Miss Rumphius
by Barbara Cooney
“Miss Rumphius” by Barbara Cooney. Published by Puffin. A story of the determination of a woman who fulfilled her grandfather’s prophecy that she must make the world more beautiful.
Alice Rumphius is known as the Lupine Lady. Her story is narrated by her great-niece. The lupine lady is little and old now. But she was not always like this. Once upon a time, she was a little girl who lived in a city by the sea. Her grandfather had come to America on a large sailing ship. He worked in a shop at the bottom of their home making figureheads for the prows of ships and wooden carvings to be put in front of cigar stores. He painted pictures as well. Alice spent a lot of time with him helping him paint and listening to his stories of faraway places.
Alice wanted to travel far and wide like her grandpa. She too wanted to live beside the sea when she grew old. When she expressed her wishes to her grandpa, he added another thing for her to do. He wanted her to do something to make the world more beautiful. But she did not know how she could do that at that point of time.
When Alice grew up, she stayed true to her word. She left home to live in another city away from the sea. She worked in a library helping people find the books they wanted to read. She herself read books about faraway lands. She travelled far and wide. She came to be known as Miss Rumphius. How did she fulfill her grandpa’s wish? How did she make the world more beautiful in her own way? How did she come to be known as “the Lupine Lady”? Read the beautiful book to read about her life. The illustrations are way too gorgeous and make the story come alive.
My 7.5 year old loved the book. He found it fascinating and wondered if the book was inspired by a real person. We checked this online and found that the character of Alice Rumphius was modeled after a real life Lupine Lady called Hilda Hamlin who lived along the Maine Coast in US and Barabara Coney’s own experiences travelling the world. The book is apt for children aged 5/6+.
This 40 year old book is a classic. The book is one of those MUST READS and featured in the list of top 100 picture books published by School Library Journal. The book won the National Book Award for Children’s Books in the hardcover picture books category in 1983. Awards such as The Lupine Award of the Maine Library Association and the Miss Rumphius Award of the New Jersey Center for Books given to librarians and teachers who develop creative activities to support literacy education are named in honour of this book.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 5/6+.
Reasons to Read
This is a timeless tale of how one can make a difference in their surroundings and make it more beautiful.
For a visual feast of the gorgeous illustrations from the journey of Miss Rumphius.