Mouse House

By Rumer Godden

Illustrated by Adrienne Adams

Copyright 1957

I remember Mouse House as the first book with a substantial amount of text that my oldest daughter sat through.  The story of Bonnie, a real little mouse who needed a place to sleep, captured her attention enough so she could sit still for at least a half hour – just enough time for my voice to grow a little hoarse!  But I didn’t mind.  I was thrilled that she was enraptured by a story enough to not need many pictures.

Bonnie is the youngest and smallest of many mouse siblings.  There just isn’t enough room in their flower pot home in the cellar, and Bonnie continually gets pushed out onto the cold floor.  Finally, she’s had enough of that and went upstairs in search of a better place to sleep.  Luckily, she finds a real little house with furniture and carpets that Mary was given as a gift.  

Bonnie sleeps comfortably in a warm bed, but is frightened in the morning when she realizes she can’t get out through the shut door and windows.  In her panic, she dashes to and fro, knocking over the furniture and ripping up the carpets.  When Mary discovers the tiny house is in ruins, she relegates it to the cellar.  How lucky for the mouse family!  Now they all take over the little house (after ripping the door off its hinges) and there is room enough for everyone.

Bonnie realizes that if she had never been pushed out onto the cold cellar floor, her family would not have the wonderful little house.

Lesson for the day:  Sometimes it takes plenty of discomfort and pain to force us to search for what we really need.  And sometimes, we just might find something that’s better than we could have possibly imagined!

The Snowstorm

By Beryl Netherclift

Copyright 1967

Last week I wrote about C.S. Lewis and his Narnia books.  This week, I read a book that is reminiscent of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  

In The Snowstorm, three siblings travel to their aunt’s house in the country while their parents go on a cruise.  Exploring Farthingales, the decrepit old home, they come upon an object on the library shelf that has magical powers.  Not a wardrobe, as in Lewis’ books, but a beautiful snow globe.  Through it, the children find they can communicate with ancestors who have previously lived at the old estate.  The children have adventures they never expected when an actual snowstorm separates them from their aunt and they have to survive on their own.  Can these ghosts in the snow globe help them find Aunt Amethyst and the treasure to save her beloved home?  

It was one conversation in the book that really caught my attention.  

The night after discovering the magical snow globe, the children discuss the room they found it in.  There is something about that library that is different from other rooms.  

“Yes, still, there was something about the library.  Something…something…. What was it?  It’s a feeling of things being concentrated there.  Something watchful, as if…”

That is how I sometimes feel while in a library surrounded by old books.  As if the people who read the books before me are there too.  The notes they have left on the pages are calling out.  As if the beloved fictional characters are waiting, hoping to come alive when their pages are opened.  Things are concentrated there.  The hopes and fears of authors, characters, and past readers – all in one room.

Yes, there is something about a library that is different from other rooms. 

C.S. Lewis Letters to Children

Edited by Lyle W. Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead

1985
A collection of letters written from C.S. Lewis to various children from 1945 to 1963.

Like other successful authors, C.S. Lewis received many letters from his fans.  Lewis felt it was his duty to respond to the letters written by children.   Many children wrote with comments and questions about the beloved Narnia series in which four children travel to a fantasy land through a magical wardrobe.  In one letter, Lewis responds to a girl who questioned why the children grew up in Narnia and then returned to this world through the wardrobe as children.  Yes, he replies, they will eventually grow up in this world too.  But according to Lewis, age really doesn’t matter.  

“You see, I don’t think age matters so much as people think.  Parts of me are still 12 and I think other parts were already 50 when I was 12: so I don’t feel it very odd that they grow up in Narnia while they are children in England.”

What an insight this is.  And what a relief, too.  I’m not the only one who feels this way!  At times I feel (and act) like a child.  Other times I feel a hundred years old.  Perhaps this is why I love children’s literature so much - a really good children’s book can be enjoyed by any age.  It was Lewis himself who said, “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” I completely agree!

The Magic of a Story

Last week, during toddler storytime, I gazed out on 60 pairs of eyes.  In my arms I held a small black plastic cauldron and a wooden spoon.  When I introduced the story, I did happen to mention that the cauldron and spoon are magic, which may account for the looks of wonder I was seeing.  From drooling babies to smiling grandparents, they gasped in awe as the apple turned into a long thin piece of red felt.  

 

“I’ll take the apple, put it in the pot, stir it, stir it, stir it a lot.  Take it out now.  What will it be?  The prettiest red you ever did see!” 

 The orange orange turned into a strip of orange felt, the yellow banana turned to a long piece of yellow.  Each piece of felt was going up onto the flannel board in turn.  At this point, one child whispered, “It’s a rainbow!”  Once I finished with the purple grapes and the rainbow was complete, I grinned as applause broke out.

Are the cauldron and spoon magic?  Maybe not.  But what is really awe inspiring is the power of words put together into a story and the wonder in the mind of a child.  The combination of the two is where the magic happens.

The Tale of Sandy Chipmunk

A Sleepy-Time Tale

By Arthur Scott Bailey

Copyright 1916

I’ve always enjoyed anthropomorphism in children’s books.  Giving animals human emotions and actions is an imaginative way to tell a story.  Even I have my limits, though.  I recently picked up a new picture book about some forest animal friends.  A little rabbit was in trouble and the other animals weren’t sure how to help her.  No worries!  Along came Mr. Owl who snatched up Little Rabbit in his claws and lifted her to safety.  The picture of the little rabbit happily flying along while grasped in sharp talons was just a little too much.

This little Tale of Sandy Chipmunk was much different.  Sure, Sandy Chipmunk wore clothing and went shopping at Uncle Sammy Coon’s store.  The difference was the educational value of his shopping trip.  Sandy paid for the coveted beechnuts, butternuts, and chestnuts in Sammy’s preferred means of payment:  ears of green corn.  

Sandy then worked diligently digging out his new house, being careful to carry the loose dirt away from the openings so predators cannot find them.  He left plenty of room for storage of nuts, seeds, and grains to carry him through the winter.  I even learned a new fact:  chipmunks like to eat bird eggs!  

Humor is not lacking in this story.  Sandy is curious about the farmer’s mailbox.  After climbing up and seeing a letter with a picture of a chipmunk on it, Sandy assumes the letter is his and carries it away.  Unfortunately, neither he nor the other animals can read, so he doesn’t know what the letter says.  Later, Farmer Green is confused as to why he never got the letter that all of his neighbors received about an effective new poison to get rid of those pesky chipmunks, squirrels, and mice.  Good going, Sandy!

This book is just one of a series of ten, each telling a tale of a different wild animal.  I’m curious to read The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit.  My guess is that he never enjoyed a pleasant ride in an owl’s talons. 

Food Problems

To illustrate the meaning of food waste and what may be accomplished by economy and intelligent substitution 

By A. N. Farmer and Janet Rankin Huntington

Copyright 1918

THE WHEAT AND MEAT WE DO NOT EAT WILL HELP TO SAVE UP FROM DEFEAT.

FOOD IS AMMUNITION.  DON’T WASTE IT.

MORE CORN – LESS WHEAT KEEPS THE ALLIES FROM DEFEAT.

Coming out of World War I food rationing, this book is designed to teach school children about food conservation in order that they may do their part to ensure that America and the world has enough food. 

It is lavishly sprinkled with motivating phrases and full of arithmetic word problems that illustrate not only how much food is wasted, but that each of us can do our part to remedy the waste.  For instance:

In 1915, the average amount of meat consumed by each person in the United States was 193.5 pounds a year.  Experiments show that the adult man does best on ¼ pound of meat a day.  How many pounds more than he needs does he consume per year?

Mary has been using 2 level tablespoonfuls, or 1 ounce of sugar on her oatmeal every morning.  Her mother decides to cook the oatmeal with dates, figs, or prunes, so as to need no sugar.  How many pounds of sugar will Mary save in a month?  In a year?

The authors have aimed to not only develop their students’ math skills, but also character-building qualities such as thrift and consideration of others.  Regardless of the social and political climate in which this book was written, it still serves as a reminder today, especially as we prepare for our Thanksgiving feasts and the Christmas season.

Food for thought:

EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT.

The Household Searchlight Homemaking Guide

The Household Magazine – Topeka, Kansas, 1937 

 

This volume is a compilation of advice and tips for all areas of homemaking.  The 1937 homemaker could reference this book for help with etiquette, weddings, menus, health and beauty, stain removal, insect extermination, entertainment, and the mental health of children.  

The editors put this comprehensive volume together because they believe “the American family does not live by bread alone:  that beauty, dignity, emotional adjustment within the family, and wholesome interest in community affairs are integral ingredients of a satistfying home life.”

Surely I would be able to glean some useful bits of information from such a thorough manual.

Here it goes:

Belching usually can be controlled.  If there are occasions when you cannot control it, say “I’m sorry.”  These words will not prevent your embarrassment, however.  There is nothing you can do to cover up this sound.

Every bride should remember when she buys her house dresses that looking lovely at home often does as much to insure the success of a marriage as being a good cook or keeping a neat house.

The fact that these healthful rays of the sun can reach us only when we are in direct sunlight is another reason for regular exercise out-of-doors.  Sun-bathing is the means of getting the greatest benefits from the sun and it is wise to take a sun-bath whenever you can.  

A man likes definite lines.  He wants strength and substantiality.  He abhors ruffles, unstable legs, and easily soiled or rumpled fabrics.  His room should be comfortable and inviting.  It should offer a haven of escape from the feminine members of the family.  

After taking in all this information, I think I will follow one piece of advice I found:

A brisk walk with your arms free, your spine erect, your head up, your feet in comfortable, sturdy shoes, is one of the best ways to get daily exercise.

Off I go!