Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

"Do something to make the world more beautiful."

Once upon a time a little girl named Alice lived in a city by the sea. Her grandfather had come to America on a large sailing ship. He found a job making figureheads for ships and carving Indians for the front of cigar stores. Alice listens to her grandfather's stories and decides she too will travel around the world one day and then eventually come home and live in a cottage by the sea. Her grandfather agrees this will be a fine thing to do but he also gives her the advice above. (Listen here)

Alice does grow up and eventually works in a library in another city but she keeps reading about faraway places. Finally Alice, now called Miss Rumphius, is able to travel. She goes to topical islands, snow covered mountains, jungles and deserts. After a small accident Miss Rumphius returns home to a cottage by the sea. She is happy and does recover but what about that promise to her grandfather? She plants a few seeds in her garden not knowing that this will lead her to the answer. The flowers are lupines and the seeds have blown across the nearby hill. Alice sends for more seeds and she scatters them everywhere.

"The next spring there were lupines everywhere. Fields and hillsides were covered with blue and purple and rose-coloured flowers. They bloomed along the highways and down the lanes. Bright patches lay around the schoolhouse and back of the church."

Miss Rumphius completed her promise.

This is one of those classic American stories that many people will be familiar with. I am sure you will easily find a copy in most libraries. Mine came from a recent charity book sale and this copy has perhaps lingered on a bookshelf in a home for many years because this 1982 picture book is in mint condition and the dust jacket in completely intact which is rare. This edition is still available for over AUS$37 (I paid AUS1.50 at the book fair). Take a look inside Miss Rumphius.

Here is the cover of the paperback which I did have in my former school library:

Bookseller blurb: When Miss Rumphius was little, she would sit on her grandfather's lap and listen to his stories of faraway places-and she would say "When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea." However, her grandfather gives her a third charge-to do something that makes the world more beautiful. And Alice grows up to do just that. She takes a job as a librarian far away from the salt air, travels to distant locations, and moves back by the sea. However, she knows she must still do something to make the world more beautiful. After watching the Lupines grow by her house, she has a wonderful idea.

One reviewer said: A picture book full of meaning, the gorgeous paintings capture the very essence of New England by the sea and the many stops of her life along the way.

Here are some things I discovered about Miss Rumphius:

• Miss Rumphius was inspired by a real-life "Lupine Lady," Hilda Hamlin, who spread lupine seeds along the Maine coast, as well as Cooney's own experiences traveling the world.
• In 2012, it was ranked number 13 among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by the School Library Journal.
• The book was made into a short film by Western Wood (16 minutes) in 2000.
• The Lupine Award of the Maine Library Association is named in honor of the book as is the New Jersey Center for the Book's Miss Rumphius Award given to librarians and teachers who develop creative activities to support literacy education.
• The book itself is dedicated with a small illustrated icon to Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of children, sailors, and maidens (or unmarried persons).
• Many of Miss Rumphius' journeys were inspired by Barbara Cooney's own experiences traveling around the world.
• The art for Miss Rumphius has a permanent home in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
• Barbara Coney was born in 1917 and died in 2000 aged 82. Her first book was published in 1940, and her 110th book, Basket Moon, was published in September of 1999.
• Miss Cooney twice won the prestigious Caldecott Medal given by the American Library Association for Best Illustrated Book of the Year, first for her retelling of Chaucer's Chanticleer and the Fox, and second, for Ox-cart Man, written by famed New England poet Donald Hall.
• Barbara Cooney was honored as the official United States Nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal
• "Of all the books I have done," she says, "Miss Rumphius (Viking, 1982), Island Boy (Viking, 1988), and Hattie and the Wild Waves (Viking, 1990), are the closest to my heart. These three are as near as I ever will come to an autobiography."

Companion books:

The Secret Sky Garden

The girl who planted trees

Amira's Suitcase

The Red Lemon by Bob Staake

"Over the hills and along the blue sea, 'The lemons are ready!' shouts Farmer McPhee."

The farmer loves his lemons. The people love these lemons. They make sherbet, drinks, cookies, cakes, muffins and shakes. But one day a rogue lemon appears - it is red!

"Who'd squeeze this red thing in their afternoon tea? Who'd buy a red lemon from Farmer McPhee?"

Famer McPhee throws the red lemon over to a nearby island but as you your reading companion or library group might predict lemons (no matter what colour) contain seeds and so if the conditions are right then ...

Does this book have a deeper message about acceptance of difference; trust; risk taking; perfection, consumerism (look closely at all the advertising banners) - probably, but it will also just be a fun book to read to your young preschooler. You could also talk about the way something that was discarded turned into something special and there is a whole discussion you could have with older students about the fate of the original orchard or island. Here are a few discussion questions. It would be fantastic to copy the double page spread of the futuristic red lemon town to read all the advertising signs. The one that says McPhee Memorial Building might give you a slight chill. Hopefully if you can find this book you will agree it is one of those picture books that will work equally well with young children and your older primary group.

"The Red Lemon" tells the tale of jolly Farmer McPhee, a perfectionist who one day finds a red lemon, a freak of nature, in his pristine orchard. He hurls the offending fruit onto a nearby deserted island. Little does McPhee know that he has just planted the seed that, long after his own orchard has gone to weed, will be the foundation for the thriving tourist destination Red Lemon Island. We see the island 200 years in the future, complete with its own Air Red airline and Bitter End discothèque. Bob Staake

A quirky city has evolved with an economy based on these fabulously sweet red lemons, attracting people from all over the world. Kirkus

Here is the publisher blurb: In this thought-provoking tale reminiscent of Seuss, Farmer McPhee finds a red lemon in his orchard and cries, "It's red as a stop sign! It's red as a rose! I can't have red lemons where yellow fruit grows! Imagine a world where lemonade's red? Where once-yellow cupcakes are crimson instead?" As he tosses the red lemon across the water, he can't imagine that it will land on a small island, sprout a seed, and someday bring forth an orchard of lemon trees...where people will travel to from all over, to try the red lemons that are "six times as sweet!"

Here are some more books about lemons. 

Companion book:

And if you want to talk about planting things try to find this vintage book:

The Lollipop Tree

Here is another Bob Staake book I really loved:

The Book of Gold

I did a search for other books by Bob Staake and now I have added his name to my library borrowing list for next week.

April's Garden by Isla McGuckin illustrated by Catalina Echeverri

April and her Mamma have to move. The text does not say why but the illustration shows the desperation of this event as they run through the darkness, April drops her precious doll and mum bundles her into the car. Mamma says the new house will be good. 

It has a garden and lots of space, but all April can see is closed doors, no children and the rain-soaked garden is hidden because it is so late at night. Mamma suggest April might like to draw the garden of her dreams. 

Remember April lost her doll.  These lines from the text broke my heart:

"And then Mamma said, 'See what else is in those bags.' So, April looked. There was a doll with tangled hair. There were colouring books filled with somebody else's colouring. And there was a set of cups that stacked. April said, 'For a baby!'"

Then someone donates a few old magazines to the shelter and inside April finds packets of seeds. Those baby stacking cups are perfect, and the wet garden soil is easy to scoop. April plants and the seeds and then she waits and waits and waits. 

"Hope is a lovely, magical sort of thinking. It can help you to feel happy, no matter what."

"But nothing felt hopeful or lovely or magical or happy."

Eventually Mamma and April do move into a better place. Those little seeds eventually produce beautiful flowers and so the story closes with a sense of hope and happiness for their future. 

When you read this book with a group of older primary students make sure you talk about the way the illustrator gradually changes the colours used in this book from dull sepia tones and then tiny fragments of colour. Brightly coloured flowers are the focus of the final double spread. You could also talk about the two ladies in the final illustration - a social worker and a woman from the shelter. Take a look at this book trailer from the publisher Graffeg. 

Bookseller blurb: April and her mother have been housed in temporary accommodation. Promised a brighter future by her mother, April finds her life there to be filled with things that are old, broken and impersonal. She longs for her own things and for some beauty in her life but experiences only frustration and disappointment until one day she plants some seeds…

This stunning story about a mother and child starting again is very touching, and could possibly represent the experiences of mothers and children forced to flee abusive homes, or of refugees starting again in a new country. Echeverri’s illustration begins with dark, scribbled pages of rain and darkness, and gradually get lighter as the story progresses and as April’s hope returns. Beautiful and heartwarming. Book Trust

April's Garden was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegies 2024. 

Companion books on the topic finding a new home:

A Place to Stay

The Colour of Home

The Invisible

Amira's Suitcase

It's a no money day

And I am keen to find these books also on the topic of homelessness and moving into a temporary shelter.

And on the topic of waiting for seeds to grow:

Oscar's tower of flowers

The Secret Sky garden

Home for Grace by Kathryn White illustrated by Rachael Dean

Jess and her mum see a lady sitting outside a shop. Jess notices the lady has a sleeping bag, a cup, a glass bottle, a big spoon, a plastic picnic plate and an old cushion. She also has a ginger cat. At first Jess is too shy to talk to the lady but mum discovers her name is Grace and over time Grace shares the contents of her special tin of treasures and through these precious objects Jess and her mum learn a little of Grace's story. Grace is a refugee. She and her twin sister were very young when their mother was forced to flee. In the refugee camp the children learned how to fold paper butterflies - this is just one of the treasures. Each one is part of Grace's story - a photo of a woman and man with two children, three origami butterflies, two tiny cloth dolls, two woven bracelets, a pebble and a pouch of seeds.

The seeds made me think of Amira's Suitcase. 

In an act of kindness Jess and her mum give Grace a different sort of treasure box - with food, a hat, water, a notebook and pen. Jess makes a box for Luna the cat with cat food, a little old warm sweater, a drawing of Luna by Jess and a pom pom on a string. 

We never read about Grace's twin sister or her parents but one day Jess and her mum arrive at the shop and Grace is gone. 

"Each day on my way to school I looked for Grace and Luna. But they never came back. I made a Christmas card for Grace. I left it in the shop doorway, just in case." 

I am not going to tell you what happens next but please consider adding this story of compassion to your school library. It is a perfect book to use when you discuss the Sustainable Development goals - 1. No Poverty.

Andersen Press blurb: No one knows who Grace is. One day, she appeared in a shop doorway in a sleeping bag, with a cat called Luna, surrounded by strange things. When Jess and her mum strike up a friendship with Grace, Jess has questions: why did she leave her home? Does she have enough to eat? And what happens when the cold weather comes?

This is a thirty-two-page picture book, but the story is so powerful that I found myself sobbing by the final pages. When you share this book with a group of older students you might like to talk about the shop doorway. It is a lighting shop - is this symbolic of Grace's search for light, her need for light in her life, her need to find a new home in this new land moving from darkness into light? It is the parts of this story that are left unsaid that make this such a powerful reading experience. 

Kathyrn White’s compassionate characters highlight the issues around refugees arriving in new lands, and how difficult it is to build a new life. The mother and daughter’s generous gestures toward Grace show how wonderful friendships are made in the most complex and harrowing of circumstances.

Love Reading 4Kids have a useful list of books about refugees and the issues around homelessness. You can see other books by UK author Kathryn White here. 

Companion books:

I saw Pete and Pete saw me

Crumbs

The Old Man

I'll take care of you by Maria Loretta Giraldo illustrated by Nicolette Bertelle translated by Johanna McCalmont

The first things that will strike you about this book are the larger size and the vibrant end papers. Then turn inside and the first page might surprise you because it is all white with a small amount of text on one page a tiny tear-drop shaped seed on the other. Over the coming pages we follow the seed into the ground where rain drops fall and the sun shines and eventually a shoot forms. Then a sapling emerges and eventually "a magnificent leafy tree in full bloom." The tree becomes a home to a family of baby birds. There are flowers on the tree and then apples. An apple falls to the ground and splits open. The seeds inside are carried on the wind. But one seed is left in a rocky crevice. 

"Don't worry. I'll take care of our tiny one."

Do you know who is talking? Yes, it is the beautiful blackcap bird you can see on the cover.

This book was originally published in Italy with the title Avro cura di te. 

The highly understated but impactful opening spread shows a little seed—just a black teardrop shape in vast white space—on the recto, while the text on the verso reads “once / there was / a tiny seed. / So small in the / great, big world, / it felt lost and / lonely.” Readers will undoubtedly be curious to discover the fate of this vulnerable little pip. ... A gentle, soothing, timely story to inspire compassion and kindness. Kirkus

... a stunningly beautiful and unique picture book. Kids Book Review

I read an Italian book review which said: An introduction to the cycles of nature, a touching and poetic picture book on caring, dedicated to those bonds of solidarity and brotherhood that make up the fabric of our lives. And the publisher North South said: This comforting tale celebrates the harmonious relationship between birds and trees, reveals the quiet wonder of our ecosystems, and helps little readers appreciate the care they receive from their family and friends every day. In return, children will learn that they can care for others too and cultivate empathy and kindness.

Maria Loretta Giraldo is a celebrated children’s author who lives and works along the Brenta Riviera in Verona, Italy. Her children’s books have been translated and published all over the world. She is a long-term artistic partner of Nicoletta Bertelle.

Nicoletta Bertelle is a celebrated children’s book illustrator from Italy. Her picture books have won many awards, including a White Raven Award, and have inspired TV cartoons and theatrical performances.

They have worked on other books but some are only in Italian. 

Here is a close up of the Italian cover:

And in Italy you can buy a bag with an illustration from this book!

And here are some Teacher's Notes from the publisher Blue Dot. 

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything recently set up a display in her library (she does this every week or two) filled with books linked to Italy and all things Italian. I say linked because she went way beyond books set in Italy or about the geography of Italy. Her display included books about pasta and pizza. 

Then she added in famous Italians such as Leonardo da Vinci; Galileo Galilei; Marco Polo; Michelangelo; Archimedes; Antonio Lucio Vivaldi; and Leonardo Fibonacci. 

And she added children's book illustrators and authors. You can pop these names into my search to discover their books. 

• Felicita Sala
• Beatrice Alemagna
• Sara Fanelli
• Christina Valentini
• Sergio Ruzzier
• Giovanna Zoboli
• Roberto Innocenti
• Marianna Coppo

She found Maths books that explore the Fibonacci numbers. Current biographies such as Maria Montessori (Little People Big Dreams). Then there are all the picture books with an Italian flavour by Tomie dePaola. I'm sure you know Strega Nona. Oh and what about architecture? She even had a detailed book about the Rennaissance. 

Here are a few of the books from her display but there were SO many more:

The Glassmakers Daughter

Pippo the Fool

A Thousand Glass Flowers

And here are the Kinderbookswitheverything blog posts:

2nd June Republic Day in Italy Festa della Repubblica

Addendum to Festa Books by Italian authors and illustrators