Kindle. After reading many of the other reviews of this book I see that many people either loved it or hated it. Some of the things that others hated, I loved. Ms. Dillard's writing style is wordy but I believe that there is no simple way to describe the exultant feelings she had as a child. I grew up 50 miles north of Pittsburgh tromping around in the woods, climbing trees and hills and reveling in life in much the same way that Ms. Dillard did. I could actually feel her joy and freedom as she ran down Penn Avenue with her arms extended on a summer day. If I saw a child doing that today, I would smile at her with understanding as the woman on the sidewalk did when she witnessed Annie doing it. I identified with Annie's interest in Native Americans and playing at being an Indian; I identified with her love of rocks and her rock collection which I also had on a smaller scale; I identified with her love of books as I sat on the marble library floor and read through shelves of books every summer. I admire Annie's memory and her ability to drop back into childhood in a way that takes the reader by the hand and invites him to walk with her. Most of all, I love Annie's enthusiasm with life in general.For me, this was not a book to be read like a novel by curling up and diving in. There is SO much to read, feel and digest, that I read it in small segments. I would read a little, think about it and talk to my husband about it. It is a book to be savored and, perhaps, read as a meditation. A meditation on the awakening of one's senses, on one's experiencing of life as it unfolds and as one becomes aware of the larger world. It is a beautiful book but if you are looking for an action packed thriller or a hot romance, this is not the book for you.

Reviewer: C.Consumer
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Poetic descriptions.
Review: Annie Dillard knows how to string some words into beautiful sentences. This is a personal account of her childhood into young adulthood set in Pittsburgh, so it's more filled with her reminiscences and descriptions of people and places rather than a novel with a plot or conflict.

Reviewer: Kate Coombs
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Quiet Beauty, Not Blasting Action
Review: I looked over the customer reviews with some amusement. Apparently you will NOT like this book if...a) your high school teacher makes you read itb) you are a serious fan of car chases and explosionsBut if you like poetry (and I don't mean Hallmark greeting card verse), if you are willing to take the time to look at the small things in life and find meaning in them, or if you were one of those daydreaming kids, you might just like this book as much as I do.Certainly Annie Dillard's language is stylized--this is because she has a voice. If I had to compare her language and her perspective on life to any other writer's, I'd probably pick poet Mary Oliver.The best autobiographies don't match some cookie cutter version of what a biography has to be; instead they give us a singular vision of the world through just one set of eyes. In this case, what does it feel like to be a kid? To believe that a penny is a treasure or to throw a snowball at a car and get chased by an angry grown-up? Annie Dillard has a gift for illuminating the small beauties of an ordinary childhood in a way that makes them extraordinary.But if you're looking for Jason Bourne or Transformers 5, you've come to the wrong book!

Reviewer: George J Lanz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A beautiful description of growing up from age 6 to 18 from a child's point of view.
Review: The author has an uncanny ability to express the emotions, feelings and thoughts of a child from age 6 to 18. She surfaces thoughts that we may have had briefly and incompletely and makes them crystal clear. I am astounded by her ability to describe the process of becoming aware of the world around us - the emerging and submerging of a sense of being. She paints a beautiful picture of the joys of growing up. If you are from the Pittsburgh PA area this book is a must-read!

Reviewer: DAVID JAYCOX
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: What nonsensical drivel. What a waist of time.
Review: I grew up in Pittsburgh in the early sixties. I was hoping to read a book to reminisce my childhood. This hoity toity Catholic hating hypocrite appeals only to the well to do who believe that their own excrement don't stink. I could go on but you get the gist of what this book and these shallow people are actually like. I would like to say that don't know any but alas I have a few of them among my relatives. This is not a book about the Burgh but about what one can only hope is a bygone philosophy and way of life.

Reviewer: Beverly Long
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Adjectives Abound
Review: I selected this book because I am roughly the same age as the author and spent my childhood in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, as it turns out, was an irrelevant aspect of the telling of a childhood described in torturously adjective-laden detail.

Reviewer: dedred
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Love this book, Annie Dillard is a brilliant writer.

Reviewer: Haude
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Les livres d'Amazon arrivent toujours très bien emballés, donc en très bon état. Ce livre est un vrai plaisir, Annie Dillard a une très belle écriture qui fourmille de détails et d'images très vivantes. Elle raconte son enfance sans avoir oublié la petite fille qu'elle était avec sa formidable curiosité et aptitude à dévorer la vie par tous les sens, sa vitalité, sa sensibilité dans une époque très bien décrite en font un témoignage exceptionnel.

Reviewer: Mrs M F Farrell
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Evocative and very well-written.

Reviewer: Miss Fiona Sinclair
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: stunning book