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''Harriet the Spy'' is a children's novel written and illustrated by
Louise Fitzhugh Louise Fitzhugh (October 5, 1928 – November 19, 1974) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, known best for the novel ''Harriet the Spy'' and its sequels, '' The Long Secret'' and ''Sport''. Biography Early life Fitzhugh ...
that was published in 1964. It has been called "a milestone in children's literature" and a "classic". In the U.S., it ranked number 12 in the 50 Best Books for Kids and number 17 in the Top 100 Children's Novels on two lists generated in 2012. It was followed by two "companion books", the
sequels A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
, '' The Long Secret'' (1965) and ''Sport'' (1979).


Plot summary

Eleven-year-old Harriet M. Welsch is an aspiring writer who lives in New York City's
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
. Encouraged by her nanny, "Ole Golly", Harriet observes others and writes her thoughts down in a notebook as practice for her future career. Several standalone episodes highlight the various eccentric characters she meets on her afternoon "spy route". Harriet's best friends are Simon "Sport" Rocque, a serious boy who wants to be a
certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
or a ball player, and Janie Gibbs, who wants to be a scientist. Harriet's enemies in her class are Marion Hawthorne, the
teacher's pet Teacher's pet is a person that has an advantageous position compared to other students, where the teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or v ...
and self-appointed
queen bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female (gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...
, and Marion's best friend, Rachel Hennessy. Harriet's life changes abruptly when Ole Golly's
suitor Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private ...
, Mr. Waldenstein, proposes and she accepts. Harriet is crushed by the loss of her nanny. Her mother and father are at a loss to understand Harriet's feelings and are of little comfort to her. At school, during a game of tag, Harriet loses her notebook. Her classmates find it and are appalled at her brutally honest documentation of her opinions of them. The students form a "Spy Catcher Club" in which they think up ways to make Harriet's life miserable, such as stealing her lunch and passing nasty notes about her in class. In return, Harriet regularly spies on the Spy Catcher Club through a back fence and concocts vengeful ways to punish them. After getting into trouble for carrying out some of her plans, Harriet unsuccessfully tries to resume her friendships with Sport and Janie as if nothing had ever happened. When Harriet's grades go down, her parents confiscate her notebook, which only depresses her further. Harriet's mother takes her daughter to see a child psychiatrist, who advises Harriet's parents to get in touch with Ole Golly and ask her to write to Harriet. In her letter, Ole Golly tells Harriet that ''if'' anyone ever reads her notebook, "you have to do two things, and you are not going like either one of them. 1: You have to apologize. 2: You have to lie. Otherwise you are going to lose a friend." Meanwhile, dissension is rippling through the Spy Catcher Club. Marion and Rachel are calling all the shots, and Sport and Janie are tired of being bossed around. When they quit the club, most of their classmates do the same. Harriet's parents speak with her teacher and the headmistress, and Harriet is appointed editor of the class newspaper, replacing Marion. The newspaper—featuring stories about the people on Harriet's spy route and the students' parents—becomes an instant success. Harriet also uses the paper to print a retraction of the things she had written in her journal. Harriet is forgiven by Sport and Janie.


Reception

The book appeared on a 1964 list of "The Year's Best Juveniles" in ''
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
''. One 1965 reviewer called the book "a brilliantly written, unsparing realistic story, a superb portrait of an extraordinary child". Another reviewer found that it "captures the feelings, thoughts and situations of a modern city child with remarkable clarity and dimension". Nevertheless, at least one reviewer in 1965 felt that the book dealt with "disagreeable people and situations". Although it was not chosen as one of the American Library Association (ALA) Notable Books for Children for 1964, years later it was included in a retrospective 1960–1964 ALA Notable Books List. It won a
Sequoyah Book Award The Sequoyah Book Award is a set of three annual awards for books selected by vote of Oklahoma students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The award program is named after Sequoyah (–1843), the Cherokee man who developed the Cherokee sylla ...
in 1967. The paperback version was selected as one of the "Best in the Field" published during the previous 16 months in a 1968 ''New York Times'' article. In 1995,
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and
Nickelodeon Movies Nickelodeon Movies is the film production arm of American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures launched on February 25, 1995 and based in Los Angeles, California. The division has earned n ...
claimed that 2.5 million copies of the book had been sold; however, the book did not appear on a 2001 ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' list of "hardcovers that have sold 750,000 copies and paperbacks that have topped the one million copy mark."
Whitney Matheson Whitney Matheson (born April 21, 1977, in Fredericksburg, Virginia) is a pop culture writer. She was the author of ''Pop Candy'', a popular entertainment blog which was part of ''USA Today'' from 1999–2014. She also wrote entertainment and pop ...
wrote on the ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' site in 2002 that Harriet "attracts dedicated, lifelong supporters". Anita Silvey in 2004 selected it as one of the 100 best books for children. In 2005, the ex-
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
officer Lindsay Moran cited the ''Harriet the Spy'' series of books as an inspiration for her career. It was included in a 2009 list of "Children’s Classics" by ''
The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...
''. In 2012, ''Harriet the Spy'' was ranked number 17 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by ''
School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
''. Earlier that year, '' Time Out New York Kids'' ranked it number 12 among the "50 Best Books for Kids". Late in 2015, the same source ranked it number 34 in the "73 best kids' books of all time for families".Bird, Elizabeth, and the editors (September 15, 2015)
"The 73 best kids' books of all time for families"
0 to 37 ''Time Out New York Kids'' (timeout.com). Retrieved October 27, 2015.
Despite its popularity, the book has been banned from some schools and libraries "because it was said to set a bad example for children". Along with '' Are You There God?'', '' Blubber'', and ''
Where the Sidewalk Ends ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' is a 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was published by Harper and Row Publishers. The book's poems address many common childhood concerns and also present purely fancif ...
'', the book was challenged at a 1983 school-board meeting in
Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in southwestern Ohio and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. It is east of Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Miami Valley region. The name comes from the Gree ...
. Proponents of the Xenia ban stated that the book "teaches children to lie, spy, back-talk, and curse", but the board voted to keep the books in the school libraries.


Selected translations

* ''Harriet - Spionage aller Art'' (German, 1968) * ''Harriet l'Espionne'' (French, 1980) * הרייט המרגלת (Hebrew, 1984, ) * ''Professione? Spia!'' (Italian, 1989, ) * スパイになりたいハリエットのいじめ解決法 / ''Supai ni naritai harietto no ijime kaiketsuhō'' (Japanese, 1995, ) * ''A Espiã'' (Portuguese, 1999, ) * ''Spiunia Harrietë'' (Albanian, 2016, )


Series

Fitzhugh wrote two sequels to the book: '' The Long Secret'' (1965) and ''Sport'' (1979, published posthumously). Both books received mixed reviews. ''Sport'' is a spin-off that focuses on Simon "Sport" Rocque, expanding upon his brief family background covered in ''Harriet the Spy''. As his parents are divorced, Sport lives with his father, who is a struggling writer who has been focusing on a book (a big gamble) rather than the steady income of journal/newspaper articles, with Sport managing their finances. Their financial problems are exacerbated once Sport's grandfather Simon Vane (from his mother's side) becomes terminally ill and stops sending regular payments to Sport. Things change for the better once Sport's father meets the kind Kate, who becomes a good stepmother. However, Simon's will has named Sport as the main beneficiary to the $30 million family fortune, much to the chagrin of Sport's mother Charlotte Vane and her sister. Charlotte, an absentee mother who has been living well abroad in Europe most of the time, returns to New York City upon hearing of her father's illness, scheming to increase her share of Simon's inheritance by kidnapping Sport and imprisoning him in the Plaza Hotel for a week. In 2002, a sequel ''Harriet Spies Again'' appeared; written by Helen Ericson, it also received mixed reviews. Another sequel, ''Harriet the Spy, Double Agent'' by Maya Gold, was published in 2005; one review of that book stated "there's not much to interest readers here." * ''Harriet the Spy'' (Harper & Row, 1964); also ''Harriet, the Spy'' * ''The Long Secret'' (Harper & Row, 1965) * ''Sport'' (Dell Publishing/
Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...
, 1979), Fitzhugh * ''Harriet Spies Again'' (Dell/Delacorte, 2002), Helen Ericson nd Fitzhugh* ''Harriet the Spy, DoubleAgent'' (Dell/Delacorte, 2005), Maya Gold and Fitzhugh


Adaptations

Film rights to the novel were bought by Herbert Swope in 1964. ''Harriet the Spy'' was made into a 1996 film of the same name. It starred
Michelle Trachtenberg Michelle Trachtenberg (; born October 11, 1985) is an American actress and model. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon tel ...
and was the first film to be produced by
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
's feature film division. In September 2004,
Mainframe Entertainment Mainframe Studios is a Canadian computer animation company owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and ...
announced that Protocol Entertainment will produce a new ''Harriet the Spy'' live-action television series, consisting of at least 22 half-hour episodes, with 2 Friends Entertainment acting as executive producers and US sales agent and Mainframe retaining international distribution rights. In March 2010,
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
aired a version of the story, '' Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars''. This starred ''
Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wiza ...
'' cast member
Jennifer Stone Jennifer Lindsay Stone is an American actress and nurse. She is known for playing Harper Finkle on the Disney Channel Original series '' Wizards of Waverly Place'' (2007–2012) and in the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Wizards of Waverly Pl ...
as Harriet,
Alexander Conti Alexander Biagio Conti (born 1 September 1993) is a Canadian actor. He made his acting debut in the film '' Finding Forrester'' (2000). Since then, he has been nominated for five Young Artist Awards. Biography Conti was born in Brantford, O ...
from ''
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 ''Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' is a 2005 American family comedy film directed by Adam Shankman. It is a sequel to the 2003 film ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' and stars Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Tom Welling, Piper Perabo, and Hilary Duff, among other child ...
'' as Harriet's friend Sport, and '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''s
Melinda Shankar Melinda Leanna Shankar (born February 18, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring as Alli Bhandari in the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2008-2015) and as Indira "Indie" Mehta in the YTV series ''How T ...
as Janie. In this film, Harriet competes against Marion Hawthorne to see who has a better
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
. In August 2020,
Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
announced it had given the production a series order for an animated television adaptation of the novel. The series was to be produced by
The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
and Rehab Entertainment with Will McRobb as writer, Sidney Clifton as producer, and Terissa Kelton and
John W. Hyde John W. Hyde (born March 29, 1941, in Jackson, Michigan) is a veteran producer whose credits span feature film, television, and animation. Hyde is married to Kate Morris Hyde and lives in both Los Angeles and Badger, California. Biography Hyde ...
as executive producers, and starring
Beanie Feldstein Elizabeth Greer "Beanie" Feldstein (born June 29, 1993) is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her starring roles in the comedy film '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising'' (2016), the comedy-drama film '' Lady Bird'' (2017), and the ...
as Harriet,
Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...
as Ole Golly, and
Lacey Chabert Lacey Nicole Chabert ( ; born September 30, 1982) is an American actress. One of her first roles was playing Erica Kane's daughter on ''All My Children''. She was the third actress to play Bianca Montgomery, playing the part from 1992 until 1993. ...
as Marion Hawthorne. The series was released on November 19, 2021.


References


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harriet The Spy 1964 American novels American comedy novels American children's novels American mystery novels American novels adapted into films Harper & Row books Novels about writers Novels set in New York City 1964 children's books American novels adapted into television shows Literary characters introduced in 1964