One of my favorite memories of childhood is my mother reading to us. My dad would always sit and listen, too. She would read Bible stories and tales of the early Christians who died for their faith from Foxe's Book of Martyrs. But she also loved to read great fiction. I remember her laughing until she cried as she read us one of her favorite O'Henry stories, "The Ransom of Red Chief." And then there were the books by Gene Stratton-Porter. My two favorite Stratton-Porter books are Freckles and its sequel: A Girl of the Limberlost. I will have to reread Freckles later.
This is one of the most charming old-fashioned stories from a simpler time that I have ever read. It is filled with wonderful character qualities like honor, selflessness, diligence, and perseverance. Set in rural Indiana during the first decade of the 1900's, it's the story of a young country girl, Elnora, as she starts to high school in the city.
Her father died the day she was born and her mother blamed Elnora. So her entire life up to the opening of the story had been devoid of any kind of parental love. In fact, the only love she has ever known was shown her by a precious childless couple who live down the road.
Elnora spent her entire life exploring the great Limberlost swamp and surrounding forests. Through her constant observation of His Creation she learned many lessons that others missed. Her sense of wonder and awe filled her soul with true beauty and nobility.
As she entered high school for the first time, she was subjected to such cruelty over her awkward appearance and poverty that she came close to giving up on her dreams. Instead, she turns adversity into an opportunity to learn great lessons in character. She perseveres through all the challenges that confront her and finds creative solutions to raise the money needed to support herself.
Just when she comes to the end of any hope of ever having the love she craves from her mother, her world is turned upside down. Through a series of agonizing events, her mother recognizes the lies she has believed and her heart opens fully to her precious daughter.
The book could have ended there, and I would have been content. Instead, we watch as her life opens before her. Meaningful work, the continued pursuit of learning, the deepening bond between mother and daughter, and the friendship of a fascinating young man fill the second half of the story. As Elnora is faced with each new challenge, her character shines through. And through her willingness to treat others as she wishes to be treated, she is given the greatest desires of her heart.
I read this story to our older three children years ago and it is still one of their favorites. The younger four kids absolutely loved the book before this one, Freckles. And I look forward to being able to read this one to them soon. In the meantime, I decided to treat myself, since it has been several years, to reading it again this week. What a treasure! And it was a surprise to me as I neared the end of the story to realize that the last portion of the book is set in one of our favorite places on earth: Mackinac Island, Michigan. The last time I read it, I had not been there. Since then, we took a big road trip with all the kids to Michigan and spent a glorious day exploring the island. So as I read it to the next four kids, we will be able to look through our pictures from the trip. How fun is that?
This is one of those books that I will make sure each of our seven children has a copy of for their own libraries as they get older. It just never loses its charm.
#4 in the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge
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