![]() ![]() ![]() PARATEXTīarbara Cooney’s story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. We are encouraged to believe this person is a real historical figure. ![]() “Miss Rumphius” is an example of a story-within-a-story, and opens with the great-niece telling the story of her great-aunt. This gives a story an epic feel, and we sense we’re reading something important. Stories set over a short period are often wonderful, but “Miss Rumphius” stands apart because this particular home-away-home story takes place over an entire lifetime. The child or child-proxy learns something like how to be brave, to not to be afraid of monsters, or perhaps the outing is purely carnivalesque. Many picture books are about a character who leaves home, has an adventure then returns having changed a little, but most of these adventures take place over a single 12 hour day. Miss Rumphius was inspired by the real life “Lupine Lady,” Hilda Hamlin, who spread lupine seeds along the Maine coast, as well as Cooney’s own experiences traveling the world. Miss Rumphius is a classic home-away-home picture book. ![]() In a picture book about a journey there will probably be beautiful illustrations of a road. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |