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Summary
Summary
This stunningly beautiful picture book from New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Eliza Wheeler is based on her grandmother's childhood and pays homage to a family's fortitude as they discover the meaning of home.
Eliza Wheeler's gorgeously illustrated book tells the story of what happens when six-year-old Marvel, her seven siblings, and their mom must start all over again after their father has died. Deep in the woods of Wisconsin they find a tar-paper shack. It doesn't seem like much of a home, but they soon start seeing what it could be. During their first year it's a struggle to maintain the shack and make sure they have enough to eat. But each season also brings its own delights and blessings--and the children always find a way to have fun. Most importantly, the family finds immense joy in being together, surrounded by nature. And slowly, their little shack starts feeling like a true home--warm, bright, and filled up with love.
Author Notes
Eliza Wheeler grew up in northern Wisconsin in a family of teachers, musicians, and artists. Some of the strongest influences on her creativity have been the wild Wisconsin seasons, canoeing the Brule River, picking blueberries with her grandmother, and digging through the snow with her brothers. She received the SCBWI Los Angeles International Conference Portfolio Award for her artwork and Miss Maple's Seeds is her first picture book. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--Wheeler tells her grandmother's story. In 1932, Marvel was six when her father died and left the family to face the world on their own. Their intrepid mother moved her eight children and all of their belongings into a tar-paper shack in the Wisconsin woods. Together they worked to make the shack habitable, forage the woods for food and firewood, and plant a garden. Autumn brings canning chores and playing games made up together. They endure the harsh Wisconsin winter and emerge in summer to start the cycle again. Despite all of the hardships, this family built on love and determination not only survived but also flourished. This book will resonate with readers who enjoy reading about surviving despite adversity. The story is beautifully written and the art, done in ink and watercolors, reflects the Depression era in which it is set. Overall, it is a marvelous story for a class read-aloud. VERDICT This is an earnest, upbeat addition for any elementary or juvenile collection. Teachers can use this book to encourage children to tell their own family stories.--Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
Publisher's Weekly Review
Somber artwork by Wheeler (When You Are Brave) sets the tone for the opening of her Depression-era tale of a family forced to start over. Based on the memories of Wheeler's grandmother, the story follows six-year-old Marvel, her seven siblings, and their mother as they strike out into the forest, lugging bedding trussed up with rope and pushing a wheelbarrow full of pots and pans. "Dad lives with the angels now," Marvel begins, "and we need to find a new home." The tiny, ramshackle dwelling they spy in the woods looks forbidding, but there's a pump in the cellar and good soil for planting, all captured in delicate illustrations. Brighter hues start to creep into the spreads as the family settles in, discovers berries growing nearby, and harvests the garden ("Some treasures take a little time"). When the "marvelous things" at the general store prove too expensive, the children set up a play shop of their own, making sweets of mud and money of leaves. The family's ability to make do helps them survive the winter and greet the spring. With the lure of an old-fashioned shipwreck narrative, Wheeler's story champions initiative, self-reliance, and familial closeness. Ages 5--8. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Oct.)
Horn Book Review
When six-year-old Marvel, her seven siblings, and their newly widowed mother are forced to leave their farm and move into an abandoned tar-paper shack deep in the woods, it "doesn't seem like much of a home." As the seasons pass, however, Marvel and her family members discover the simple treasures their new life offers: in summer, a stream of "cool, clear water," good soil in which to plant their seeds, and a "blooming berry patch with sweet jewels of blue and red"; canning preserves in autumn and playing "General Store" (when they cannot afford to shop at the real one); an unexpected feast for the "kings and queens of the forest" after a successful winter hunt. By spring, Marvel realizes the shack "looks different now-warm and bright and filled up with love." Based on Wheeler's grandmother's childhood during the Great Depression (per the appended author's note), this tender tribute avoids sentimentality in favor of honest, child-centered observations. The illustrations, created with dip pens, India ink, and watercolors, cleverly point out details of the family's surroundings via labels (of the shack's contents, the children's chores, flower names, etc.); the text's descriptions are memorably poetic (glass jars of preserves and vegetables are stacked in the cellar "like buried treasure"; "snow falls in a blanket of diamonds"). Wheeler's precise figure-drawing style captures the difficult aspects of the situation and, using numerous shades of green, brown, blue, and yellow, contrasts them against the beauty and warmth of the natural setting. Cynthia K. Ritter November/December 2019 p.79(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Wheeler shares a poignant tale, based on her grandmother's childhood, of a Depression-era family's hard times.Marvel, 6, has seven siblings. Their newly widowed mother guides them, as they carry their worldly goods along, into the woods, where they find an abandoned shack. Though decrepit, it's got a root cellar, a functioning water pump, a wood stove, and a garden spot rich with leaf mold. As summer yields to autumn, Mum does chores for pay in town. The children draw lots for the home tasks: laundry (hand-scrubbed and hung to dry), wood-splitting, and more. A bountiful harvest engenders prodigious canning as the family prepares for the bitter weather ahead. While the children must buy only basic supplies at the general store, their doleful window shopping produces an inventive outdoor game, in which "We can buy anything we want!" Winter brings snow and cold, quilting, reading by the wood stove, and a wild-turkey stew. Wheeler's lovely ink-and-watercolor double-page spreads, in somber grays, sunlight yellow, and meadow green, evoke both the period and the family's stark poverty. The thin faces are gray-white, with dark hair and pale pink cheeks. Delicate visual details abound, from the sparkle of evening raindrops to Mum's side-buttoned apron. Marvel's ruminative narration takes occasional poetic turns: "Mum stays awake / into the night / whispering / to / the / stars."A quietly compelling look at an impoverished family's resourcefulness and resilience. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This book opens on an image of eight children of varying ages, formally positioned around their mother for a family photo in the woods. Labeled with everyone's name and age, the painting conveys everything about their situation: no father is present, household goods are piled around them, and the two oldest children lay protective hands on their mother's shoulders. From there, the story is told from six-year-old Marvel's perspective. Following her father's death, the family has become homeless, and having few options in 1932 Wisconsin, they set out to make a home of a deserted tar-paper shack in the woods. Together, the family survives as the seasons pass, until springtime brings new hope with Marvel able to view their shack through the same loving eyes with which she sees her family. Wheeler's evocative full-bleed illustrations, rendered with dip pens, india ink, and watercolor, draw readers completely into each page, creating a sense of personal involvement. The detailed imagery allows for the incredible efficiency of her poetic prose, which always finds the right note, striking a careful balance between melancholy and hope as the family rebuilds its life. Based on the childhood of Wheeler's grandmother, the story feels warm without being sappy or overly nostalgic, successfully making a bygone era meaningful today. Pair with Sarah Stewart's The Gardener (1997) for Depression-era interest.--Lucinda Whitehurst Copyright 2010 Booklist
