Cushman, Karen. THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE. New York: Clarion Books, 1996. ISBN 0395728061
Twelve-year-old
California Morning Whipple hates moving to the state of California just as much
as she hates being named after it. She
insists on being called Lucy and spends her days living in a cramped boarding
house in Lucky Diggins, a small gold mining town, scheming about how to get
back home to Massachusetts. Lucy can’t
believe her mom willingly brought her family across the country to live in the
dirt and grime, but soon discovers that a true home is more than just a fancy house
back in New England.
Karen Cushman’s portrayal
of life for a young family during the California Gold rush is both exciting and
heartbreaking, as readers follow the young narrator through the challenges of
starting over out West in the late 1850’s.
Lucy Whipple is a strong-willed character, whose quick sarcasm and passionate
emotions will have readers pulling for her throughout the novel. Her dramatic letters back home to her
grandparents are a humorous yet accurate depiction of just how different her
life in California was from the luxuries she enjoyed in Massachusetts. Through Lucy’s bold spirit and creative
solutions to her problems, Cushman creates a heroine young girls can cheer for and
relate to as the tale of her family unfolds.
The story’s plot is authentic and detailed, leaving young readers to
imagine what it would feel like to live in a cramped tent with strangers,
eating rabbits and squirrels for meals and working hard the entire day. Lucy’s life is far from glamorous, which is a
true portrayal of life in unsettled California during the mid 1800’s. Cushman also gives her characters accurate
voices that are true to the dialect of this era, which can especially be seen
in the voice of Bernard Freeman, a runaway slave who is seeking freedom in the
West.
THE BALLAD OF LUCY
WHIPPLE has a heartwarming message of finding your true self and following your
dreams. This attitude was exactly what
led some brave women, like Lucy’s mother Arvella Whipple, to leave the comfort of their lives and chase their dreams in California, even without
husbands or men to help them. The theme
of finding your place in the world and establishing a true home will still ring
true to young readers today who, like Lucy, may not always agree with what
their parents think is best. Lucy’s
fervor is evident in her precious books, which allow her to escape her harsh
reality and eventually even guide her to discover her true passion of helping
others realize the wonderful world of a book.
Her fate of becoming California’s first librarian was carefully woven
throughout the story, beginning when she meticulously recorded the borrower of
each of her books in the mining towns around Lucky Diggins. Cushman’s message is relevant and clear:
follow your heart and you will find your true home, whether it be in the excitement
of the unknown Sandwich Islands or in the thrill of establishing one of the
first real towns in California.
Karen Cushman’s THE BALLAD
OF LUCY WHIPPLE shines as a historical fiction tale of a young girl struggling
through life during the California gold rush.
Cushman includes an extensive author’s note at the novel’s end, which
points readers to more information on the women and children who ran west
searching for gold, instead of the usual men who history portrays in these
events. Cushman’s research was through
and detailed, giving THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE the authenticity to stand as a valid fictional portrayal of this time period. Children
will relate to Lucy and her siblings, crying tears with her for lost family members and hoping she finds a home where she can be happy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY gives a
starred review to this novel, calling it “a coming-of-age story with rich
historical flavor.”
“With zest and wit,
Cushman gives us the domestic side of the western frontier adventure – what it
was like for women and especially children…. Many readers will recognize their
own dislocations in Lucy’s reluctant adventure.” – BOOKLIST
“With a story that is less
a period piece than a timeless and richly comic coming-of-age story, Cushman
remains on a roll.” – KIRKUS REVIEWS
Winner of the John and
Patricia Beatty Award
____
Readers who enjoyed Lucy
Whipple’s tale may also like Karen Cushman’s other historical fiction novels,
such as:
THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE,
By Karen Cushman, winner of the 1996 Newbery medal, ISBN 0547722176
CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY,
By Karen Cushman, a Newbery Honor book, ISBN 0547722184
Karen Cushman’s website, www.karencushman.com, includes podcasts
on her books and a video interview with the author.
___
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