The Big Rock

By Marilyn Claus

I’m not exactly sure when this story was written, but it must have been in the 70’s, back in the days of the typewriter.  You won’t find this story on any dusty shelves but mine, as it was written by my mother for a college class. 

 

I took many hikes out to the Big Rock in the Morton Arboretum during my childhood.  At that time, the spot was not well marked, so we were usually the only ones on the trail.  Once at the rock, we would scramble to the top and think about how this huge boulder was dropped in that spot by a long-ago glacier that was pushing its way across the land.  Imagine how long it sat unseen by human eyes.   Imagine all the generations of people who stumbled upon this rock in the past.

This little work of historical fiction imagines just that.  Told in three parts, from the points of view of three different children from past centuries, the story examines how different our lives are from those of our predecessors, yet also how like them we are.  

The first part tells the1765 story of Dreaming Dove and begins with her lying on the big rock in the sun, feeling the spirit of the rock embrace her.  She had little time to rest though, since her clan was busily preparing for the cold season ahead.  Besides that, her brother’s naming ceremony was coming up, so there was extra food to prepare.  She had to sew leggings from softened deerskin, gather moss to line her baby brother’s rabbit skin coverings, collect firewood, and grind corn.  Dreaming Dove dearly loved her family, her clan, and her home near the big rock.

The second part jumps to 1860, where a little German girl named Maria lives in a cabin near the big rock with her family.  It was Saturday, so she didn’t have school, but there was plenty of work to do to prepare for her baby brother’s christening.  There would be potato salad, headcheese, pfeffernusse, and kuchen.  It was a beautiful fall day, and in the afternoon she had a little time to go outside.  She climbed over the fence, and ran out to the big rock that was out past the woodpile.  As she sat atop the rock watching the clouds drift past, she thought about how lucky she felt to be in this new land and wondered about the Indian children who used to play there.

Fast forward a little over a hundred years, to present day.  A little girl named Carolyn is excited to be going with her Grandma to the Morton Arboretum for a walk.  After finding Parking Lot 14, they get out to walk on the Big Rock Trail.  Once there, Carolyn climbs up on the rock and she and Grandma talk about the Indians who lived and hunted right on that land.  While watching the clouds drift by, they talk about girls a generation before having to play and climb wearing skirts.  They also talked about how much fun her little cousins Baptism party was going to be that weekend.  Carolyn feels so lucky to be living in the present day and age.

And so we see that while the particulars of day to day life have changed, sometimes drastically, little girls still dream, still celebrate with their families, and still find joy in nature.  I think Dreaming dove, Maria, and Carolyn would be good friends!

Heidi

By Johanna Spyri

First published in 1881

This copy adapted by Florence Hayes in 1946

I was first introduced to the story of Heidi through the classic Shirley Temple movie.  This print version of the story is a sweet, simplified retelling of Spyri’s original.

5-year-old orphan Heidi is taken to live with her recluse Grandfather high up in the mountains.  Heidi is not sent to school, instead spending joyful days outside with her friend Peter, a young goatherd.  She completely embraces her new life, running barefoot through the mountains and befriending Peter’s Grandmother.  At the age of 8, Heidi is taken away to go to school and to live as a companion and friend to Clara, a girl who is unable to walk.  Heidi has a difficult time adjusting to her new home and longs for the freedom she had with her Grandfather.  

Her extreme homesickness eventually sends her back to the beautiful Alps.  Heidi finds such joy in fresh air, sunshine, and exercise that it overflows to the people around her.  She has such an effect on her Grandfather that he is inspired to rejoin his community.

The story ends with Heidi and her Grandfather walking back from church, happy to be together, and thankful for all of God’s gifts.  

To me, the story of Heidi is all about the healing properties of nature – healing in body, mind, and spirit. The days when I don’t feel I have the time or energy for a walk outside are the times when I realize I need one the most.  The natural areas of the Chicago suburbs may not be quite as inspiring as Heidi’s Alps, but they still hold plenty of beauty and wonder. 

The Rabbit’s Wedding

By Garth Williams

Copyright 1958

It’s hard to believe it, but the little bunny pictured here is now married.  Yesterday was the wedding, and at the reception, the little rabbit’s little sister read this book to the new couple.  

The Rabbit’s Wedding is a sweet, simple story of two rabbits who really enjoy spending time together.  They loved to play Find the Acorn, Race Around The Blackberry Bush, Jump the Daisies and Run Through the Clover.  Once in a while, the little black rabbit would get a sad look on his and face and the little white rabbit didn’t know why.  Finally, he tells her.  

“I just wish that I could be with you forever and always.”  The little white rabbit thinks about it and decides that she wants the same thing.   

“The little white rabbit gave the little black rabbit her soft white paw.”

The rabbits put dandelions in their ears and all the other animals of the forest came out to see how happy they were and danced in a circle around the new rabbit couple.  

“And so the two little rabbits were wed and lived together happily in the big forest; eating dandelions, playing Jump the Daises, Run Through The Clover and Find The Acorn all day long.

And the little black rabbit never looked sad again.”

The Story of a Fat Little Girl

By Suzanne Heller

Copyright 1966

I distinctly remember receiving this book as a gift when I was quite young.  I was old enough to read it by myself, and old enough to understand how sad this book is.  

It is a simple story.  A little girl is teased because she is fat.  Her clothes all say “chubby” on the label.  She didn’t fit in a chair very well and when someone took a photo, she couldn’t entirely fit in the picture.  She wasn’t very good at games like hide-and-seek because she always stuck out.  She knew she was fat and it hurt her feelings to be called names.  One day, she decided to go on a diet and start exercising.  She said no to cake and candy and she practiced touching her toes and doing deep knee bends.  After a while, she began to see changes.  Her chubby clothes began to get too big.  She got thinner and thinner until eventually, nobody made fun of her any more.

I always thought this book was sad.  Why did that little girl feel she had to change the way she looked to get people to like her?  However, if the book ended here, it wouldn’t be so bad.  After all, the little girl took control of her health, and now she could run and play with the other children.

But the worst part of all is that the book doesn’t end here.  Because now that the other children stopped making fun of the formerly fat little girl, they started making fun of another girl who was very tall.   

And the closing line of the book:  “Sometimes people can be very mean.”  

  
That poor tall girl.  Unlike the first girl, she can’t do a thing about her height.  No diet or exercise will change that.  So how about instead of forcing people to change until they are just like us, we instead accept them for who they are?

What Color is Love?

By Joan Walsh Anglund

Copyright 1966

I always believed that the books written and illustrated by Joan Walsh Anglund were special.  I grew up hearing the story that one of my aunts attended Kindergarten with her and that even at such a young age, her artistic ability was evident.  Anglund’s simple yet beautiful drawings of children are easily recognized.  The heads are very large for the bodies, and the eyes are the only visible facial features.  In all of her books, the simple and beautiful drawings are matched with simply beautiful text.  

What Color is Love? was published in 1966, the year I was born.  The dust jacket is long gone from my copy and my personalized bookplate is pasted inside the front cover.  While I remember reading it and looking at the pictures as a child, I know I never fully grasped the truth in the words.  I believe I thought it was merely a book about colors. 

“An apple is red, the sun is yellow, the sky is blue, a leaf is green…”

But that’s not the point of this little book.  As Anglund writes, 

“Color is something we see with our eyes, but love is something we see with our heart.”

Colors do make the world a beautiful place.  However, what we see with our eyes is secondary to what we feel or how we act.  What is on the outside is never as important as what is on the inside.