Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney ( Puffin, Paperback ).
This is an excellent picture book for children to begin thinking about making a difference in
others’ lives.
When Alice Rumphius is a child, she longs to travel to faraway places and live by
the sea, just like her grandfather. When she has grown into a young woman, she fulfils her
childhood dreams of exploration in distant lands, finally settling down in a little house by
the sea. But there is one more thing, the most important thing,that her grandfather had
said she must do: she must make the world more beautiful. Old and ill, Miss Rumphius looks
out her window and comes up with an idea that are both poetic and whimsical.
The storytelling is simple and engaging, capturing the nuances of Alice’s independent spirit and passion for life. While the theme of making a difference reverberates throughout the book, the tone is never condescending nor preachy.
Cooney succesfully weaves the delicate acrylic paintings and words together to tell this wondrous tale.
There is also the theme of passing on a legacy to the next generation. It is through the long,
wonder-filled days in her grandfather’s workshop that Alice catches onto his love for travel
and his desire to create beauty out of what there is. She watches him carve the prows of
ships and she puts in the skies for his paintings. When Alice is very old, she passes this
legacy to the village children who come into her house to listen to her tell stories.
Cooney portrays storytelling- an art in itself- as something that is powerful and life-changing.
We return to this book again and again for several reasons. We love the paintings and I find
that Joy’s answers to the question in this book change as she grows older each year.
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