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Jul 11, 2011

Dolly rated it:

Nicely illustrated story with a wonderful message. A young girl tells her grandfather that she wants to go to faraway places and when she grows up, to live beside the sea. Her grandfather's reply:

"That is all very well, little Alice," said her grandfather, "but there is a third thing you must do."

"What is that?" asked Alice.

"You must do something to make the world more beautiful," said her grandfather.

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2009

Jenna rated it:

My mother read me this story when I was a child and it greatly impacted and inspired me. I carry this story with me-and intend to read it to my kids. It reminds me of Maine and my favorite flower as well-and it reminds me that even the smalled action can make the world a little better!

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 10, 2008

Anastasia rated it:

When I read this story for the first time, Miss Rumphius reminded me of my grandmother, who was then an older lady still making time to travel the world and see Egypt and other places that to me sounded mystical and exotic. She kept her own garden in the yard of her little house in Florida, and while her flowers were nothing like those in the story of Miss Rumphius they added a small touch of beauty to the place. The artwork in this story is itself a work towards adding beauty to the world: the More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 26, 2008

Rebekah rated it:

My favorite childrens' book - with a lot to teach adults too. This gorgeous book tells the story of one person's quest to make the world a better place and teaches that everyone can do something, no matter how small, to improve life for everyone else. Plus I like to think it's set in Maine, which makes it even better. Please read this book, go forth and do something to make the world a better place. Even if you do not know yet what that thing might be.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2007

cat rated it:

i will always remember the first time i read this and i thought "i also want a house by the sea, and adventures, and to do something useful and good" and i am almost, kinda, sorta there :) such a good book for children and adults and pretty much everyone...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 30, 2010

Abigail rated it:

Growing up, Alice Rumphius dreamt of seeing the world, and then settling down in a little house by the sea. Confiding in her beloved grandfather - an artist like herself - Alice is told that she must do one additional thing: she must make the world a more beautiful place. Many years later, having lived her dreams, Alice sets out to fulfill her promise to her grandfather. But what can she do to make the world more beautiful...?

This was a sweet story - and the illustrations were simply More...

13 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2008

Mikejencostanzo rated it:

Alice Rumphius lived with her grandfather. She wanted to grow up to be just like him -- travel, live by the sea. He said she had to do one more thing -- "You must do something to make the world more beautiful." Throughout the course of the story, Alice grows up, travels, and moves by the sea. Still discouraged about her third life purpose, Miss Rumphius finally finds her own way to make the world more beautiful and to pass along the message of her grandfather.

This is a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 29, 2008

Erin rated it:

Category: Picture Book, American Book Award Winner
Audience: Ages 4-8
Brief Description: Miss Rumphius travels and strives to make the world a better place right on her own doorstep.

The beginning of this story did not pull me in immeidately. It starts out fairly wordy and my initial thought was that this isn’t something that would intrigue a child. However, after the first couple of pages when Miss Rumphius begins to explore and travel the reader becomes more intrigued with More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 11, 2008

Brenda rated it:

This is a children's book, but it really represents a lovely philosophy. Young Alice is told that there are three things she must do in her life:
1) She must travel to far away places.
2) She must live by the sea.
3) She must make the world more beautiful in some way.

She travels a bunch and then settles in a little house by the sea. She wonders how to make the world more beautiful and ends up growing lots and lots of pretty flowers.

I have traveled a lot More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 19, 2009

Heather rated it:

Miss Rumphius is a book about a very cool lady. She does great stuff and brings beauty into the world. This is the kind of book that grownups buy and read and think is great but it's not really for kids. Or it's for a very certain type of kid...hmmm. I'll have to think on it. But the illustrations are top notch by Barbara Cooney, as is the story, but it's more of a lesson than a story.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2012

Nancy rated it:

The Lupine Lady was not always an old woman, a long time ago, she was a young girl named Alice. She loved spending time with her grandfather, an artist, and in the evenings he would tell her stories of is travels and faraway places.

Alice dreamed of living by the sea and traveling to distant places, but her dear grandfather told her that there was a third thing that she must do. Alice must also make the world a more beautiful place.

That is quite an undertaking for a young gir More...

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Mar 07, 2011

akibird rated it:

Miss Rumphius.
Cooney, Barbara (author).
Nov. 1982. 32p. illus. Viking, hardcover, $13.95 (0670479586). Ages 4-8.
REVIEW. First published March 7, 2011 (Akibird).

As a winner of the American Book Award and New York Times’ Best Book of the Year, Miss Rumphius is the beautiful tale of Alice, who longs to be like her grandfather by traveling the world and growing old by the sea. However, her grandfather encourages her to accomplish a third task: make the world more b More...

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Jan 21, 2010

Cindi rated it:

This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while and I keep bumping into the title here and there so I decided to read it.

I could almost believe this story to be a true one considering how lupines grow in the Spring in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They are called garden lupines and are said to be runaway plants from early gardens.

I expected to be more charmed by the story than I actually was. I agree that people should try to make the world a more beautiful More...

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Sep 13, 2011

Brenna rated it:

Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius tells the story of a little girl, Alice, who lives with her grandfather. She listens to the tales of travel and a home by the sea and determines to follow suit. "But," says her grandfather, "that is not enough, there is still one thing more you must do." Alice must find a way to leave the world more beautiful and she does.

Barbara Cooney's beautiful watercolor and pencil illustrations set the tone for the simple, elegant prose of h More...

1 comment like

Jul 07, 2010

Lisa rated it:

Thanks to Goodreads friend Abigail who recommended I might continue considering giving this book a try, despite her rather lukewarm response to it and (perfectly valid) criticisms of it. I have an additional criticism to the ones Abigail listed, but its minor, very minor, and doesn’t detract from the wonderful illustrations, which for me are the heart of the book. I’d have been happy had this been a wordless picture book!

The illustrations are incredibly lovely. They’re all beautiful. More...

16 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 12, 2007

Karey rated it:

Even as a parent reading this over and over to my children while we lived in Vermont, I was so effected by the notion that the seeds we sow are enjoyed by others far beyond our ability to comprehend, that I planted lupine seeds in our garden just to remember that small truth. Lupines don't grow here in Utah like they do back East. I miss the East coast. Sniff.

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 18, 2011

Samantha rated it:

Miss Rumphius and her grandfather are inspiring characters! Traveling the world, living by the sea, and making the world a more beautiful place are creative goals. These goals propel the story forward and leave room for us, readers, to wonder how our little narrator will accomplish her mission to fulfill these three goals. Most of the illustrations have an ideal and delicate sort of feel to them, probably from the use of curving lines. However, the straight lines used in the illustrations of the More...

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Jun 17, 2009

Mamamaggie rated it:

'that is all well and good little alice, but there is a third thing you must do- you must do something to make the world more beautiful'
this book was given to us, I cannot recall by whom. but we very much like the idea. alice, lived her life and went all over and then in the end had to take her grandfathers advice. she chooses to do this with lupines, and sowing them all over her town. i love this idea and have even bought some lupines to do the same with. we shall see if we can cover the More...

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Jun 05, 2009

Cheryl rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 02, 2011

Mckinley rated it:

A new heroine! An aunt and a one time librarian and a gardener. All with an inspiring message.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 18, 2009

Barbara rated it:

I typically only rate the books I love, so most of my ratings on this site for pre-school/young readers will be 5-star reviews. Miss Rumphius is a fabulous book and all around great life lesson on how everyone can make the world a more beautiful place. I want to plant Lupines in my garden as a reminder!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2009

Kayla rated it:

This story is a heart warming one. Out of all the childhood books I had as a little girl, this was my absolute favorite. At my gentle yet demanding request, my mother would read this book to me every night. The bond we fostered with this book is still fresh and dear to me to this day. I will never forget how the illustrations captured my imagination. Every time I would read this book I would want to plant lupines, just like the lady in the story. I wanted to make a difference like she was, make More...

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Jul 02, 2011

Kristen rated it:

Miss Rumphius
Reading Level: Easy Reader, Ages 4-8
Genre: Exploration

This is a sweet story that chronicles the life of a woman. It’s about growing old, and traveling and living your life. As a little girl Miss Rumphius wanted to travel the world and lastly do something beautiful. The pictures are a focal point of the book with their beautiful landscapes that are shown through all of her travels. While she does visit other places besides the northeast, the picture More...

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Oct 12, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

Oh, my HEART. I loved this book as a kid, and I love it as an adult. I identified SO MUCH with Alice Rumphius, with her desire to travel and see faraway places and have adventures and live by the sea, and I swear to god the only thing my family wanted for me (from me? hard to tell) was for me to make the world a more beautiful place.

So. Uh.

Hi.

Some other people on goodreads have mentioned the ecological implications of Miss Rumphius' scattering of the lupine se More...

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Jul 14, 2009

Heidi rated it:

A simple book with pretty pictures. I love the landscapes, the gentle colors, and how some of the tender, quieter moments are portrayed. An interesting story. Told well, too. A nice idea about being sure to make the world more beautiful.

But maybe it's just because I haven't been in the greatest of moods lately and can't help thinking: what's with ANOTHER book about a librarian who never gets married!? I have never liked the stereotype of that. Even more so because I can't break it m More...

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Jun 17, 2009

TheGiftofaBook rated it:

This book is a gift to read aloud to children. My two girls, ages 3 and 6, sat intently and listened to this story about an eccentric women who realizes her purpose and follows the instruction given by her artist grandfather during her youth. "You must do something to make the world more beautiful." Miss Rumphius carries an important message and is really a green book. It sends the message that we all should do something to make the world a better place. It opened this discussion i More...

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Aug 13, 2010

Philitsa rated it:

I love this book, for myself and my kids. The main character resolves to spend her life traveling the world, settling down in a house by the sea, and making the world a more beautiful place. Those ideas were instilled in her by her grandfather, who did the same. When she gets old, she passes that down to other little kids.

So many kids' books focus on a little kid adventuring and don't highlight the importance of inter-generational relationships. Those are important in life, and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

Judy rated it:

What will you do to make the world a better place?

Good story about a young girl who wants to travel and live by the sea but her grandfather tells her she must do one more thing and that is to make the world a better place. So she becomes a librarian and then travels the world seeing many wonderful things and making lots of friends. She comes back to the states and settles into a house by the sea. She sows flower seeds to make the world a better place.

Simple story that could More...

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Feb 22, 2010

Carol rated it:

Year Published: 1982
Award: American Book Award
Age Level: 7-12

This book was about a woman who has to figure out how to make the world a better place as her grandfather tells her as a young child. Her whole life is spent doing what she loves and in her later years she finds that lupine flowers are her favorite and she goes around planting seeds all over town. People remark on how beautiful everything looks because of her planting. She encourages other young children to do a More...

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Jul 24, 2011

Roxann rated it:

What a wonderful child's book. The illustrations are lovely. The book centers around Alice Rumphius from childhood to elderly woman. She wants to travel the world and live by the sea. Her grandfather told her she also had to 'make the world more beautiful'.
Alice does travel as an adult around the world and making many friends. Later she finds a home by the sea. She still doesn't know how to make the world more beautiful, but one day looking out her window she sees what she can do.
A More...

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