Jane's Island

by Marjorie Hill Allee, Maitland de Gogorza (Illustrator)

When seventeen-year-old Ellen comes to look after twelve-year-old Jane, she enjoys seaside and family life, and helps solve a bit of a mystery, in the scientific seaside village of Woods Hole, Cape Cod, during the nineteen twenties.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Mystery, Juvenile, Young Adult

236 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

This children's author grew up on an Indiana farm in a community of Quakers whose ancestors had migrated northward from the Carolinas to escape the environment of slavery. At the age of eighteen, having completed high school and two years at Earlham College, Allee taught all eight grades in the one-room school which she had attended as a child. The following year she enrolled at the University of Chicago, determined to become a writer.

Between 1929 and 1945 Allee published 14 novels for older juvenile readers. Her characters are usually young women just beginning to confront the personal discords and social problems of adult life. It is believed that Winter's Mischief was based on the Westtown School in Pennsylvania.

Working from memoirs and personal histories, Allee wrote six novels depicting Quaker families caught in the turmoil of changing values during the mid-19th century. These novels portray a vivid picture of American life between 1840 and 1875, and they present a multifaceted view of slavery.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1931, and chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1932 - the other honorees that year were The Fairy Circus , Calico Bush , Boy of the South Seas , Out Of The Flame and The Truce Of The Wolf And Other Tales Of Old Italy - this summer adventure story follows soon-to-be college sophomore Ellen McNeil as she comes to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to take up her very first job. Hired as a companion for twelve-year-old Jane Thomas, the adventurous, scientifically curious daughter of one of the summer researchers at the Woods Hole marine biology center, Ellen soon comes to care for the entire Thomas family, and to enter into their feelings of pride in Prof. Thomas' work. As the two girls enjoy summer in the small coastal town - tramping through the woods and meadows, swimming in the swift-moving channels (known locally as "gutters") between the islands - they also involve themselves in the work going on at The Laboratory, gathering the all-important planaria necessary for Prof. Thomas' work. When disaster strikes, and Prof. Thomas must be rushed to the hospital for an operation, it looks as if all of his summer's work will be wasted, until help comes from a most unexpected source...

I enjoyed Jane's Island quite a bit, immediately warming to both Ellen and Jane, and becoming happily involved in the life of the Thomas family, and the larger research community at Woods Hole. Ellen is a sympathetic heroine, while Jane, with her impetuous, tomboyish ways, evoked a strong sense of fellow feeling in me. The cast of secondary characters, from calm and kindhearted Miss Wareham, a biology teacher for fifty years, to cold and bitter Dr. von Bergen, a crippled German scientist who was once good friends with Prof. Thomas, but has now set himself as his chief rival, adds greatly to the interest of the story. I appreciated the fact that, although Dr. von Bergen is revealed as a far less villainous character than Jane initially believed, he is not entirely remade by the end of the book. The reader may have discovered that he is a decent human being, but he is still bitter and crusty. Having read two other Marjorie Hill Allee novels - Winter's Mischief and The Great Tradition - in which young girls and women devote themselves to studying biology, I was not surprised to see that Jane's interest in marine science is treated sympathetically in the story. I only wish Allee had written a sequel, in which she goes on to become a marine biologist!

All in all, Jane's Island was an engaging tale, one I would recommend to readers who enjoy summer adventure stories, as well as to those looking for tales featuring girls who love science.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was okay. I thought it was ridiculous (as did some of the characters though, so that makes it a little better), that a girl who had finished a year of college in Chicago came to the coast and there discovered that seals and squids weren't fish. Yes, I said seals. Were girls really that uneducated in the early 1930s? Maybe; I don't know.

Anyway, the girl, Ellen, gets a job to be a friend to a younger girl, Jane, and to keep her safe. She goes to a little town with a Marine Biology laboratory, where everyone in the town is somehow connected to this lab. There's a mean guy from Germany who turns out to be mean but still honest (oh, no! Spoiler!), but mostly it's about Jane just being who she is. Nothing really special about the story, and the very end felt like the author was trying to finish the book too fast. Oh, well.

But there was one thing I found fascinating. So the book was written in 1931, right? And they make a reference to how the answers to original research cannot be found in the back of the book. What did I learn from reading this book? Nothing deep. Rather I learned that 80+ years ago it was already common practice to put the answers to problems in the back of text books. :-)

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming book that features a 9year old girl who adores science.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant story about the summer when Ellen McNeill takes a summer job on Cape Cod in the village of Woods Hole. Ellen, 17, will be a college sophomore in the fall and her job is to "mind" 12 year old Jane while the Thomas family does their thing. Prof Thomas is doing scientific research with planaria (flatworms) at the Woods Hole Institute, Mrs. Thomas is doing house wifey stuff although she used to be her husband's lab asst, and teenage brother Walter works as a collector for the various in scientists in residence. Ellen is tasked with not letting Jane go wild, a somewhat difficult proposition. The girls range over the beaches, inlets, and islands, walking, swimming, and boating. They have several small adventures and one large one. Interesting fact: the scientific research at Woods Hole was and is a real thing. Today's Woods Hole Oceanograpic Institution was founded in 1930, the year before this book was published. I read this as part of my 2017 Reading Challenge and for my Newbery Challenge; it was an Honor book in 1932.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the older Newbery books are pretty dull and pedantic. This is NOT one of those! Jane's Island was an Honor Book for the Newbery Award in 1932. It's a delightful account of a college girl, Ellen, and the summer she spent at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She was hired to teach, mentor, accompany a young girl named Jane. I got a beautiful picture of the scenery, scientific work, people, and "feel" of the place.

Although the age of the book will tell you that there are some rather old-fashioned ideas in the story, Jane is a budding scientist and Ellen learns enough marine biology to become interested in studying Biology at her college. I would say this is one of the earliest fiction books for children that really encourages girls to study science. Jane and Ellen are both strong female characters with an interest in STEM subjects. I think many young girls would enjoy it!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would probably just be three states if it weren't an old Newbery, but it stands out so brightly in these early years of the Newbery Honor books that for stars it is. This reminds me of the Penderwicks, though there is more direct science. The story moves. The characters grow and are likeable. It did always astound me, though, how destructive science has been. Hopefully, this laboratory is more sustainable if it's still around now.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy little book about a college girl who gets a nanny job in Woods Hole, MA for a summer. The characters are good, but it's the setting that's the real star. Lovely descriptions of the bays and little islands.

[Desiree']

1932 Newbery honor book

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventeen-year-old Ellen comes from Chicago to Cape Cod for the summer to take care of twelve-year-old Jane, a lively girl who loves sea animals. When Ellen, Jane, and Walter (Jane's brother), and Jane's father, Dr. Thomas, meet an old friend of Dr. Thomas's, Dr. van Bergen, he seems hostile, and he asks Walter to get planaria for his experiments, but Jane knows he father needs them for his experiments. A group goes to the beach to roast marshmallows and sing songs, but Dr. won Bergen chides Dr. Thomas for being too sentimental and not working hard enough. Dr. von Bergen is from Germany, and the first world war had a negative impact on him, and he is trying to disprove Dr. Thomas's work that planaria which live in groups fair better than planaria living alone.
Jane and Ellen row a boat to an island to look for planaria. Mrs. Thomas has a tea party, and Mrs. Smith, who donates a lot of money to research, is there. Jane ends up being rude to her when she finds out Mr. and Mrs. Smith are planning to donate their money to Dr. von Bergen. The young people go to the gutter to swim, and when Dr. von Bergen tries to swim and struggles, Jane and Ellen try to help, and he and Ellen almost drown when Walter and Jim go out to save them.

Miss Wareham tells Ellen a place where more planaria might be found. Ellen and Jane boat out to look for the planaria and find them, and Dr. von Bergen helps them when their motor won't start. Dr. Thomas shares the planaria with Dr. von Bergen. Jane and Ellen make a birthday dinner for Dr. Thomas's birthday. Dr. Thomas has to have his appendix removed, and his work does not get funding from the Smith foundation. Jane thinks Dr. von Bergen is trying to destroy her father's work, but actually he is saving it. The end of summer comes, Jim looks forward to seeing Ellen in Chicago, and Jane wishes she had an island everyone could visit.

I liked the characters in this story, especially Dr. Thomas for have a lot of integrity and always trying to help Dr. von Bergen and speak well of his to the rest of the characters. The plot was interesting, too.

[Archy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane's Island was an unexpectedly interesting read. It follows tomboy Jane and her 17 y/o nanny/chaperone through a summer at Woods Hole Lab. The book gives interesting insight into what life was like for the scientist back before the NIH/NSF. It has the most explicit (and realistic) descriptions of what scientists actually do in any Newbery book, along with some pretty direct discussions about professional collegiality. The book is also clearly from the pre-antibiotic era. I'd recommend this book if some of these circumstances apply: you like 1930's children's literature, you are a scientist, you've been to Woods Hole, or you like looking under rocks at the beach.

[Collette Violette · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA pick from many, many years ago that takes place in Woods Hole, MA. Since I wanted to be a marine biologist growing up (but left the ocean state to go to school in the Rockies...) it was right up my alley.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the setting and most of the story including the scientific investigations and how the children help in collecting specimens but I found Jane a bit tiring at times. A realistic look at a summer and local activities on the coast.

[Monica Fastenau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-r...

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the title, I had to read this book! And I was not disappointed. However, the Jane of the title is not actually the main character; instead that is Ellen McNeill. Ellen has just finished her freshman year of college in her hometown of Chicago, and has been hired to look after twelve-year-old Jane during the summer months, which the Thomas family spends at Woods Hole. Dr. Thomas is one of the scientists who work at the laboratory there, while this summer Mrs. Thomas is busy with their new cottage — previously they had stayed in a "camp" — and teenage Walter is one of the young people who supply specimens to the scientists. Jane is fascinated by outdoor activities and resents growing up, especially when it involves dressing up. Her dream, she tells Ellen, is to have her own small island with a little house all her own, where she can do just as she likes. Both Ellen and Jane grow during their busy summer. Highly recommended.