Among The Meadow People

Among the People #1

by Clara Dillingham Pierson

Delightful stories of field life for young children, relating incidents in the lives of birds, insects, and other small creatures who make the meadow their home. Each chapter features the story of one animal in its daily activities and interactions with the other animals inhabiting the meadow. Ideally suited for children ages 5 to 7.

Genres: Science, Nature, Childrens, Classics, Chapter Books, Short Stories, Science Nature

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1897

About the author

Clara Dillingham Pierson (d. 1952) was an early 20th century American children's author. Her most popular works were quasi-naturalistic stories about animals. Her Among the People series of animal story collections, published between 1897 and 1902, placed her among the leading nature-story authors of her day. Like similar animal tales written a few years later by Thornton Burgess, her stories often carried a moral.

Another of her series featured the adventures of the three Miller children who live in a house called Pencroft, named for Pierson's summer home in Omena, Michigan. She built it with her income as a writer.

Reviews

[Shannon]

This was recommended to me by an experienced homeschool mom who also uses Sonlight and Charlotte Mason. It's not available via library here, so I took the leap and bought it...OH MAN, we were NOT disappointed. My seven-year-old gives this "10,000 stars." (I think that's stretching its praise a bit, but it shows how much she loves it.)

Naturally and lightly, Clara Dillingham Pierson writes stories that simultaneously accomplish two things: teaching kids about nature and delivering an Aesop-like moral. Think Thornton Burgess's natural philosophy but with language that's not as overstuffed and plodding, and think morals from Margaret Gatty's Parables from Nature but shorter and easier for young kids to understand. I was always honestly in awe of how effortlessly she worked in the natural science lessons, and at how effortlessly my kids and I absorbed them. Everything, from the characters to the organic moral, was done with the lightest of touches.

Don't start with Burgess and Gatty: start with these! (Among the Meadow People is her first.)

I will add also this: I got this copy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Among-Meadow-P...
--and it is by far one of the ugliest books I have ever owned. The cover is printed at too low a resolution and has an ugly black bar at the bottom where they didn't align it correctly, the spacing is all wonky and badly formatted within, and the "illustrations" are just random clip arts placed at the ends of chapters that have nothing to do with their subjects. DO NOT buy that edition. Go to AbeBooks and get yourself something nice.

[Katja Labonté]

4 stars & 4/10 hearts. I really love Pierson’s works! These stories are just right for children but they’re well written and interesting and I enjoyed them all. The lessons are excellent too.

A Favourite Quote: “After that the Walking-Stick had nothing more to say. He never felt quite sure whether the Harvestman was too stupid to understand or too wise to gossip. Once he thought he saw the Harvestman's eyes twinkle. The Harvestman didn't care if people thought him stupid. He knew that he was not stupid, and he would rather seem dull than to listen while unkind things were said about his neighbors.”

[Lulu]

This is a collection of fable which is good for both children and adults. The writer tries to bring oir mind to the imagination " what if I were a cricket? a frog? a snake?" and other animals. Have you ever wondered what those animals think about you as a human? Have you evervwondered what they speak? If you say "yes", then go ahead and read this book! The stories are also full of moral values which can be good for bed-time stories for your children.

[Jennifer]

Cute little kids book about the Meadow People (butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders, snakes and frogs) - with little lessons within each story to remind you what happens if you are a cranky gossip and how it is better to be kind and pleasant.

[Capt. Hornblower Of His Majesty’s Navy]

I really enjoyed how closely the author sticks to taxonomical knowledge, truths, and suppositions as she narrates her anthropomorphic animals’ lives. 🐛 🐞 Every story contained some kind of easy to understand moral lesson that my 7 and 4 year olds were either able to grasp right away or provided a foundation to talk about afterwards.

The main criticism I have is that the writing fits the time period where calling things stupid or silly or other light “name calling” might have been common place in children’s literature at the turn of the 20th century. I have had to remind my children that even if these characters use that language doesn’t mean they have to.

[Kaycee Owens]

We read this for our Nature Lore for the first two terms of this year. Cute little stories about “the meadow people” that made us laugh out loud and also ponder life. We’ll take a break from this series and pick another one of her clever books for next year!

[Logan Streondj]

Excellent fables about insect size creatures, great bedtime stories.

[Diana]

Nice stories about insects and animals. We read this as a nature read aloud for school.

[Jeri Lin]

This series is a favorite read aloud in our family. Mom and kids alike enjoy these cute little stories.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit)]

Read for our 1st grade Language Arts homeschool curriculum.

[Jennifer Taylor]

This one is perhaps the best in the series for the youngest listeners or readers. The chapters/stories are short. And of course, anything by this author is enjoyable.

[Jessica Perteet]

This was Jacob’s science read aloud.

[Rachel Dorminy]

Fun small stories about nature. We didn’t enjoy the moralism thrown into the mixture. It felt heavy handed and awkward.

[Ambermomma]

A very sweet book

[Jane Ellen]

This book was charming enough, but didn't seem to spark my children's attention and imagination like other books did. We will probably use other nature lore books for now!

[Emily Foster]

3.5 - Read for the school. The stories were cute and each one taught some different animal facts. Each story usually had some sort of moral as well.

[Amy Duncan]

Short parables. Quick to read and yet profound. Perfect for young children.

[Gabrielle Lee]

Captured my kids imagination with short stories and life lessons that stick with you. The kids were frequently giggling at the silly animals.

[A Hoppy Reader]

3 stars
Very sweet and funny at times. A mix of moral tales and science observations, chiefly of insects, butterflies, spiders, and frogs.
1. The Butterfly that Went Calling
2. The Robins Build a Nest
3. The Selfish Tent Caterpillar
4. The Lazy Snail
5. The Ant that Wore Wings
6. The Cheerful Harvestmen
7. The Little Spider's First Web
8. The Beetle Who Did Not Like Caterpillars
9. The Young Robin Who Was Afraid to Fly
10. The Cricket's School
11. The Contented Earthworms
12. The Measuring Worm's Joke
13. A Puzzled Cicada
14. The Tree Frog's Story
15. The Day When the Grass Was Cut
16. The Grasshopper and the Measuring Worm Run A Race
17. Mr. Green Frog and his Visitors
18. The Dignified Walking-Sticks
19. The Day of the Great Storm
20. The Story of Lilly-Pad Island
21. The Grasshopper Who Wouldn't Be Scared
22. The Earthworm Half Brothers
23. A Gossiping Fly
24. The Frog Hoppers Go Out into the World
25. The Mosquito Tries to Teach his Neighbors
26. The Frog Who Thought Herself Sick
27. The Katydid's Quarrel
28. The Last Party of the Season

[Karyn Tripp]

I have been reading this series of books to my children. They are cute little stories told about the animals and insects that love in a meadow. They are told from the perspective of the animals. Each one has a little moral/message to learn. We have really been enjoying them!