“Know all the Questions, but not the Answers
Look for the Different, instead of the Same
Never Walk where there's room for Running
Don't do anything that can't be a Game”
― Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Changeling

Just..one of the best. What a writer! The Changeling remains, along with "The Velvet room", another one by this author, one of my all time faves.

Have you ever felt like a "Changeling"? Did you feel like when in childhood? Even for a moment? I think most of us have.

In the case of Ivy and Martha..WELL..I am not going to say! This book is a celebration of Martha, of Ivy and all the Changelings here, there and everywhere.

It is worth noting, if you missed this one in childhood no matter. I did a reread recently..the person who had it before me had written in the book "This is a good book!". I do not even know that person.

So then I reread, loaned it to a friend and she loved it too.

The Changeling transcends age and time. Will always be a classic. ( )

This is not a book about a changeling. The book is deliberately misleading, and readers find out why towards the end. I'm okay with this. I read this book when I was eight or nine, and marveled at it. More than twenty years later, I picked it up again. I was curious to learn if it would have the same effect on me. I had forgotten a lot of it, actually. The story is about the friendship between Martha and Ivy. Martha comes from a family with high expectations, high achievers, and strict gender roles. As a child, she is chubby, cries a lot and doesn't like being a Girl Scout. She does not feel a sense of belonging in her own family. Ivy is a respite from all that. She, too, is a misfit in her own family. Creative, imaginative, confident and daring, she is nonetheless constrained by her family's circumstances. They're often on the run from the law, but come back to Martha's town every two years. They own a house there. Ivy's mom is an alcoholic. Her dad has a ton of bad luck in life. Her siblings are following in her parents' footsteps. Ivy's rich imagination helps her cope. Her friendship with Martha helps both girls immensely. Much of the book is dedicated to the games of make believe Ivy and Martha immerse themselves in. This takes a wonderful turn into them doing theater and dance in middle school. And then the plot shows up in the form of the antagonist, Kelly. Regina George is a descendant of hers, in movie form. My heart warmed at how Tom, Martha's star quarterback brother, stood up for his sister and was rightfully cold to Kelly. This was near the book's end, and I welcomed it. I laughed at some of it, delighted. The actual ending was predictable in some ways. I'm glad I read it as an adult now. ( )

One of my favorites books when I was in middle school. I still love this story. ( )

Martha and Ivy are two girls whose lives couldn't be more different. Martha is the misfit daughter of a prominent and successful family who, unable to find a place for herself in their high-achieving world, spends her time daydreaming and crying when confronted. Ivy comes from a family of drunks, delinquents and criminals, but spent her early childhood living with her aunt, who introduced her to magic and wonder. When the two meet at age seven, their creativity and imagination make them fast friends despite their backgrounds. Their friendship proves to be a buoy for them both as they grow to high school age, helping them to overcome challenges and separations until at last they realize their dreams.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder was a wonderful children's writer who knew the power of imagination and how freeing it could be for kids who feel disconnected from the people and places around them. But she never forgets the real friendship that underlies the tales. It's the friendship between the girls, strengthened by their years developing the fantasy stories of the Tree People, that allow them to mature into people who will never be conventional but will be able to thrive in the world. ( )

I never read this as a child, but I totally devoured it as an adult. Really well-done and stands the test of time. Martha's and Ivy's characterizations are so subtle yet vivid. And Alton Raible's illustrations of this edition really enhance the story. ( )