Module 2, part 1 - Miss Rumphius

Bibliography

Cooney, B. (1982). Miss Rumphius. New York: The Viking Press.

Summary

In this book, the narrator introduces the reader to Miss Alice Rumphius, also known as the Lupine Lady.  When Alice is a child, she lives by the sea and hears stories about her grandfather’s many travels.  She decides that when she is older, she, too, will have travels of her own and then spend the rest of her days by the sea.  Alice’s grandfather makes her promise that she must also “do something to make the world more beautiful.”  When Alice grows up and becomes Miss Rumphius, she sets off on her travels to tropical islands, snow-capped mountains, jungles, and deserts.  Eventually, Miss Rumphius settles down in a house by the sea, and she remembers the promise to her grandfather to beautify the world.  Her idea comes to her when she is out for a walk and finds a patch of Lupines that had sprouted when seedlings from her own Lupine patch were carried away with the wind.  Ordering a large amount of Lupine seeds, Miss Rumphius scatters them wherever she goes.  Some people think her behavior strange, but when Spring comes again, Lupines are everywhere and she becomes known as the Lupine Lady.

My Thoughts

I loved this book.  It flowed really well and kept my interest throughout.  It reminded me that your dreams can take you anywhere you want to go.  I also liked the idea of making the world a more beautiful place.  Miss Rumphius’ grandfather made the world more beautiful through his art; Miss Rumphius made the world more beautiful through planting beautiful flowers; in turn, Miss Rumphius’ great niece will also make the world more beautiful in her own way. 

Reviews

“When she was a little girl at the turn of the century, Alice told her artist grandfather that she wanted, like him, to go to faraway places when she grew up and to live by the sea when she grew old.  He told her she must do one more thing as well: make the world more beautiful.  She travels and comes to live by the sea (after hurting her back while getting down from a camel).  As she nurses her back, she notices some lupines, her favorite flower; and she has the idea that will allow her to fulfill her promise to her grandfather.  Her great-niece, telling the story, concludes by promising her aunt to do the same three things.  This low-key tale of aspiration and idealism, of obligations to oneself and to the world at large, is perfectly accompanied by paintings that sound either a quaint-but-real old-fashioned, or a calm, unchanging pastoral, note.  Pictures of Miss Rumphius as a librarian (in a shirtwaist), in the South Pacific (with a parasol), or astride a camel show her to be cheerful, competent and composed.  She moves in settings that time or distance make exotic; but Cooney’s clear, detailed scenes are as neat and precise as an old woman’s memories.  And her lupines are lovely, even if one feels that the rugged shores of Maine really didn’t need to be made more beautiful.”

Dooley, P. (1987). [Review of the book Miss Rumphius by B. Cooney]. School Library Journal, 29 (1), 106.

Ideas for Use

This would be a great book to read before beginning an activity or service project in which the children plant their own flowers.