For those who have been long-awaiting another Patricia MacLachlan book, this reads similarly to her style and is a wholesome story about a brother to triplets. I felt that the story fell flat for me and I struggled to get through it. However I know some of my patrons prefer her writing style and will really enjoy this slice of life story.

My Life Begins by Patricia McLaughlin is a charming realistic fiction novel about a boy and his three baby sisters - “the trips” as he calls them. This book follows Jacob and “the trips” through a school year. This lovely book has a melodic rhythm that will captivate any reader. I would highly recommend to any elementary-aged child.

This is McLaughlin’s final novel as she sadly passed away on March 31, 2022. Just as spellbinding as Sarah, Plain and Tall, this middle grade read has a timeless quality to it.

Many thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this wonderful book. This is an easy chapter book about a boy who wanted a litter of puppies and got triplet sisters instead. Charming writing and very relatable to anyone who has younger siblings the book explores changing family dynamics from Jacob’s (main character) point of view. This is a great read for 1st-4th graders and I can’t wait to introduce this wonderful book to my students.

This was a cute easy chapter book about a boy who wants a litter of puppies. Instead he gets baby triplet sisters! He calls them the "trips" throughout the novel. He writes about them and how they grow. He knows he needs a better name for them though. In the end he comes up with something to call them, and he has something new to write about in his next journal.

This is perfect for the older sibling who is expecting a new family member. It gives a great understanding of the responsibilities they can take and the changes that are coming to their household.

Thanks to #netgalley for the early copy.

#MyLifeBegins #PatriciaMacLachlan #easychapterbook #earlychapterbook

This beautiful book!

Is it saccharine? Maybe.

But I have loved Patricia MacLachlan's books my whole life -- from when I was a young child myself until I had children of my own. I have happy memories of reading Sarah, Plain and Tall aloud to each of my classes of elementary students. So I was predisposed to love My Life Begins!

I have seen too many of my favorite children's authors pass away: Andrew Clements, Beverly Cleary, Tomie dePaola, Eric Carle...and now Patricia MacLachlan. My Life Begins! will always have a special place in my heart for being the last story she shared with the world.

Maybe, as another reviewer says, this is a book for adults. One last memory to put on our shelves. <3

I wanted to love this book, but honestly it was just forgetable.. I was hoping for more from the author.

Jacob, 9, is an only child, and while he thinks his picture hanging on the living room wall by itself looks lonely, he's pretty sure that loneliness could be cured with a litter of puppies. Instead, he is reminded that soon there will be new babies in the house - three little ones named Charlotte called Char, Katherine called Kath, and Elizabeth called Lizzie, or the Trips as Jacob refers to them.

At school, his teacher announces that Jacob's class will be learning to do research and that each student should choose something that interests them, which could even be "a subject that is surprising and new." Since the finished project isn't due until two weeks before school ends, Jacob decides his topic will be "A Litter of Trips - From Birth On," diligently observing and recording how the triplets change and grow over the school year.

Seeing how tired caring for his sisters has made his parents, Jacob becomes not just an observer but a real helper, quickly learning how to change diapers, warm bottles, and can even pick up and comfort a crying Lizzie. Eventually, Jacob's parents hire a nanny, a French woman named Mimi who brings experience, peace and order to the chaos of having triplets. And it is Mimi who helps Jacob understand the importance of names, calling him dear Jacob, which he loves. The triplets calls their mother Mama, their father Da, but what will they call Jacob? What will be the forever name they give him, and what will be the forever name he calls them? This turns out to be the most important part of his research project and it is Lizzie who gives him the answer.

What is interesting about this small chapter book is not so much how the triplets change and grow, but how the experience of observing and recording their first year changes Jacob as he goes from being an only child to being a big brother. MacLachlan has poignantly captured the way Jacob's sibling relationships form and grow depending on the personality of each of his sister's, inviting readers into Jacobs thoughts and feelings to show how all this all unfolds.

However, the first year of the triplets lives may feel somewhat unrealistic at times. The babies are unusually happy, Jacob has no sibling jealousy, although he continues to hope for at least one puppy, if not a litter, and those sweet little girls never get sick, throw up, or produce one of those unforgettable poopy diapers. But young readers won't care about these things. The story uses simple language age appropriate for Jacob, the chapters are short yet full of information told from Jacob's point of view, and it is all complemented with Daniel Miyares rough sketches in black and white ink.

My Life Begins! is a very sweet, very tender story about family and sibling relationships and is sure to bring on more than one smile and perhaps a tear or two. It is an excellent choice for a read aloud, at school or as a family book, and will definitely appeal to fans of Kevin Henkes' Billy Miller series.

Sadly, Patricia MacLachlan passed away on March 31, 2022 at age 84 a few months before the release of My Life Begins!

In what is likely the last Patricia MacLachlan book ever, Jacob does a year long research project with his newly arrived triplet sisters (The Trips) as his topic. Told in simple prose with Jacob’s short poems interspersed, younger elementary readers will feel the family’s love for each other and see new arrivals as a blessing instead of the trouble usually present in books with the presence of young siblings. The warmth felt in other MacLachlan books such as White Fur Flying and Just Dance is evident throughout and make this one perfect to reassure others that such changes in family can be happily anticipated. Solid choice for libraries serving children in grades 2-4.

As an elementary teacher, I have always loved Patricia MacLachlan's books and was excited to see that she has a new one. "My Life Begins!" is a story about a 9 year old boy named Jacob who has always been somewhat lonely as an only child. Then, his mother has triplet girls and he decides to do his research project on learning about "The Trips", as he calls them. The story continues as Charlotte (Char), Katherine (Kath), and Elizabeth (Liz) grow from newborns to almost toddlers. Jacob feels that his life truly begins at the time that he becomes a big brother.

This is a chapter book with short chapters, simple wording, and some illustrations. Elementary students will enjoy reading this sweet story and teachers will love that their students can feel accomplished reading a chapter book. This book is also good for promoting discussions about life in general and why Jacob feels his life begins anew with the good things that happen.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarperCollins for the opportunity to review an ARC of #MyLifeBegins by #PatriciaMacLachlan. 5 stars

This lovely story is about nine year old Jacob who's life changes when his triplet sisters are born. He documents some of the changes as part of a yearlong science project. The language is poetic and so is the art work by Daniel Miyares.

Instead of the requested puppy, Jacob, an only child, gets triplet sisters. Boy does his life change. An insightful and delightful middle-grade novel about how things change for Jacob and his family as his sisters grow. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Jacob is nine years old and would love to have a puppy. Instead he ends up with triplet sisters-Charlotte, Katherine, and Elizabeth. For school he must write and research a subject all year. He picks his sisters. Follow Jacob and the triplets through their first year of life.

Patricia MacLachlan has done it again! I could not put this one down and read it one sitting. This story is a sweet, feels good story, that left me crying at the end. Just an enjoyable book about family and life with triplets. Can’t wait to share it with others!!

I received an electronic ARC from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley.
MacLachlan's light touch captures the joy and challenges of this family. Jacob wants a litter of puppies; what he is getting is triplet sisters. Readers see how he and his family cope with three babies. Each develops their own personality but Jacob continues to refer to them as the Trips. With help from the family nanny, he starts to see that they are more than a "litter of triplets" and figures out their forever name. Readers learn this name when he presents his class research project on the triplets from birth on. I appreciate the lighter moments interspersed with seeing Jacob mature and learn about himself and the rest of his family. Before the book ends, he gets a birthday surprise that completes his family wishes. A great read aloud.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

MY LIFE BEGINS

By Patricia Maclachlan

This is a story of a boy who wishes for a dog. He knows dogs are born in litters. Instead, his mom gives birth to triplets, whom he names the trips, and his life is reborn in ways he did not expect.

Why I liked this book. Told in first person I am immediately drawn into the character of Jacob. He describes the first days and week of living with a full household, of how the Trips change and grow, of how the family begins to tell them apart, and of the changes he sees in his parents.

For school his is given homework on how to do research. Jacob decides to write his paper on the Trips. They become his research. In the course of writing his paper and researching about the Trips weave their way into his heart. In the end he is rewarded with dog.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read. This was a beautiful book about how life is always changing. So many amazing moments for that “teachable moment” for my fifth graders. I highly recommend.

I think I was smiling the entire time I read this book. It is as cute and charming and irresistible as a litter of puppies. The young boy in our story wants a litter of puppies and not triplet baby sisters. But, alas, he finds that life is about to change with these three babies in his life. He nicknames them The Trips and does a school research paper about them. You also meet the father, mother, and a French nanny who are delightful. This was a huggable book.

Patricia MacLachlan passed away at the end of March. I was sad to think this was her last book. Her writing is unlike any children's author. I wonder what gave her the idea for this book? I tried searching for information but didn't come up with anything. I hope an editor gives some insight when this book is published.

Patricia MacLachlan has done it once again. This is a lovely story of family, changes, and belonging. The book is written with amazing insight and gentleness, and left me with a smile on my face. It's a quick read to be enjoyed by children and adults alike,

Patricia MacLachlan's "My Life Begins!" is an absolute charmer, an early middle grade novel that poignantly and humorously explores the very changing life of one nine-year-old Jacob, a boy who wants nothing more than a litter of puppies but who instead ends up with what he semi-affectionately calls "The Trips," newborn baby girls Kath, Char, and Lizzie.

Not quite sure what to make of "The Trips," Jacob turns them into a science project and begins to watch their first days, weeks, and months of life as they go from things not really even as cute as a puppy to tiny beings learning how to smile, talk, grow, and connect with the world that surrounds them.

Maclachlan, author of the Newbery Medal winning "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and other memorable books, has once again crafted a remarkably memorable tale with gentle, deeply connecting prose and richly developed relationships that feel loving and honest and true and more than a little funny.

As Jacob gets to know "The Trips," we get to know Jacob, his parents, his nanny Mimi and, of course, these adorable little girls. There comes a time, of course, when it becomes apparent that these little girls are more than just "The Trips." They deserve a forever name that commemorates the special role they've taken in Jacob's life.

Watching as this scene unfolds? Oh my, this 50+ year old cynical heart may have shed a tear or two. Okay, Okay. I did. I did shed a tear or two.

"My Life Begins!" is a beautifully told story about how sibling relationships grow and develop and how we come to truly love one another. It's a simple yet meaningful story about how life changes, love evolves, and babies eventually become just as beautiful as puppies.

"My Life Begins!" is a rather short book, a fact that feels surprising given just how much remarkable substance MacLachlan places beneath its covers. An absolute delight from beginning to end, "Patricia MacLachlan's "My Life Begins!" is all the more delightful because MacLachlan so sublimely writes through the lens of a child and treats as sacred this journey we call childhood and this organized unit we call family.

Since this comes from Patricia MacLachlan, there are certain things you know you are going to get, like beautiful, lyrical prose and a gently told story about loving relationships. That is exactly what you get here. MacLachlan is a master of the small observations a child would make in any situation. As ever, this is a treasure that you should go out of your way to pick up as soon as it is released. I have a few students I feel like this was written for even in my first reading. Truly a delight.

If I had known how good this book was, I would have read it sooner.
What a great book.
I loved the format of the story.
I loved the honesty and growth of the characters.
Yes, it's simplistic.
Yes, it's the rose colored glasses version.
But what a wonderful, happy, story.