Product Description

Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brother's dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors -- neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all.

Caddie is brave, and her story is special because it's based on the life and memories of Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn. Her spirit and sense of fun have made this book a classic that readers have taken to their hearts for more than seventy years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20178 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781416940289
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
At age 11, Caddie Woodlawn is the despair of her mother and the pride of her father: a clock-fixing tomboy running wild in the woods of Wisconsin. In 1864, this is a bit much for her Boston-bred mother to bear, but Caddie and her brothers are happy with the status quo. Written in 1935 about Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother's childhood, the adventures of Caddie and her brothers are still exciting over 60 years later. With each chapter comes another ever-more exciting adventure: a midnight gallop on her horse across a frozen river to warn her American Indian friends of the white men's plan to attack; a prairie fire approaching the school house; and a letter from England that may change the family's life forever. This Newbery Medal-winning book bursts at the seams with Caddie's irrepressible spirit. In spite of her mother's misgivings, Caddie is a perfect role model for any girl--or boy, for that matter. She's big-hearted, she's brave, and she's mechanically inclined! (Ages 9 to 12)

From the Publisher
Caddie Woodlawn, which has been captivating young readers since 1935, was awarded the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Now it is in a brand-new edition with lively illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman. In her new foreword, Carol Ryrie Brink lovingly recalls the real Caddie, who was her grandmother, and tells how she often "sat spellbound, listening, listening!" as Caddie told stories of her pioneer childhood. Children everywhere will love redheaded Caddie with her penchant for pranks. Scarcely out of one scrape before she is into another, she refuses to be a "lady," preferring instead to run the woods with her brothers. Whether she is crossing the lake on a raft, visiting an Indian camp, or listening to the tales of the circuit rider, Caddie's adventures provide an exciting and authentic picture of life on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s. And readers will discover, as Caddie learns what growing up truly means, that it is not so very different today. END

About the Author
Carol Ryrie Brink The late Carol Ryrie Brink was born and grew up in Idaho. Her mother was the daughter of a New England pioneer doctor; her father came to America From Scotland when he was twenty, and he was the first mayor of the small town of Moscow, where she was born. Mrs. Brink lived and traveled in Europe for several years; the European setting appears in several of her books, including her first children's book, Anything Can Happen On The River, an adventure set in France. She says, "Some of my books, such as The Pink Motel, have been creations of my fancy; but even in these books I like to preserve a core of reality and some sort of tie-in with my own personal experience. The first hand element gives satisfaction to both author and reader in any fictional re-creation. Books which lack the author's own experience of living rarely move the reader." Carol Ryrie Brink has written two dozen books, both for children and adults, many of which have been translated into foreign languages.

Customer Reviews

An inspiring role model
While I get a little antsy reading frontier stories with their detailed descriptions of prairie life, the Woodlawn children's adventures and loving family provided a fairly interesting read. I enjoy Caddie's determination to be a tomboy, despite her mother's wishes, and I love that her father only encourages it. Caddie's bravery (when warning her Indian friends of a white men's attack), kindness (spending her entire silver dollar to cheer up on her motherless classmates), and eventual understanding (of her pesky little sister's loneliness and her own need to be a mature young lady in her own way) make this an inspiring book. I also like that the bully turns out to be not so bad, and that the Woodlawn boys learn "female" chores like quilting in order to spend time with Caddie when she decides to broaden her interests. I especially like Caddie's final thoughts: "How far I've come! I'm the same girl and yet not the same. I wonder if it's always like that? Folks keep growing from one person into another all their lives, and life is just a lot of everyday adventures. Well, whatever life is, I like it." The backdrop might be different, but the lessons and values portrayed in this book are just as applicable today.

Ode to Caddie Woodlawn
The most remarkable thing about the book Caddie Woodlawn is that it is a true story! The real-live person named Caddie Woodlawn was 82 when the book was published by her grand-daughter in 1935. By writing down the stories told to her as a child, Carol Ryrie Brink captures her grandmother's life as a girl growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860's. Caddie Woodlawn is a tomboy and likes nothing better than to go on adventures with her brothers Tom and Warren. She comes from a large pioneer family of seven children. Her older sister Clara is always acting more lady-like than she, and her younger sister Hetty is always tattling on her. Caddie has a fierce independent streak, and we discover what life was like on the frontier as we accompany her to school, and on visits to the neighboring Indian village. The book reveals the often tense relations between Native Americans and the European settlers. Because of her friendship with Indian John, Caddie alone is able to restore peace to her settlement by taking action before the frightenend white settlers attack the Indians. By the book's end, Caddie's refined cousin Annabelle comes from Boston, and Caddie the tomboy learns that maybe a few lady-like activities such as quilting aren't so bad after all. Any teen today will look up to Caddie for her self-confidence and bravery, and see their own rites of passage reflected in Caddie's experiences.

Move Over Laura, Caddie is Pioneer Adventure at Its Best
Caddie Woodlawn is an oft-overlooked childhood adventure of rural American life (in Wisconsin) during the Civil War. These true stories were told within the family by Caddie herself until her own granddaughter compiled them into a best-selling book around 1930. Don't let the date set you off - this is a real page turner with something in it for everyone. It has stood the test of time remarkably well.

Caddie and her family grew up in Boston, but made the drastic change to rural life a few years before the story begins. While Caddie's mother encourages a high level of civility in the rough wilds of western Wisconsin, her father is permitted to allow Caddie to grow up running around with her brothers because of concerns of a sister who died of consumption. Caddie is quite the tom boy in her pre-teen years, but what a delight to see her world through these eyes... adventures with curious Indians, a mischievous uncle, loyal siblings, school bullies and a simpler life. Especially touching is Caddie's relationship with her understanding father, whose unusual past is revealed in a surprising fashion to the children.

Great for children and adults (like me) who missed it the first time around! By the way, you can visit Caddie Woodlawn's house when you're in the vicinity of Menomonie, Wisconsin. There's not a lot to see, buy our family really enjoyed the experience.