This book tells the story of Alice Rumphius, who in the late 1800s longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful. After traveling the world (including Egypt, Indonesia, and Tunisia), an injury causes her to return to America, to a house by the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. However as she grows older, she wonders what exactly she can do that will make the world more beautiful. What she decides upon is wandering throughout Maine, strewing lupine seeds everywhere she goes. The story is actually based on the real Miss Rumphius, Hilda Edwards Hamlin, also known as the Lupine Lady, due to the lupines that grew in the wake of her walkabouts.
Barbara Cooney, who also did the illustrations for Roxaboxen, I think does a fantastic job on this book. The story has a beautiful message; I think the world would probably be a far better place if we all planned on doing something to make it more beautiful. It also made me want to go on the adventures Alice went on; going to all those distant locales and coming back to be the type of old lady that children flock around to hear all the stories. And the art is breathtaking; I live for Alice’s clothing and hair. Ever since I was a child I have absolutely loved the entire Gibson girl aesthetic; I could never carry it off, but I would absolutely love to.
If it was an adults’ book I would say it was a cozy read, good for curling up with on a rainy day, cup of tea on the table and cat on your lap. Because it’s a children’s book, I will just say it’s a book that will remind you that those dreams you had when you were younger can come true at any age.
(The art for Miss Rumphius has a permanent home in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.)
“I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting. …It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand. ‘…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.’ So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to, or draw down to, children.
(from the author’s acceptance speech for the Caldecott award)”