Miss Rumphius

It seems the book elf made all of his promised stops… except he took off Christmas Eve.  He had to work that night, understandably.  There were toys to be wrapped, logistics to be prepped for Santa, cookies to be tested.  Fortunately Jake was very understanding.

And then after all the holiday hubbub, I got caught-up in Orange is the New Black.  And if you’ve seen that show then you know that it’s not one of those shows you can half watch while you blog.  But now I’ve watched it all and Christmas vacation is over and before I can catch you up on the latest haps, I’ve got to finish my book report project.  Plus James is watching House of Cards now and sorry Mom, it’s just not as riveting as the drama of a minimum security women’s penitentiary.  Actually, it’s perfect for blogging.

And on that note, next up in our book series is a story about a woman who stays out of trouble and politics, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney.  This was a recommendation by my friend Emily and her treasure trove of lovely and whimsical stories from the 1980’s, one of my favorite decades.

In a nutshell: Miss Rumphius is the story of a little girl who’s grandfather tells her there are three things she must do when she grows up: go to faraway places, live beside the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful.  Through the story, she grows-up and works as a librarian, visits Indonesia and climbs mountains, and then somewhere near North Africa, hurts her back.  So she moves to a picturesque cottage by the sea.  And finally, to fulfill the third requisite from her grandfather, she sows lupine seeds all around town, making the world a more beautiful place.

Families can talk about: What far away places do you want to visit?  What is a librarian and what do they do?  How does Miss Rumphius fund her world travels?  Is it likely she can do this on the savings of a career librarian or is it possible she’s a trust-fund baby?  Are lupines native to Maine?  If not, what are the dangers of spreading non-native species?  What will you do to make the world more beautiful… you know, besides just being cute?

Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney.