Amazing Books In Which Nothing Much Happens

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. HarperCollins, 1932.

The opening chapter sets the stage in this story of wilderness survival and historical family life. There’s not much character development at first, but amazing detail of living on the rustic frontier pull the reader onward. Really, not much happens at all. Yet when I finished this book, I rushed back to the library to get the rest of the series (though I'd read them as a child as well)! Why did they so capture me?

Some items of note:

• Within the book there are many family stories, which gives a feel of leaving a legacy and adds to the believability of the whole.
• There’s a strong theme of hard work without complaint—such a realistic view of that age (like Sarah Plain and Tall) and unlike a more modern book about times past (thinking of Catherine Called Birdy here) the focus is on the fascinating details of life, even hard life, rather than the whining and “waaah, life is so hard.”
• Devil is in the details: Laura’s character is understated/undeveloped. Or, rather, her person is wrapped up in the goings on of those around her. Very realistic for her age (very little differentiation from parents and home at that point—she really is defined by the goings on around her). I noticed that she changes in subsequent books as she becomes her own person.
• Despite a lack of development, Laura is still lovable. She’s not the “perfect” child (unlike Mary); she has flaws but is still sweet and thoughtful, eager to please.

Friends Forever: George and Martha

George and Martha by James Marshall. Houghton Mifflin, 1972.

Very similar to Frog and Toad in that it’s told in short tales, and “adult” characters who act and think like children, yet with a soft, sweet tone similar to Rosemary Wells.

In the stories two happy friends learn how to interact and be better friends though honesty and respect for one another. Valuable lessons for children. Each tale reads almost like a joke with an unexpected punch line at the end.

Interestingly, there are a number of more contemporary "versions" - or series - that aren't retellings, but are based solidly on the George and Martha model.

Too Tall for Truth: Tall Tales

John Henry by Julius Lester. Dial, 1994.

An authentic, engaging voice mingles fantasy with reality.

Pinkney’s vivid artwork combines with Lester’s picturesque text to make the telling of the story every bit as “larger than life” as the subject of the story. Lester fills his pages with word pictures, “bat wings on tombstones” and personification, the sun flossing, the wind out of breath. Yet he tosses in modern items, “like the school bus is never going to come,” which walks the line between contextualizing the fable and distracting from it (I’d vote for distracting).

But with other similes, “mountain as big as hurt feelings,” Lester touches the child’s world. A fabulous example of a Tall Tale capturing a bit of culture and history.