Book Review: “Thimble Summer” by Elizabeth Enright (1938)
Ever since our move overseas, I’ve been a little bummed that my habit of reading aloud to the kids has sort of died away. My kids (12, 13) no longer share a room, and the configuration makes it no longer feasible to read to them both in bed at night—or to wake them up in the morning with a chapter, either! It’s sad.
Even transitioning to homeschool hasn’t made it easier to read aloud to them, because it’s just not the same—daytime in the living room vs. nighttime in bed. They both love to read on their own now, so for that at least, I’m happy.
I’ve discovered a new approach, though, which has been working so far: I get the kids to choose one book each they’d like to read on their own during the week. I then read both books as well—each of us reading at our own pace—and then we take opportunities to discuss it throughout.
Choosing Thimble Summer
My daughter selected the 1939 Newberry winner, Thimble Summer, from our skimpy shelf of books here. She was drawn to it because of the “magical thimble” described on the back cover. Alas, the story isn’t a magical fantasy tale, so she was disappointed at first. She enjoyed in the end and had no complaints, other than “they shouldn’t have said magic.”
I, on the other hand, enjoyed the book because it wasn’t magical. Instead, it’s a down-home comfort story of life in the 1930s. In fact, the main character Garnet was born in Wisconsin in roughly 1929, which is roughly 5 years before my own Wisconsinite grandfather was born. The fact that he died the week I read the book, well—it just made it all the more special for me to read and enjoy, as if Grandpa were Garnet’s younger brother Jay in the story, watching his sister’s events unfold from the sidelines.
Storyline and Comparison
Garnet’s an active nine-year-old girl trying to make the best of life during a drought. When she finds the silver thimble in a low-water streambed, things start to change for the better, as if the thing were magic (though honestly, we almost never see the thimble again). She gets into scrapes and adventures with her friend Citronella, meets new people like Eric, and experiences the joys of barn raising, harvesting, and the county fair.
Through all of her little escapades, I couldn’t help but compare Garnet to a real-life Pippi Longstocking. Neither as crazy nor as magical as Pippi, Garnet has the same wit and humor and adventurous courage as nine-year-old Pippi. Clearly, these traits add to her appeal, and when mixed with the genuinely joyful look at post-Depression/pre-War American Midwest, they make this an understandable Newberry win.
Final Thoughts
I was a little surprised by the non-mention of church in the book. Normally books from this era include Sunday rests and church as a natural part of life, but here it’s conspicuously absent. That may or may not be another reason it was considered for the Newberry Medal. The Bronze Bow aside, those winners seem to gravitate toward witches and (more modernly) “wokeism.” Admittedly, that’s a massive oversimplification, but it’s one reason I haven’t read too many Newberry winners!
I really enjoyed this book, and I’m glad my daughter selected it. My son chose Sweet and Sour, a collection of short stories from China, so now I’m off to see how that one reads.
©2025 E.T.
