Module 2: Miss Rumphius

Miss Rumphius
written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Book Summary: 

Miss Rumphius  is the story of Alice Rumphius, who as a child decided she wanted to have a life like her beloved grandfather and travel to many faraway places and then live by the sea when she became old. Her grandfather gives her his blessing but also adds that Alice must try to do something to make the world more beautiful. Once Alice grows up she fulfills her dream of traveling to faraway places and has many great adventures visiting tropical locations, climbing mountains, and riding camels across the desert. She eventually settles down and lives in a cottage by the sea where she ponders how she will fulfill her grandfather's edict to make the world more beautiful. After a spring spent in bed because of health problems, Miss Rumphius discovers the lupines she had planted the summer before kept her spirits high as she saw them through her bedroom window and that her flower seeds had also spread because of the wind and the birds. At this moment she realizes she can make the world more beautiful by spreading lupine seeds across the countryside and throughout the town. She sprinkles lupine seeds wherever she goes and succeeds in making her part of the world more beautiful for all of the town to enjoy. The story ends with Miss Rumphius passing on the special message to make the world more beautiful to her niece.

Cooney, B., Cooney, B., & Viking Press. (1982). Miss Rumphius. New York, NY: Viking Press.

My Impressions:

I never read this book as a child, but I wish I had! I loved the message in the simple story and the illustrations were very well done and would appeal to young and old readers alike with all the bright colors. I walked away from the book feeling as though the "lupine lady" had lived a very rich and full life and accomplished her goal of making the world "more beautiful." I, too, felt compelled to remember my childhood ambitions, and make strides to begin to do something to make the world a better place. I also thoroughly enjoyed the independence of Miss Rumphius. It was quite refreshing to read a children's book with a strong female character. Miss Rumphius never mentions falling in love or having a family, which are traditional female roles in children's books. Instead, she has great adventures traveling all over the world and eventually settles down by the sea before fulfilling her life's purpose to make the world more beautiful.

Professional Review:

You might almost believe that Barbara Cooney had a Great-Aunt Alice Rumphius who did just as we read here--else why go to the trouble of spinning out a yarn, composed of transparent storybook motifs (an elderly grandfather who carves ships' figureheads; travels to exotic places; a solitary cottage by the sea), just to arrive at an old lady who strews lupine seeds about? Ostensibly, she's fulfilling her promise to her grandfather to ""do something to make the world more beautiful""; in Barbara Cooney's precisionist Maine coast pictures, the drifts of lupine blooms are a tribute to the lupine lady per se. It's a lovely notion, in short, if not much (or too much) of a story.

[Review of the book Miss Rumphius, by B. Cooney]. (1982, Oct. 11).  

     Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com .

Library Uses: 

This book would tie in wonderfully with an Earth Day celebration in the library and as a discussion starter for students on the importance of doing things for others and your impact on society.