Calico Bush

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Calico Bush is a Newbery Honor Award- winning illustrated children's story by Rachel Field . The book was published in 1931 and is considered by many to be Field's best book. The book was published in German in the translation by Birgitta Kicherer in 1971 as Der Maibaum der Inder. Kalikobusch and again in 2005 under the title Marguerite and the Indians .

action

Calico Bush is a story in a historical setting, the action on the coast of Maine in the time of the pioneers plays. It tells the story of Marguerite, a young French orphan who finds a livelihood with a family as an indentured servant ( indenture ). There are often flashbacks telling episodes from her life in France or from the trip to America. The book is divided into four chapters, which are named after the seasons. It begins at the beginning of summer with the arrival on a sailing ship that an English family brings to their newly acquired property in Maine. The family found the property burned down and was warned several times about the Indians ("Injuns") by the captain of the ship . The arrival attracts the attention of the neighboring settlers, who are happy to help. After the departure of the ship, the family is still largely on their own, as the other farms are often a few miles away. The next property is the farm of Seth and Ethan Jordan on a barrier island. The "aunt" Hepsa Jordan lives there, who is an important support for the orphan because of her friendly nature and independence from prejudices. "Maggie", as the family girl is called in English , is mainly employed as a nanny and looks after three small children. She has some adventures with them. They meet a bear and an Indian, and Marguerite accomplishes several superhuman things - including when little Debby suffers severe burns on a cold winter night, from which she unfortunately dies anyway. Due to their courage, the family dissolves the contract the following spring and Marguerite is free, but has found a home with the family, so she will stay there. Recurring motifs are the Delectable Mountains Quilt Pattern and a folk song about the Mountain Laurel .

Emergence

Field spent her summer retreat in 1920 on Sutton Island , one of Maine's Cranberry Isles . Margaret Lane suspects that the “inspiration for Calico bush” came from the story of Marguerite La Croix, who moved there with her husband, John Stanley, from Marblehead in 1767 [...] and the first permanent residents of Little cranberry Island had been. A little north of the Head their hearth stones were still in the field and they are buried at Maypole Point. ”According to this, Field only used borrowings from the story of Marguerite La Croix.

The calico bush is a plant of the laurel rose genus that occurs in the eastern United States as far as Maine. The original edition was illustrated with woodcuts by Allen Lewis .

reception

The book received a Newbery Honor Award in 1932 and was very well received by other critics. Saturday Review magazine called it "a really good book, narrative simple, nutritious, serious" The New York Times judged, "Adult readers as well as boys and girls will be grateful to Rachel Field for this fine and engaging fairy tale."

Even decades later, the book was highly regarded. Children's literature expert May Hill Arbuthnot described Calico Bush as "unusually strong." It is a "model for solid historical fiction." The image of time and people is not only authentic, but also unusually balanced. "

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Cech (ed): American Writers for Children, 1900-1960 . Gale Research, Detroit 1983, p 173. .
  2. ^ "The inspiration for Calico Bush probably came from the story of Marguerite La Croix, who with her husband, John Stanley, moved from Marblehead after 1767, with their many children and became the first permanent residents of Little Cranberry Island. Just north of the 'Head' their hearthstones still lie undisturbed in the field, and they themselves are buried on Maypole Point. "Margaret Lane: Rachel Field and Her Contribution to Children's Literature. In: Siri Andrews (ed.): The Horn Book Magazine 1963: 13. [1]
  3. ^ Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present . American Library Association . Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ "a really good book, simple in its narrative, meaty, sincere". Henry Canby: The Children's Bookshop. In: Saturday Review , December 12, 1931: 369. [2]
  5. ^ "Adult readers as well as boys and girls will be grateful to Rachel Field for this fine and absorbing tale." Rachel Field: Calico Field . Simon and Schuster, 1987, p. Back cover.
  6. ↑ "unusual and powerful." May Hill Arbuthnot: Children and Books, 3rd. Edition, Scott, Foresman, Chicago 1957: 152.
  7. ^ "Model of sound historical fiction. The picture of the times and the people is not only authentic but unusually balanced. "May Hill Arbuthnot: Children and Books, 3rd. Edition, Scott, Foresman, Chicago 1957: 478.