Lumber Camp Library - Hardcover

Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060293217 ISBN 13: 9780060293215

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

To Ruby, there is nobody in the entire world more wonderful than her pa -- her log-riding lumberjack pa, who calls her "my little jewel" and comes home smelling of spruce and fir. And there's nothing Ruby would rather do than follow in her father's large bootprints, working in the lumber camp.

But a lumber camp is no place for an eight-year-old girl. She belongs in school, learning how to read and write. It is there that she discovers another passion-for the world that opens up to her in books.

Then, when circumstances suddenly change, Ruby fears she has lost the two things she loves most. Through her struggle, she discovers in herself the courage, the kindness, and the talent she so admires in her father.

About this title

About the Authors

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock is the author of sixteen distinguished books for children. These range from her first novel, The Canada Geese Quilt, an ALA Notable Book, to her popular picture book The Bear That Heard Crying. All of the stories have one thing in common: They are based either on the author's own life or on true stories passed down through the seven generations of her family that have lived in northern Vermont.

When she isn't writing, Natalie Kinsey-Warnock keeps herself busy as an athlete, naturalist, artist, book lover, bagpiper, and rescuer of three horses, seven cats, and eight dogs. She and her husband live in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

James Bernardin is a versatile and prolific illustrator of many acclaimed books for children. He has illustrated Laura Numeroff's Would I Trade My Parents?, Eve Bunting's Too Many Monsters, and Candy Chand's The Twelve Prayers of Christmas. He has also created artwork for numerous book covers, including Mary Pope Osborne's Tales from the Odyssey series.

James lives on Bainbridge Island in Washington State with his wife, Lisa, and two sons, Wyeth and Bryson.

Reviews

Grade 2-5-This spare and moving chapter book will hook readers from the first page. Ruby Sawyer, born in 1912, has lived her whole life in a Vermont lumber camp, where she idolizes her Pa, a logger. Then he is killed in an accident, and Ruby, her Ma, and her 10 siblings must move to a small house near town. In the midst of her loneliness and sorrow, the 10-year-old meets Mrs. Graham, a kindly blind woman who lets Ruby read her books. When the child begins teaching some of the loggers to read, she is on the path to discovering her life's work. While the "lumber camp library" of the book's title is not established until nearly the last page, the narrative builds effectively to that point. This story is gentle enough for beginning readers without glossing over the more difficult details of Ruby's life. The novel is long enough to get readers involved, but moves along quickly enough to hold their interest, and they will be transfixed by the strong and spirited Ruby.
Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-6. Young Ruby Sawyer is the apple of her lumberjack father's eye. He encourages her to learn to read and write so that some day she can become a teacher. His death in a logging accident makes life much more difficult--until the Sawyers meet Aurora Graham, a blind woman with a house full of books and an appreciation for learning. Mrs. Graham gladly shares her books and her large house, and in exchange Ruby and her family assist her with her household chores. Kinsey-Warnock's likable characters work hard to overcome the obstacles life has dealt them. The simple, direct language and short, accessible chapters will appeal to beginning chapter-book readers, although the story's themes are more appropriate to upper-elementary and middle-school audiences. This will be popular with children who like historical fiction; it's similar in tone to Patricia MacLachlan's Sarah Plain and Tall (1985). Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060293217
• ISBN 13: 9780060293215
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96
• Illustrator: Bernardin James