Hitty Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Hitty was published in 1929 and won the Newbery in 1930. I knew nothing about this book until I read 52 Monday's by Anna Ciddor in 2019. I have kept my eye out for a copy of Hitty so I was surprised and delighted to see a copy at a recent charity book sale. In fact there were two copies which is quite strange when you consider this is a very old children's classic from America - I wonder who owned these two copies here in Australia. 

Hitty is a wooden doll who passes through the hands of many different owners over the period of one hundred years. The exact dates are not stated but I think she was made in Maine in 1830 so she lives through the Civil war; the end of slavery; the advent of steam trains; the early days of motor cars and changes in fashion.

Fashion and clothing are an important part of this story and I imagine a child who read this book back in the 1930s or perhaps 1940s would have loved the way various owners keep making new clothes, some from very beautiful fabrics, for Hitty after all her adventures. The narrative follows a pattern where Hitty is owned by a child, a young girl, and then she is somehow lost or dropped or flung far away. She lives in various houses and settings all over the country and travels in sailing ships, trains, a steam ship, horse drawn carriages and a car. She tells her story as a memoir from her final home in an antique shop. Having lived with various children Hitty had learned to read and write so that's how she can share her story with her readers. 

The original illustrations for Hitty were by Dorothy P. Lathrop

Here is a brief plot summary from Wikipedia: The book details Hitty's adventures as she becomes separated from Phoebe and travels from owner to owner over the course of a century. She ends up living in locations as far-flung as Boston, New Orleans, India, and the South Pacific. At various times, she is lost at sea, hidden in a horsehair sofa, abandoned in a hayloft, part of a snake-charmer's act, and picked up by the famous writer Charles Dickens, before arriving at her new owner's summer home in Maine, which turns out to be the original Preble residence where she first lived. From there she is purchased at auction for a New York antique shop, where she sits among larger and grander dolls of porcelain and wax, and writes her memoirs.

How Rachel Field was inspired to write this book is a story in itself. She and her friend Dorothy Lathrop, an illustrator, had been eyeing a tiny wooden doll in a New York City antique shop. No larger than six inches, the calico-clad brown-skinned doll seemed to have so much character. At twenty-five dollars, quite a tidy sum back then, she was out of their budget. Finally, the two friends agreed to pool their money to purchase her, and at once, little Hitty stirred their imaginations. (source)

I think a modern child is probably unlikely to want to read Hitty - the historical references won't mean much to an Australian child of course but also at times some of the writing feels quite dated and even at times racist. My copy from Aladdin (1998) has very tiny print. I do like stories about dolls (my own favourite is Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden) but as a child I am not sure Hitty would have appealed to me. As an adult I did find the whaling scenes very distressing and also I grew a little tired of the repeated plot pattern of with Hitty constantly (I think in every chapter) being lost and found.

In 1999 Rosemary Wells wrote a new edition of Hitty with illustrations by Susan Jeffers. I think the image below might be the one from under the dust jacket. Here is a detailed review which explains all the plot twists in the life of little Hitty (she is quite a tiny doll almost small enough to fit in a pocket). I have read a few other reviews of the Rosemary Wells edition and most readers who loved the original do not really like all the text changes. 

What sort of day? by Sally Heinrich

Tuesday Treasure

It simply wasn't a spotty sort of day

It simply wasn't a white sort of day

It simply wasn't a green sort of day

In the past our Kindergarten classes used to begin their year with a colour theme. What sort of Day was a splendid text for this topic. What Sort of Day was published in 1997 and so is sadly out of print. Do you remember the success of Animalia? What Sort of Day follows this same format where you can hunt for objects on every page. The ideas in the illustrations made me smile and there are so many things with a truly Australian flavour.

Here are some highlights or things to look for:

White - flour, rice, white rabbit, Sydney Opera House and great white shark.
Black - ransom note (blackmail), black forest cake, Vegemite and four and twenty blackbirds in a pie.

Yellow - submarine, van Gogh Sunflowers, yellow pages phone book, Goldilocks, sulphur crested cockatoo, hibiscus and lemon meringue pie.
Green - St Patrick's Day, kiwi fruit, greenback (money), ten green bottles and a golf putting green.
Red - dynamite, poinsettia flower, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, a waratah and Uluru.
Purple - red and blue paint mixed, Purple People Eater record and pulling a plum out of the pie.
Blue - willow pattern plate, blue print plans, little boy blue, blue heeler dog and Bluebeard.
Pink - calamine lotion, pinking shears, iced vovo biscuit, musk sticks, and a pink galah.

You also need to keep your eye out for the chameleon who is hiding in every picture and the teddy bear who adapts his own costume to match with every clothing change.

Along with hunting for things that match each colour and pattern and talking about all the treasures in each illustration there are so many delightful words in this book:

White dress - it made her feel clean and fresh, and very well behaved
Black Jeans and T-shirt - they made her feel powerful and strong, ready for anything.
Green suit - it made her feel peaceful and secure, and full of life.
Red swirly skirt - it made her feel confident and excited, and just a little bit naughty.
Purple velvet pinafore - it made her feel dignified and wise, like a queen.
Long blue dress - it made her feel cool, calm and clever.
Pink overalls - they made her feel pretty and optimistic, and just a little rebellious.

When you read to a child you add to their vocabulary and this is so important. Read the research here. Look at the special words in the examples above - powerful, secure, dignified, wise, optimistic and rebellious.

Here is the yellow page from Sally Heinrich's web site.

If you want to explore more ideas around colours make sure you look for this famous poetry book Hailstones and Halibut bones. Here is the new cover:

Here is a more recent piece of art from Sally Heinrich. I think you can see her fascination with colours and objects has continued.

In 2019 Sally designed the South Australian Premier's Reading Challenge poster:

On her Facebook page Sally posted this memory collage of pages from What sort of day?

Other books by South Australian illustrator Sally Heinrich include Papa Sky (Jane Jolly), One Step at a time (Jane Jolly) and The Most Beautiful Lantern.  Another old book which you might find in a school library with a number focus is her book Cherry Stones.

A Proper Little Lady by Nette Hilton illustrated by Cathy Wilcox

All children love to dress up. Annabella is no different. She decides this is the day to put on her finery and head off into the world. She has a beautiful dress, the special hat, a long gold chain, lacy white gloves and socks with frilly edges. She looks so fabulous but perhaps this is not quite the right outfit for climbing trees, riding a billy-cart or a game of soccer.

I mentioned Nette Hilton in a recent post. While I was working at the Children's hospital Book Bunker this week I took the opportunity to revisit some books by Nette Hilton.

A Proper Little Lady was published in 1989 and short listed by the CBCA in 1990.  The winner that year was The Very Best of Friends by Margaret Wild illustrated by Julie Vivas. Nette Hilton has had many titles listed for CBCA awards/short lists and nearly all of them appear now on the Premier's Reading Challenge lists except, oddly, not A Proper Little Lady. I wonder why it has been left off. You can see a video of the whole book here.

A Proper Little Lady is illustrated by Cathy Wilcox. Cathy is the illustrator of one of my future Tuesday Treasures and sadly another title recently culled from my former library - The Weird things in Nanna's house.  Kirkus writes this book has:  "Wilcox's economical, skillfully drafted illustrations."
Her clever cartoons regularly appear in our Sydney newspapers.

Nette Hilton has a new book series which begins with The First Adventures of Princess Peony and she said at a recent CBCA event that A Proper Little Lady was her inspiration.  If you need a book to explain/demonstrate onomatopoeia in action this is the perfect book. Take a look at this word list:

swish swish swish
tap tap tap
chink chink chink
flop flop flop
chink snap dangle

You could pair this book with Polly's Pink Pyjamas and the poetry collection 15 Ways to get Dressed.

Lester's Dreadful Sweaters by KG Campbell

Before you read this book you need to notice the crocodile tail on the half title page swimming into the title page where he is fully revealed. This crocodile is heading for Cousin Clara's river side cottage. Luckily Cousin Clara is away but her cottage is consumed by the crocodile.

Lester hears the news and adds crocodiles to his list of "suspicious stuff starting with C." Then "he checked that his socks were even ...and combed his hair."  From this one page we can deduce so much about Lester. He is a neat freak. He likes things to be orderly and organised. He probably does not like change and his life which, until now, is safe and predicable.  Of course the arrival of Cousin Clara is sure to upset everything and if you read the title again you will certainly predict that these dreadful sweaters will be the cause.

Clara arrives with her knitting basket. She seems happy to sit and knit. No one is disturbed until the morning Cousin Clara presents Lester with a new sweater.

"It was shriveled yet saggy.
It had holes where it shouldn't
and none where it should.
It was a less-than-pleasant yellow
and smothered with purple pom poms.
It was DREADFUL."

Horror of horrors, Lester is forced to wear this ugly creation to school where he has to endure the whispers and taunts of his classmates especially Enid Measles who makes "a less-than-pleasant remark."

Lester is a problem solver - but he also a little sneaky.  "Later, Lester's sweater was discovered in the laundry, all stringy and shrunken."

Cousin Clara is not worried because she has plenty of wool. The next morning Lester is presented with another sweater:

"This one covered bits it shouldn't and didn't cover bits it should. It was an irksome pink and dotted with oddly placed upside-down-pockets. It was GHASTLY."

Lester wears this creation to school and suffers all over again. He needs to take action. Later the second sweater is discovered in the yard where it has been shredded by the lawn mower.

BUT Cousin Clara is unstoppable. She keeps knitting these dreadful sweaters in shades of pumpkin, olive and turquoise. The sweaters become a woolly mountain "of cruel colours, appalling polka dots, frightening stripes, starting tassels and things with six fingers."

Lester attacks them all. The scene looks like a massacre but there is one more and, oh no,  Lester is about to attend a birthday party for Enid Measles.  Remember his list of suspicious stuff starting with C?  One item on this list was clowns and Enid has clowns at her party. "Lester disapproved of clowns" but these clowns love his sweater. Have you spotted the solution to Lester's problem? Are we heading for that all important happy ending?

This is not a new book. It was published in 2012 but I am happy to see it is still available. KG Campbell is the illustrator of Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo along with some other books I need to explore. Lester's Dreadful Sweaters has a Kirkus Star review. In 2016 someone produced a musical stage production of this text. Here is a wonderful trailer. Read this detailed and thoughtful review by Elizabeth Bird in the School Library Journal. Here is a set of teaching ideas and book talk teasers. AND best news of all I found a Reader's Theatre script. Finally here is an interview with the author.

I would compare the character Lester with another boy who thrives on being organised - Alistair from the books by Marilyn Sadler.

If you enjoy books about sweaters, jumpers and knitting look for these in your library or take a dip into my friend at Kinderbookboard and her pins called Yarn Yarns.

The mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck illustrated by Kelly Murphy

For every human on earth, there's a mouse with the same job. This is well understood, unless you're a human.

It seems like an odd dichotomy - Richard Peck and award winning US author - writing an utterly British story set during the celebrations of the 1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Our little hero mouse lives in the Royal Mews. He is small so everyone asks : "are you not yet fully grown, or just short?"  His tail is in the shape of a question mark. Is this significant? He has no name and this is deeply troubling. Perhaps the Queen herself can provide answers.  For now, he has to be content with the name Mouse Minor.  His Aunt Marigold is a fine seamstress. She makes Mouse Minor wonderful school uniform but unfortunately every day at The Royal Mews Mouse Academy is sheer torture. As graduation day nears Mouse Minor runs away from the school bullies and he find himself on the rough ground of the riding school for royal children. This is his first mistake - being in the human world. Then he is seen in his uniform by Princess Ena of Battenberg. Being seen, in his uniform no less, is his second mistake.

Now Mouse Minor really is on the run. He is befriended by a cat and a horse called Peg. The Sargent Major of the Yeomice of the Guard enlists his services and he meets Yeomouse Ian.

"He was very grand indeed, was Ian. Not handsome - far from it really. His profile wasn't stirring, but he had that weak and peaky look about the face and under the chin that is the badge of the English upper classes. ... He seemed to be kindness itself, in his lordly way."

As the pace builds Mouse Minor finds his way to the Queen herself and discovers the very surprising truth about his identity.

You can listen to the whole book here read by James McCourt - he has the perfect accent for this very British story. Read this review for more plot details. I would follow this book with The Tale of Despereaux, The Mouse and the motorcycle, Secrets at Sea, Bless this Mouse, Mouseheart, Word of Mouse and A Rat's Tale.

I read this book in one sitting. It would make a good family read-aloud.  If you are a fan of books like The Borrowers you will enjoy all the small details about the ingenuity of the mice adapting human objects to their own purposes such as the desks at the school made from twelve inch rulers.

This mouse-sized identity quest sparkles. Kirkus

Readers will gleefully suspend disbelief as they trace Mouse Minor’s exciting journey, which draws him to a life-altering revelation and surprise reunions with friends and foes Publishers Weekly

Missy's Super Duper Royal Deluxe Picture Day by Susan Nees

In spite of the very long title - Missy's Super Duper Royal Deluxe Picture Day is a simple junior book. It will only appeal to girls in Grades 1 and 2 and the plot is quite predictable but it did make me smile.

Missy has big plans for class picture day.  She will wear wonderful clothes.  "Missy could not wait until Friday.  Friday was picture day at school.  And Missy was going to dress up Super Duper Royal Deluxe.  She was going to razzle and dazzle! She was going to shimmer and shine!"

Missy is really called Melisa Abigail Rose but everyone calls her Missy.  She has a cat called Pink and everyone calls him "Pink."  On school picture day Missy tries twelve different crazy outfits until she finally settles on the perfect combination which includes all her favourite things - sparkly bag, plaid skirt, dynamite boots and her super duper fuzzy hat.   Missy's mother takes one look at her daughter and their battle begins.  Mum has organised a far more conservative and sensible Picture Day outfit. Mum wins the battle and a very angry Missy heads off to school.  In class Missy sits beside Oscar. Missy is so busy feeling furious and comparing her plain clothes with the sparkles of her class mates she does not really look at Oscar.  He is wearing a plaid vest and a huge green bow tie.  As the two of them wait for their turn Oscar explains his brilliant plan to Missy.  The ending will make you smile.

Here is the web site for the author where you can peek inside other books from this series.  We have all of them in our school library. You might also enjoy the Fancy Nancy series and Eloise.