Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill
Source of Miscellany: This is one I’ve owned for years. I think I bought it for myself after liking it as a child. It was unavailable for awhile, but now appears to be readily available from Amazon along with three others in the series that I haven’t seen since I was very young, if I saw them at all!
Why this book? I’ve been firmly instructed by my doctor to avoid stress right now. I’m remembering this as a sweet family story.
Happy Little Family takes place in Kentucky at the turn of the century. The family isn’t quite little by our modern standards, with 5 children ranging from nearly grown up 12 year old Althy to our heroine little 4 year old Bonnie. Each chapter is its own story about Bonnie and her desperate need to grow up right now. In some chapters she finds there’s plenty good about still being small (like not having a beautiful new hat drop into the stream, instead having a sunbonnet tied safely under your chin), in others she’s nearly heartbroken by being behind everyone else (like when they’re all skating and she can’t). None of the chapters are particularly scintillating, but it’s good, sweet old fashioned writing. This should appeal to fans of: Little House on the Prairie, although without quite as much pioneering fun; Betsy-Tacy but without the wild imaginations. It’s definitely on the vanilla side, but you know, there’s a lot to like about vanilla.
Other considerations: One chapter is about how the children collect arrowheads, Indian tomahawks and other tools. Pluses: Father says the Indians were brave, very often wise and the one who made the dogwood arrowhead is an artist. There’s some stereotyping there but it’s much more positive than you usually see in a book of this vintage. Minuses: There’s nothing pointing you towards asking the question of what did happen to all the Native Americans in the area. Chris is afraid that a noise he hears after dark may be a Native American. At the end Father tells the child who wins the arrowhead that the child is “wiser than most of them”, meaning Native Americans.
Great for: Reading aloud to little ones that can sit through bits of a chapter book. Since Bonnie is so young even your younger listeners will understand how she feels. This is also a great pick for K-1 advanced readers. While it’s probably on a beginning chapter book reading level, it’s got plenty of pictures and wholesome content. This is also a great father-daughter relationship. Mother is important, but Father is often the one to rescue small Bonnie and seems to know just what to say.
Prayer alert: Father hears Bonnie say her “Now I lay me down down to sleep.”
Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – Emmy cuts her knee on a rusty nail and must have it cleaned with turpentine. Mr. Watterson and Father carry rifles when they have to go up the mountain. Chris uses a knife to sharpen pencils.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – There’s a close encounter with a rattlesnake.
