Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
First published by HarperCollinsUS in 1964, this classic children’s novel has sold over 4 million copies and was awarded the New York Times Outstanding Book Award.
Sixth-grader Harriet attends school on the New York's Upper East Side along with her two best pals, Sport, the jock, and Janie, the mad scientist. After school every day, she takes her notebook and proceeds through her spy route. Climbing on milk crates and hoisting herself up dumbwaiters, Harriet observes the rich lady who never gets out of bed; the man with twenty-five cats and the Italian family who runs a grocery store. She writes brutally warts-and-all notes on them all. Harriet's downfall is that she also writes down her thoughts about people she actually knows. After a game in the park when her notebook is knocked out of her hands and read by her classmates, Harriet's deepest thoughts are revealed and she is quickly ostracised by all her classmates even the boy with the Purple Socks who form the Spycatcher's Club to punish her. After her parents find out what's happened, Harriet receives a final, crushing blow. She is no longer allowed to take notes her parents, her teacher and even the cook search her every day for a contraband notebook. Harriet's only consolation is the love and the wise advice of her nanny who manages to get her through this difficult period in her life.
A classic in the US where it was first published and a major motion film from Paramount, Harriet the Spy is a beloved book throughout the world.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Subjects
People
Showing 11 featured editions. View all 63 editions?
| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
|
01
Harriet the Spy
2003, Collins
Paperback
in English
- Collins Modern Classics
0007155026 9780007155026
|
aaaa
|
|
02
Harriet the Spy
2002, Yearling
Paperback
in English
- The Classic Edition, printing (19)
0440416795 9780440416791
|
eeee
|
|
03
Harriet the Spy
1996, HarperTrophy, Harper & Row
Paperback
in English
- Media Tie-In Edition
0064406601 9780064406604
|
eeee
|
| 04 |
eeee
|
|
05
Harriet the Spy
1990, HarperTrophy
paperback
in English
- First HarperTrophy Edition
0064403319 9780064403313
|
eeee
|
|
06
Harriet the Spy
1984-09, Yearling
Paperback
in English
- New Yearling Edition, printing (3)
0440434475 9780440434474
|
eeee
|
|
07
Harriet the Spy
1979?, Laurel-Leaf Books / Dell
Mass Market Paperback
in English
- reprint (19)
0440934478 9780440934479
|
eeee
|
|
08
Harriet the Spy
1978-04, Yearling
Paperback
in English
- Twenty-second Dell printing
0440434475 9780440434474
|
eeee
|
| 09 |
eeee
|
| 10 |
eeee
|
| 11 |
eeee
|
Book Details
First Sentence
"Harriet was trying to explain to Sport how to play Town."
The Physical Object
Edition Identifiers
Work Identifiers
Source records
Work Description
Harriet the Spy is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise 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.
Excerpts
first sentence
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (1)
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?











