Little Colonel in Arizona, The

The Little Colonel #7

by Annie Fellows Johnston

As the New Year dawns, the Ware children�Holland, Jack, Joyce, Mary, and
Norman�find themselves on a train to a boarding camp for their ill mother,
Mrs. Ware, in Maricopa, Arizona.
�
Soon their friend Lloyd Sherman, the Little Colonel, joins them in their cozy
wigwam home in the desert.
�
After a harrowing experience being lost in the desert and her first
experience of romance with the Ware family�s friend Phil Tremont, the Little
Colonel returns to Dixie a braver and stronger young woman in excited
anticipation of her experiences still to come.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Classics

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Annie Fellows Johnston (1863-1931) was an American author of children's fiction who wrote the popular "Little Colonel" series, which was the basis for the 1935 Shirley Temple film The Little Colonel. She was born and grew up in McCutchanville, Indiana, a small unincorporated town near Evansville, Indiana.

Reviews

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a series of Little Colonel books written ~1895-1912, with the Arizona title being #7.  Also there is a 1935 Little Colonel movie based on the books starring Shirley Temple.  Found this book while searching by keyword "Arizona" for podcasts, in the public domain audio books available from LibriVox, on 16 podcast episodes.   Also got the book on kindle where it was FREE, in hopes of seeing the illustrations though there were no pictures to be seen.

Of special interest to anyone living in the Phoenix area was the description of the Ware's family camp  – an adobe hut and two wigwams – located in the wild desert near Camelback Mountain, a major distance of 6 miles from "town."  The family goes on a picnic to "Hole in the Rock" now known as Papago Park, and there is also mention of a beautiful area on the other side of the mountain called Paradise Valley, now an upscale community.

I was entertained by this vintage children's series which I stumbled across by accident.  As with many  children's books of this era, there is a slightly moralistic tone about doing the best one can despite unpleasant circumstances and in this instance a great example of the dangers of gambling.

Here is the description of the book found on LibriVox:

The Little Colonel in Arizona

Annie Fellows JOHNSTON (1863 - 1931)

In The Little Colonel in Arizona the story is centered around the Ware family, who, after their husband and father has died, and due to the mother's illness, have to move from Kentucky to Arizona. Joyce now has to take most of the responsibility for holding the family together. She is having difficulties in coming to terms with the family's new existence, feeling lonely and that her dreams for the future will never come true. But when she learns to know an invalid at Lee's Ranch who tells her the “Legend of Camelback Mountain”, and she learns the “Lesson of the Bees”, she begins to see a new hope growing

A letter to Lloyd, “the Little Colonel”, has the effect that she comes to visit the Ware's at their Wigwam for a month. Here she meets the handsome and likeable Phil Tremont who stirs something in her heart, and she wonders if he might be the one written in the stars for her. But Phil, kind and likeable as he is, has his own problems and has to learn to handle them and to learn the “Legend of Alaka and the lost turquoises”.

Another important person who we get to know more of in this story is the talkative and entertaining little Mary Ware, who has an important role in other, later stories. (Summary by Lars Rolander)

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, General Fiction, Family

Language: English

Group:  The Little Colonel Series

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is even more enjoyable now that i've been to arizona!

[Laurie Bz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful, awful, awful! Of all the Little Colonel books I've read so far, this is the most egregiously racist, classist, sexist, you name it. While poor Joyce and her family are doing their best to get by in a difficult situation (father dead, mother so sick she is recommended to go to the southwest for the climate, they have to sell their house and move there), Lloyd is once again the paragon of cluelessness. When she arrives for a visit at "Ware's Wigwam" (cringe) to find Joyce and her brother doing the heavy work of laundry by hand, she exclaims, "I nevah thought of you doin' yoah own work!" And every other non-white group is insulted in so many ways--"Jap," "Chinaman" etc. They take a field trip to the Indian school where they are so impressed that the children are becoming "civilized" and Lloyd thinks they are now so peaceful they are "less of a threat than the negroes back home." A black waiter at a restaurant in town is addressed as "Sambo." Everyone is terrified of the "horrid Apaches." Another guest, an old Norwegian, at the camp for invalids makes up a legend about Camelback Mountain that has nothing to do with Arizona--it's a middle Eastern tale. They picnic at the Hole in the Rock (a real place) but leave all their trash there. Yikes yikes yikes! Anything good about this story is completely outweighed by the disgusting attitudes. Don't allow children near this book!

[Kathy Kalt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved these books when I was a child. Got the whole series from my grandmother, since they were actually books she had read as a child. Re-reading this one today was pretty horrifying, though, with its many stereotypes of Indians, Asians, and blacks. Not to mention the fact that 15-year-old girls are already thinking seriously about who they will marry. It was remotely interesting to envision a Phoenix dating around 1905, with almost nothing but deserts, but the story hasn't weathered well through time. I gave it an extra star just for its nostalgia aspect.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Sweet Story of times long past!

I had only been acquainted with the Little Colonel by the old movie with Shirley Temple. When I found and read the book I just had to read this delightful sequel. It was fun discovering the old West through the eyes of a young teenaged Southern Belle! I will admit trying to figure out some of her speech was a bit of a challenge at times, but that was part of the charm of this book.

[James P. Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little read for it's time. And for it's time, there's some, uh, light racist depictions. So I'd recommend this for a little more mature readers that what it was meant for over a century ago. But it's still a good window into life back then write by a woman who largely lived it and based this series on.

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed going back to Joyce Ware's family. Somehow the feeling changed when the Little Colonel came to visit. (And why on earth wasn't Betty invited to go along with Lloyd and Papa Jack?)

I like that the girls each were victorious their own battles with the help of friends giving them a new perspective. Joyce dealt with leaving school to help her mother set up housekeeping after their move to Arizona (for Mrs. Ware's health), struggling with loneliness and missing time for her drawing and painting, in addition to the rugged chores and scrimping for money. Lloyd was befriended by Phil Tremont, but realized she needed to drop him in her esteem because he didn't measure up to her standards (which she had promised her father she'd stick to) by failing to keep an appointment when he was gambling instead (having already been kicked out of another school).

It is interesting to see the girls growing up, being in their teens and starting to think even more seriously about how their characters will be shaped in their later lives.

[Mark Schumacher]

One of several delightful covers done by Amy Sacker for this series.

http://www.amysacker.net/documents/li...