Ruth SawyerRezensionen

Growing up in a well-to-do family with strict rules and routines can be tough for a ten-year-old girl who only wants to roller skate. But when Lucinda Wyman's parents go overseas on a trip to Italy and leave her behind in the care of Miss Peters and Miss Nettie in New York City, she suddenly gets all the freedom she wants! Lucinda zips around New York on her roller skates, meeting tons of new friends and having new adventures every day. But Lucinda has no idea what new experiences the city will show her.... Some of which will change her life forever.

Bit too American for me

I really appreciated this author’s writing style. I found it very quirky and funny, and I thought she captured life through ten year-old Lucinda’s eyes quite well. And Lucinda was a very uniquely charming character to follow around. (She explains how addition sums are the best way to explain the word inevitable, for example.) There's a scene that really upset me, which I don't particularly appreciate, but it shows that I'm invested in the characters and their plight. I would recommend this one.

Lucinda is a different child, not conforming to certain "standards" her parents and Aunt Emily think she should. While her parents are away for a year Lucinda stays with less restrictive guardians and discovers that life offers good and bad, happy and sad experiences that will guide and mold her into adulthood. Worthy of the Newberry medal it won.

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When David's scientist father heads off to the battlefields of World War I, in order to study a new strain of bacillus just emerging in the soldiers, his mother accompanies his father and David himself is sent to the 'hill country,' where his former nurse Johanna now lives with her husband, Barney. These two good souls, both immigrants from Ireland, share their stories of the fairies with David, and soon he himself encounters one of these little people, in the form of the 'Locked-Out Fairy.' With the help of this magical guide, and prompted by his own loneliness, and his desire to find some sort of Christmas feeling, David begins to pay visits to the four other households on the snowbound mountain where he has come to stay. In each one he finds others who are also lonely, and feeling like exiles in this isolated place. There is Fritz Grossman, the German train signalman, who is shunned by everyone in the vicinity, because of his country of origin, and the outbreak of the war. There is old Uncle Joab, the African-American caretaker of the nearby lumber camp, who longs for former days in Virginia, and has only his fiddle to keep him company. There are the boy Alfred and his mother, who hail from somewhere in South America, and who are sojourning in the mountains because Alfred had been sick, and the mountain air was recommended by his doctor. And finally, there is Nicholas Bassaraba, the trapper who came from somewhere in southeastern Europe - most likely somewhere in the Balkans, given the story he shares, although Sawyer's geographic description is rather confusing, as she mentions Bassaraba' country being somewhere near both the Mediterranean and Prussia! - and who now lives by himself, far from anything he has ever known.

Each of these strangers make David welcome, and share a Christmas story with him, which he in turn shares with Johanna and Barney, softening the former's heart, and causing her to slowly reconsider her idea that all these foreigners and strangers must be 'heathens.' When the artist, Mr. Peter, unexpectedly arrives, David enlists his help in creating a most unusual Christmas celebration, one which will bring all of these strangers together in good fellowship. As he observes to this new friend, "Christmas isn't things - it's thoughts," and no thought is more important at this time of the year marking the birth of Christ, than love for one's fellow human beings. The Christmas Eve celebration is a marked success, and features another story of the season - the Irish folktale concerning Saint Bridget, and her magical journey to the Holy Land, to witness and participate in the Nativity - this time told by Johanna. When Christmas Day dawns, David's happiness is completed by one last blessing, in the form of the arrival of his mother, come home from Europe...

Originally published in 1916, at the height of World War I, Ruth Sawyer's This Way to Christmas is a poignant, hopeful tale, one which offers a strong rebuke to the acrimonious nationalism and disregard for common humanity that led to that conflict, and which situates Christmas, and what it represents, as an answer to those ills. It also offers a celebration of the idea of America as a place to which people of all backgrounds can come, and live together in peace. I found the inset stories presented by the characters fascinating and often moving. Barney's tale of Uncle Teig and his Christmas Eve journey with the fairies comes from Irish folklore, and is one I had just recently run across, in somewhat different form, in Eric A. Kimmel's Asher and the Capmakers: A Hanukkah Story. Johanna's retelling of the legend of Bridget is a story that can also be found in such books as Bryce Milligan's Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story. Some of the other stories, from the German tale of a Christmas apple, and how a miracle occurred when Hermann the clockmaker offered it as a gift to the Christ child, to Uncle Joab's tale of how Santa Claus allowed the animals to choose their own characteristics, were unknown to me. The story told by Alfred's mother comes from Spain - although she and her son are South American, the implication is that she was originally from that country - and is clearly a legend related to Three Kings Day, although Sawyer has gotten her dates wrong, situating the tale on Christmas Eve. One wonders whether this was owing to ignorance of the fact that Three King Day occurs in early January, or whether she changed it deliberately, in the belief that it would make her story more relatable for her young American readers. The story of the Romany (gypsy) people who sheltered the Holy Family somewhere in the Balkans, when they were on the run from Herod, was also interesting, as most scholars believe that this ethnic group began arriving in Europe sometime between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. The way in which the story is told reflects the now discarded idea that the Romany came from Egypt - thus, the name gypsies - rather than India.

In any case, the stories told by the characters here are interesting, and often moving, and are matched by the overarching story, which weaves them together in a narrative about appreciating the commonalities existing between seemingly different peoples. I appreciated this, and I appreciated the idea of Christmas as an idea, rather than just a collection of customs. I read the edition of this book that came out in 1924, and that featured the gorgeous color plate artwork of Maginel Wright Barney, something which greatly increased my reading pleasure. All that said, my enjoyment of This Way to Christmas was not unalloyed, as Sawyer's depiction of some of her characters is heavily reliant on stereotype. This is particularly apparent in her depiction of Uncle Joab, who is referred to as a 'darky' and 'n*gger' on more than one occasion, and who speaks in the broken dialect often assigned to African-American characters in vintage children's fiction. Although it is very progressive, on the one hand, that in 1916 Sawyer had her other characters welcome Uncle Joab into their midst, as one of themselves, the manner of his depiction is anything but progressive, and is an unfortunate mark of the times in which the story was created. In one very uncomfortable scene, he insists on waiting upon the rest of the guests, before eating himself, even when urged to desist. I have seen a review which mentioned reading this book to children, and omitting the dialect, the objectionable words mentioned above, and the scene in which Uncle Joab waits upon the other guests, and I think that this is a good compromise. The story here has undeniable worth, both in its telling and in its overall idea of Christmas as something that can bring people together, so I would hate to think it had to be discarded as a story for children, because of these objectionable elements. Older readers, of course, are capable of situating the story in its context, but for younger children, I would recommend this one only with adult involvement.

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This story tells about Christmas traditions in another culture.

Ex-lib. Croswell, Michigan library

Ex-lib. Dicken School Library (Ann Arbor)

[b:Roller Skates|984168|Roller Skates|Ruth Sawyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348023335s/984168.jpg|1327018] is the story of 10 year old Lucinda, who has been left in the care of family friends while her parents are in Italy for a year. From an affluent upbringing, Lucinda sees a new side of New York during this year without strict adult supervision. She spends most of her time roller skating through the streets meeting new and diverse groups of people. On first glance, I thought I would really enjoy this book as it seemed to have a similar main character as in other books featuring a precocious young lady (think [b:Eloise|782854|Eloise |Kay Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348009989s/782854.jpg|768864]). However, it just didn't live up to my hopes for the book.

Lucinda, though at times helpful and kind, is spoiled and demanding. She begs and whines if she doesn't get her way, which in the end she always does. Such a great example for young readers. She, also, keeps secrets from her caregivers as to her whereabouts several times through the book. For instance, she eats a picnic with a vagrant who she doesn't know and visits a woman with an abusive husband and decides to keep both of these a secret.

The authors prejudices are often seen, as well. As the book takes place in New York City during the early 1930's, Lucinda often meets immigrant workers, including Italians, Jews, Irish, and Chinese. These characters are often referred to as "low class". At the end of the book, Lucinda knows she will not be able to see these friends again, as her parents won't allow contact with them.

The book, which moves along at a fairly nice pace, suddenly accelerates towards the end summarizing several areas of the plot into just a handful of pages. This leaves the reader feeling that the author, perhaps, simply ran out of ideas for her character. About midway through the book, a woman, who is her friend, is killed and the incident is never mentioned again and is never told to her guardians.

I just simply don't think this book is appropriate for young children and I wouldn't recommend it to mine. With racism, murder, abusive, jealous spouses, and bad behavior on the part of the main character it isn't a winning book for me.

I read this as a child and loved it. I enjoyed reading it again. Set in NY in the 1890's. A young girl is left with one of her school teachers while her parents travel to Italy for her mother's health. She is a feisty, lovable character and enjoys the unusual freedom of life without servants and governess. She makes friends with everyone, and helps those she can. A sweet, old fashioned story.

I remember this as a childhood favorite

It was wonderful to spend this "Year of Jubilo" with the Wyman family. A delightful coming of age story. A tale of hard work and making a home in difficult circumstances. Really lovely. I wish the library owned enough copies for my book group to read this. I'm sure they would all love it.

I bought this at a library sale for my daughter, Anna. A sweet story with splendid and rich illustrations, it was published in 1944 during WWII. As I remember, we thought the story somewhat fanciful with Saints and whatnot, but still enjoyed it as a cultural story.

This book was good. It isn't a favorite of mine, but still good. This book is about a young girl who is sent to boarding school while her parents vacation in Italy. She ventures out through thy city on her roller skates making lots of new friends and learning new things. She gets herself kicked out of school and learns how to deal with tragedy when her friends die. I would recommend this book for older students, being that it is lengthy and deals with death.
I would have a literacy circle about the book.

The story takes place in New York City in the 1890s, during the year of 10-year-old Lucinda's "orphanage." That's Lucinda's term for her situation when her parents go to Italy and leave her in the care of Miss Peters and Miss Nettie. Lucinda, enjoying her freedom, explores the city on roller skates and makes friends wherever she goes. She reads Shakespeare with her uncle, puts on her own production of The Tempest, creates a magical Christmas for a little girl from an impoverished family, helps a family protect their fruit stand from attacks by rowdy boys, and has picnics in a vacant lot , among other adventures. Forbes does a good job with the reading, conveying Lucinda's enthusiasm but not becoming overly dramatic. However, the story suffers from age. Certain expressions and references are likely to elude most children (and even many adults). The obligatory tragedies (the death of Trinket, the unexplained murder of a woman Lucinda befriends) seem a little maudlin.

Summary of Book: This story follows the central character Lucinda and her time in New York City during the course of a year. It is set in the 1890's with a seemingly omniscient narrator with the story followed by journal entries after each chapter. During this time, Lucinda's parents leave her in the care of a Miss Peters to take care of the 10 year old roller skating girl. Through her adventures she makes many friends (like the policeman) as a caring, respectful and charismatic young woman. She is also relentlessly unselfish as she tries to get a local doctor into saving the character Trinket, in which the book touches on the risque subject of death and dying in the children's novel. In the end, she goes on one more skate through the park as it mentions that her parents will pick her up soon and she is convinced that remaining ten forever is the "perfectly elegant idea!"

Personal Reaction to the Book: I enjoyed this book for the most part. Being someone who grew up skating on roller blades at a very young age made me feel an instant connection for Lucinda's love of skating. I also felt like the expectations from her school days were a far cry from what teachers experience in the present time. For example, when Lucinda got into trouble for passing out candy and sent home sounded like the equivalent of a child getting suspended for fighting or even worse. Even though it is a fictional novel itself, discipline practices have certainly changed (for better or worse) in some cases it seems like.

Extension Ideas:
1. Have children write about how school has changed over the course of the past century in the United States. Have them make a list of pros and cons to support their writing and reasoning.
2. Allow children who haven't already, to experience what it may be like to get on roller skates (or blades) during PE or recess time. Discuss with them how this made them feel and how they think it made Lucinda feel in the book.

A Cottage for Betsy is a modern-day fairy tale, told by a master storyteller...imagine a royal young couple, much in love, but overwhelmed by the duties thrust upon them...with the Prime Minister's colluding, they are given a much needed holiday, disguised as average people, in a delightful cottage near the sea. Michael is secretly a car mechanic & poet. Betsy finds herself baking and cooking, as well as enjoying the village children who become their friends. Copyright 1954, I imagine Queen Elizabeth's 1952 coronation was in mind, and her marriage to Phillip "who she'd been in love with since she was thirteen".

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***

As I have been making my way through the Newbery medal winners of the 1920's and 1930's, "Roller Skates" is the first I found, for me, to be truly readable, enjoyable and moving in various ways. It is a chapter book made as simply as good stories are today for children, with a mischievous but good-hearted lead character surrounded by other interesting and unique characters drawn on from Sawyer's own well-remembered year of freedom in 1890's New York City. An unknown narrator introduces us to Lucinda as if from the future, looking back on that magical, tragic and eventful year. As the reader before me notes in pencil throughout the library copy of the book I read, a diverse cast of characters are introduced in flattering, stereotypical and prejudical ways, as in the case of Lucinda's "Chinee" princess. The story of the princess is heart-wrenching and the most off-putting aspect of the book. It is hard to understand its place, and how it would be understood by children, especially as the incident is made to just disappear, as Lucinda was instructed. Readers will have to judge for themselves.

Lucinda experiences both the gain and loss of friends in the book, through death, and through her return to her fully gentrified life and away from the hustle and bustle of the everyman near the boarding house where she lived as a well-loved "orphan" for one year. It is not until late in the book we learn Lucinda not only has parents away in Italy (which we know early on) but four much older brothers who had apparently not seemed worth mentioning earlier. Sawyer further explains Lucinda's background in her Newbery acceptance speech, which is the best speech I have read to date, in which Sawyer acknowledges that not everyone likes the book because of how it deals with death, and Lucinda assures her not to worry, children understand far more than we adults would like to believe.

What strikes me, is that as Lucinda is befriending all types of people - her Irish hansom cab driver, the Italian fruit seller's son, the rag and bottle man, the poor musician, the Black characters remain in the background, hardly acknowledged as people in the form of "Black Sarah" making their cakes or some other offhand mention. A sign of the times, certainly, but important not to ignore today with a more informed perspective on how people have been treated in the United States, and in children's literature, over time.

Certainly the story has the tone of an upper class lady who spent one year gaining perspective on the world around her, but I think this likely influenced Lucinda, as it influenced Sawyer, throughout her life. I do not know if children would enjoy this book today, as that New York City Lucinda rolled through is so long past, but the girl inside this adult did.

Perfect match of story and art. V. funny, and more. Same motif as [b:The Gingerbread Man|99081|The Gingerbread Man|Catherine McCafferty|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328746235s/99081.jpg|95521] but with an elaboration, a heart-tugging 'frame' story. Recommended for all who like folk tale adaptations and all who who have even one bone of nostalgia for classic picture-books in their body.

Roller Skates is the story of Lucinda, a wealthy young girl in New York City in the 1890s. Her parents spend a year in Italy, leaving Lucinda in the care of two local women. Lucinda enjoys her year of freedom from the restrictive environment of manners, learning to sew, and the rules of being a lady. Instead, she spends the year skating around the city on her roller skates having all sorts of adventures and meeting lots of interesting people.

I appreciated the spunkiness of Lucinda and her shunning of the prim and proper culture she was supposed to be a part of. There was this really weird part in the middle of the book. One of the people Lucinda meets is this Asian princess who seems to be under the control of an abusive husband. One day, Lucinda goes to the apartment of the princess and finds her dead on the couch, with a ceremonial dagger stuck in her chest. She runs to another apartment in the building, where the neighbor urges her to leave the building, report nothing, and pretend she was never there. The event isn't really mentioned with any significance again. What??!!

Overall, a somewhat fun adventure story, a strong, likeable female protagonist, but not really enough substance or engaging narrative to merit more than 3 stars. 1937 Newbery winner.

The setting of this book is in a hut that a father and his three sons live in. On Christmas a little man comes into their home unexpectedly and make the sons do tricks while their dad is mending shoes for soldiers to earn money. The boys are kicked out of the bed and told to do cartwheels to stay warm, while do so food and money falls out of their pockets. Once father comes home he tells his sons about the King and that every year he goes to one house and plays tricks on them. I believe the style of the book is a traditional folklore. The little man looks like a Leprechaun and comes with food and money. The story starts out as “Long ago there lived” which is very common in traditional folklores.