"The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea."
Title: Miss Rumphius
Author: Barbara Cooney
Illustrator: Barbara Cooney
Publisher: Viking Penguin
Date of Publication: 1985
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Readability Lexile: 680 L
Interest Level: K-2
Summary:
This book tells the story of Alice Rumphius who comes to be known as "The Lupine Lady". As a child, Alice spent a lot of time with her grandfather who was an artist that painted pictures of sailing ships and places across the sea and carved figureheads for the prows of ships. Alice's grandfather was an immigrant to America and spent much of his life traveling the world but now that he had grown old he lived beside the sea. Alice told her grandfather, "When I grow up, I too will go to faraway lands, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea." Alice's grandfather told her that this is good but she must also do a third thing; Alice must do something to make the world more beautiful.
Cooney's book travels through time as Alice Rumphius grows older. She leaves home to visit faraway lands, makes friends she would never forget, and when she grows old she buys a beautiful house beside the sea. Though she has accomplished her first two tasks, she finds the third to be the hardest of all.
When Miss Rumphius first moved into her house she planted some lupine flowers in the rocky soil. Later that winter she grew sick but wished she could plant more flowers. Spring finally came and to her surprise lupines had grown all over her yard because the wind and birds had spread the seeds. Miss Rumphius decided to carry lupine seeds where ever she went and plant them all around the small town she lived in. The blue, purple, and pink flowers grew everywhere she had thrown seeds. Miss Rumphius had finally done what she had set out to do; make the world a more beautiful place. From then on everyone who knew her called her The Lupine Lady.
When Miss Rumphius first moved into her house she planted some lupine flowers in the rocky soil. Later that winter she grew sick but wished she could plant more flowers. Spring finally came and to her surprise lupines had grown all over her yard because the wind and birds had spread the seeds. Miss Rumphius decided to carry lupine seeds where ever she went and plant them all around the small town she lived in. The blue, purple, and pink flowers grew everywhere she had thrown seeds. Miss Rumphius had finally done what she had set out to do; make the world a more beautiful place. From then on everyone who knew her called her The Lupine Lady.
Characteristics of High Quality Children's Literature:
Based on Donna E. Norton's Literacy Criticism: Questions to Ask Myself When I Judge a Book from her book Through the Child's Eyes: An Introduction to Children Literature I would say that this is a high quality children's book. The story is believable meaning that I could actually see this story played out in real life. The main character, Miss Rumphius, overcomes a problem but not too easily. I thought the characters seemed very real. Both Miss Rumphius and her grandfather seem like people I could actually know. Miss Rumphius grew throughout the story. She traveled, met new people, and worked hard in order to reach her goals in life. The setting went well with the story and the characters and though it is not exactly specified the time and place are believable with the story. The way that the author/illustrator wrote about and painted the scenes of the story I did feel like I could have been in that place and time. The dialogue is realistic, natural, and fits with the characters. The themes in this story are meaningful and important for children to experience. The only thing that I thought this story did not do was have a character that had both strengths and weaknesses. Miss Rumphius was slightly one dimensional but if the story was longer I feel the author would have gone more in depth with her personality, history, and strengths and weaknesses.
Based on Donna E. Norton's Literacy Criticism: Questions to Ask Myself When I Judge a Book from her book Through the Child's Eyes: An Introduction to Children Literature I would say that this is a high quality children's book. The story is believable meaning that I could actually see this story played out in real life. The main character, Miss Rumphius, overcomes a problem but not too easily. I thought the characters seemed very real. Both Miss Rumphius and her grandfather seem like people I could actually know. Miss Rumphius grew throughout the story. She traveled, met new people, and worked hard in order to reach her goals in life. The setting went well with the story and the characters and though it is not exactly specified the time and place are believable with the story. The way that the author/illustrator wrote about and painted the scenes of the story I did feel like I could have been in that place and time. The dialogue is realistic, natural, and fits with the characters. The themes in this story are meaningful and important for children to experience. The only thing that I thought this story did not do was have a character that had both strengths and weaknesses. Miss Rumphius was slightly one dimensional but if the story was longer I feel the author would have gone more in depth with her personality, history, and strengths and weaknesses.
Characterization:
Though this story is very short and spans a large amount time I think the author does a nice job of developing the main character, Miss Rumphius. You see Miss Rumphius as a young girl spending time with her grandfather, traveling the world and working as a librarian as a young woman, and living in a home by the sea and planting lupine flowers all where ever she goes. I think the author shows the things in her life that make her what she is at the end of the story; a compassionate old woman who wants to something to make the world a more beautiful place.
Though this story is very short and spans a large amount time I think the author does a nice job of developing the main character, Miss Rumphius. You see Miss Rumphius as a young girl spending time with her grandfather, traveling the world and working as a librarian as a young woman, and living in a home by the sea and planting lupine flowers all where ever she goes. I think the author shows the things in her life that make her what she is at the end of the story; a compassionate old woman who wants to something to make the world a more beautiful place.
Setting:
Though the time and place of this story is never exactly specified, based on the illustrations and the style of dress that Miss Rumphius wears I would think that it is set during the early to mid 1900s. The story also takes place in a coastal area and again, based on the illustrations I think it is set in Maine. I visited Maine two summers ago and the pictures in the book really look like the scenery I saw in Maine, including the lupines. Each of the promises that Miss Rumphius makes to her grandfather have to do with a setting. First, she says she will travel to far way lands, next she promises to have a home by the sea, and finally she vows to make the world a more beautiful place. Each of these settings are shown in this book and really add to the story. The change of the seasons is also an important part of the telling of story and the author/illustrator does an excellent job of showing this through the pictures.
Though the time and place of this story is never exactly specified, based on the illustrations and the style of dress that Miss Rumphius wears I would think that it is set during the early to mid 1900s. The story also takes place in a coastal area and again, based on the illustrations I think it is set in Maine. I visited Maine two summers ago and the pictures in the book really look like the scenery I saw in Maine, including the lupines. Each of the promises that Miss Rumphius makes to her grandfather have to do with a setting. First, she says she will travel to far way lands, next she promises to have a home by the sea, and finally she vows to make the world a more beautiful place. Each of these settings are shown in this book and really add to the story. The change of the seasons is also an important part of the telling of story and the author/illustrator does an excellent job of showing this through the pictures.
Theme:
When I was finished reading this book I found there to be three important themes. The first is about the significance of keeping a promise to someone. Miss Rumphius up holds the first two promises that she made to her father but had to work hard to complete the third promise. In the end she felt content with herself and her life because she kept her promise to her beloved grandfather. The second theme is about determination and never giving up on something important. Miss Rumphius could have given up on the third promise she made to her grandfather but instead she worked harder and did not give up. The third theme that I found in this story is about caring for the earth and doing your part to make it more beautiful. Such a simple act of planting flower seeds where ever she went made such a different to the beauty of the community that Miss Rumphius lived in. If everyone had this same goal in life the world would be a much more beautiful place.
When I was finished reading this book I found there to be three important themes. The first is about the significance of keeping a promise to someone. Miss Rumphius up holds the first two promises that she made to her father but had to work hard to complete the third promise. In the end she felt content with herself and her life because she kept her promise to her beloved grandfather. The second theme is about determination and never giving up on something important. Miss Rumphius could have given up on the third promise she made to her grandfather but instead she worked harder and did not give up. The third theme that I found in this story is about caring for the earth and doing your part to make it more beautiful. Such a simple act of planting flower seeds where ever she went made such a different to the beauty of the community that Miss Rumphius lived in. If everyone had this same goal in life the world would be a much more beautiful place.
Illustrations:
I think the illustrations play a huge part in this book. The colors and style of the illustrations truly depict the coastal setting of the story. The detail that the illustrator puts into her paintings adds to the time line of the story. For example, the detail on Miss Rumphius helps to show that she is aging throughout the story. Many of the pages in this book are those that you can look at for a lot longer than it would take to read the words on the page. There are so many little things that one may not catch at a glance.
I think the illustrations play a huge part in this book. The colors and style of the illustrations truly depict the coastal setting of the story. The detail that the illustrator puts into her paintings adds to the time line of the story. For example, the detail on Miss Rumphius helps to show that she is aging throughout the story. Many of the pages in this book are those that you can look at for a lot longer than it would take to read the words on the page. There are so many little things that one may not catch at a glance.
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