Monday, July 27, 2009

Leaving the World a Better Place

There are some picture books so lovely, they are appropriate for all ages. They encourage us to be more than we are. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney is one of those books.

It is wonderfully illustrated, as I've come to expect from Barbara Cooney, but it is also a delightful story of Miss Alice Rumphius. She goes to school and travels the world, but knows she must do something more. She must make the world more beautiful, which she does in her own way. And so must we all.

I was going to buy this book (as much for myself as for the children), but by waiting patiently, I have received a perfect hardcover copy from PaperBackSwap.com! I had planned to plant lupines around the Range and read this book when they bloomed, but our garden took precedence and the lupines are still sitting in their seed packet. Perhaps now I'll read the book with the kids as we plant them next year.

Other books written or illustrated by Barbara Cooney that I have particularly enjoyed are Island Boy, Eleanor, Roxaboxen, Emily, and especially Ox-Cart Man. At first, I searched the library for all the books she wrote or illustrated and checked them all out. I suggest you do the same.