Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator), Giovanni Boccaccio (Illustrator)

Product Details

Synopsis

Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brother's dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors — neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all.

Caddie is brave, and her story is special because it's based on the life and memories of Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn. Her spirit and sense of fun have made this book a classic that readers have taken to their hearts for more than seventy years.

Annotation

Chronicles the adventures of eleven-year-old Caddie growing up with her six brothers and sisters on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century.

Children's Literature

Although this Newbery Award winning novel was published in 1935, it's protagonist, brave and lively 11 year old Caddie, and her many exciting, humorous and sometimes dangerous adventures might still have appeal to young readers of both sexes. The book is based on true stories of the author's grandmother, who lived on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s. Caddie tries to reject her mother's attempts to turn her into a young lady, preferring to join and sometimes even instigate the deeds and pranks of her brothers. She stands up to a school bully, and gets revenge on a snobbish, visiting cousin. Unfortunately, this otherwise fine novel tries to portray Native Americans in a manner that would seem sympathetic for the times, but by today's standards would still be considered condescending and rather stereotyped.

Biography

Carol Ryrie Brink was the author of many books for young readers, including Caddie Woodlawn's Family, the companion volume to Caddie Woodlawn, and Baby Island.