Mar. 27, 2006
The Lupine Lady
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Determined to not let The Third Carnival of Children's Literature go by without me, I must introduce you all to Miss Rumphius. It's the picture book I give to all expecting parents I can as it is my most treasured of all the picture books I read to my children. I learned about Miss Rumphius from Terry W. Glaspey's Great Books of the Christian Tradition. He offers a chapter called, "Getting Off to a Good Start", and mentioned among the greats like Lewis Carroll, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Kenneth Grahame is Barbara Cooney and her Miss Rumphius. I checked her out from the library unaware. Miss Rumphius' story begins as a little girl sitting at her grandfather's knee telling him about her dreams, her longings to travel the world and live by the sea. "That is all well and good," her grandfather says. "But there is something else you must do." Little Miss Rumphius agrees and promises her grandfather she will. Miss Rumphius grows up, never marries and lives a simple but exotic life. She is a beloved librarian, travels to faraway islands and communes with kings, and lives by the sea. Miss Rumphius grows old and even bedridden, but never fogets what she promised her grandfather she would do. As she spends another day alone and in bed, spring shows her how she can fulfill her promise to her grandfather. "That is all well and good," her grandfather said. "But there is something else you must do. You must do something to make the world a more beautiful place." And she does. The last scene of the well-illustrated book shows Miss Rumphius surrounded by the children of the neighborhood giving them the same advice her grandfather gave her. Miss Rumphius, you belong with Anne, Karana, Laura, Sara and my other childhood heroines. Your independence by never marrying or mothering fills my imagination, a critical exercise for a woman who lives in her car or at the kitchen sink. You remind me to spend time in the garden or delight in my daughter's sense of style instead of fret over the boys' endless stains or the unreplacable no-longer-white carpet. You inspire me to delight in the age of my children and teach them what your grandfather taught you before these precious years of wonder slip away. We planted lupines in your honor, the 10-year old basketball-loving boy's idea. It's worth a search and read. I highly recommend it as a must-have for you and your children's home library. |
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