Module 3: Thimble Summer

 

Citation:

Enright, Elizabeth. (1966). Thimble summer. New York, NY: Random House Listening Library.

Summary:

At the beginning of a record summer drought, young Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble buried in an embankment, and decides the thimble must be magic. That very night, rain poured down breaking the long drought, and confirming Garnet's belief that the thimble brought good luck. Over the next few months, Garnet continues to see the thimbles "power" when her father receives a letter from the government approving their loan request for a new barn, a new addition to the family comes when an orphan, Eric, stumbles upon the family in the woods. To top off an already exciting summer, Garnet's little pig takes the blue ribbon at the fair, winning her a hefty monetary sum. She is eternally grateful for the lucky talisman, and dubs her summer experience as the "thimble summer."

Impressions:

This wasn't the most exciting book I've read/listened to as of late, but the reader (Joan Allen) made the journey enjoyable enough to get through. I do feel a modern day teenager would have trouble relating to this story if they managed to try the book out themselves, but getting them to pick it up would be a challenge from what I can tell.  I did enjoy the "generational" element with the presence of Citronella's grandmother that regaled the girls with fun stories from her old childhood. There were also some interesting tidbits in the story that help to paint a picture of life during the depression.

Usage in the Library:

This is a good book to link with a history lesson on the depression and its effect on farming during the 1930's. Students could journal from the perspective of a teenager living on a farm during the depression, and then journal from the perspective of a teenager in modern day living in a city during a depression.  This of course would be a hypothetical depression, but the recent economic downtown could serve as a good discussion point for a social studies project. The librarian could help students find relevant articles and biographies that provide information about the two different time periods, and give them insights that aid in writing their journal entries.  

Reviews:

The Newbery Award winning books of the 1930s went through an interesting phase that was never again to be repeated. Starting with "Caddie Woodlawn" (1935), continuing with "Roller Skates" (1936), and capitulating with the delightful "Thimble Summer" (1938) these books all followed spunky independent females with little to no regard for the traditional roles women had always carried. But while "Caddie" and "Roller Skates" were period pieces that ultimately ended with the girls giving in to society's restraints, "Thimble Summer" trumps this trend. In it, we have a farm girl named Garnet who has a load of exciting summer adventures and who ends her tale wearing sailor pants doing hand stands over and over again in a pasture.

The tale of "Thimble Summer" begins when Garnet finds a silver thimble in a nearby dried lakebed. According to Garner, the summer's wonderful aspects only take place after this key event. Her father receives a loan from the government allowing him to build a new barn. Her family meets and virtually adopts an adorable homeless boy. Garnet shows her favorite pig at the state fair and wins a blue ribbon. All these events are told with a marvelous simplicity and a real sense of being there with Garnet. From the very first page of this book, you notice the author's excellent writing style. About the heat of the summer Enright writes, "It was like being inside of a drum. The sky like a bright skin was stretched tight above the valley, and the earth too, was tight and hard with heat". You're in safe hands with this writer. Don't believe me? Here's another wonderful descriptive passage. "Her shoes hurt her; and with aching feet and her bundle and empty pocketbook she felt like an old, old woman coming home from seeing grandchildren who didn't love her".

But observe this book within its 1938 context. Here's a girl that does a boy's chores. We never see her darn socks or cook, though she's often seen working in the fields. She's nine or so, so she doesn't go about falling in love (not even with the adorable homeless boy). She wears pants most of the time, is never badgered by either parent to be more feminine and (the coup de grace) at the end of the story she plans to someday have a farm of her own. Fabulous. Then there are those wonderful little details about the past. Kids reading this book may not get the references to G-men, Zeppelin shaped balloons, or the running boards of cars. Fortunately these spots of the past are either self-evident or mercilessly scant.

Is the book flawless then? Almost. There are a couple tiny flaws here and there. The line drawings accompanying the text (drawn by the author herself) are magnificent. Unfortunately, there's one time they belie the text. If you've a child who's overweight in any way, this may not be the best book to show them. While Garnet's best female friend Citronella is continually called "fat", in the book's pictures she's the most average kid you've ever seen (compared to the waiflike Garnet, of course). Any child with body image problems is going to see the pictures, read the text, and come up with some pretty heart-wrenching conclusions. If Garnet is normal then... You get the picture.

I don't really understand why kids don't know this book better. Anyone who's ever wanted to live on a farm in the country would enjoy it. Anyone who's ever wanted to hitchhike like Garnet, spend a night in a library, or swim rivers on their own would like it. It's a pip, this one. It's got moxie. Don't forgo the pleasures of "Thimble Summer" simply because it's old. You'll be missing out on more than you could have possibly imagined.

Review Citation:

Bird, E. R. (2004, March 13). Summer Time and the Living is Easy [Review on Amazon of Thimble Summer]. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Thimble-Summer/dp/B001G8MAJO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372428082&sr=1-1&keywords=thimble+summer%2C+audiobook