NEWBERY WINNER

I read this as a kid, and I remember really liking and relating to Caddie's tomboy antics, but I also didn't like it for some reason. I didn't remember why, but I didn't obsessively read it over as I did the Little House books.

Having read the book in almost a single sitting today, I understand why I disliked the book: in the end, Caddie resolves not to be a tomboy anymore. How annoying. That would have felt like a betrayal to me as a tomboy reader.

As an adult, however, the Native American depictions also stood out as annoying. The book really does not hold up well. I suppose the one major positive is that Caddie is on the side of the local tribe and risks herself to save their lives (the ol' white savior trope), and bluntly states that she was more afraid of the other white settlers than the Indians. That feels darn progressive for 1935, but really, everything in the subplot feels very Hollywood and cringey.

I now live not far from where the inspiration for the book, the author's grandmother, grew up. I'd still like to visit the site someday, simply because it's interesting to see a place that connects to a childhood book. ( )

AR: 6.0

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.

Leaves some cultural sensitivity to be desired but overall not too bad, especially when compared to other *cough laura ingalls cough* books depicting the same time period. ( )