Rereading: BUTTONWOOD ISLAND by Lavinia R. Davis

Davis’s second book and my second favorite after “Hobby Horse Hill.” As you can see, I colored in some of the great Paul Brown line illustrations with crayons in my youth.

Lyb and Sandy Hardwicke are having a great summer. Their mother is recovering from an illness, but home with them again at last, and that means no more governess telling them what to do. Both children have horses they can ride, but Lyb is a bit afraid of hers, Sunny Jim, because he gets rambunctious. Sandy is happy to ride the plodding plow horse. One day they explore an area at the edge of their property they haven’t seen before, a small island in the Black River created recently during flooding. It has a huge buttonwood tree and an old barn in need of repairs. The two decide it would make a great place to visit regularly. Then they’re joined by another boy they haven’t met, Sig, on his horse Mliss. Sig and his father have just moved into the farm next door, also bordering on the island. After initial misunderstandings, the three become friends and decide to form a riding club on the island. But some strange things happen there. Some of Sandy’s Indian artifacts disappear, and a visitor tries to scare them away with tales of the island being haunted by an Indian brave called Black Feather. Then Sig’s horse is frightened and runs away. The children are determined to get to the bottom of these mysteries, even while helping each other with their horses, and taking part in horse shows. It becomes the most memorable summer of their lives, but then they learn the island has been sold. Is their time there over?

Excellent book if you can find it. Some of the Native American-related material like digging for artifacts wouldn’t fly today, but it’s of it’s time.

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